Xishan Mountain is the general term for the mountains surrounding the west of Beijing. It is not as majestic as Mount Tai, as steep as Mount Tai, and as beautiful as Mount Tai, but its rolling mountains are like a city wall protecting the capital. Under the endless mountains, there is a rich historical and cultural landscape. For thousands of years, emperors, generals, dignitaries, rich businessmen, literati and literati have traveled all over the Western Mountains. It seems that every mountain rock, every clump of vegetation, and every stream has a story behind it. The most famous of these is Cao Xueqin and his "Dream of the Red Chamber".

Cao Xueqin lived a luxurious life in her childhood. Her family was in ruins. She once made a living by teaching and returned to her ancestral home in Zhengbaiqi, Xishan in her later years. Cao Xueqin lived a poor life in her ancestral home and suffered the pain of losing her wife in middle age and her son in later years. However, it was also here that she created the world-renowned work "Dream of the Red Chamber", which was "full of absurd words and a handful of bitter tears."

Cao Xueqin's former residence is in the Beijing Botanical Garden. It is always bustling here to enjoy flowers in spring and leaves in autumn, but Cao Xueqin's former residence in a corner seems sad and lonely, just like the scene in his lifetime.

There is a mountain path from Zhengbaiqi in front of Shou 'an Mountain to Baijiatuan behind the mountain. Since the Qing Dynasty, people from the two places have traveled frequently, stepping on their feet, forming a path over time. When Cao Xueqin lived in front of the mountain, she often went to the back of the mountain to visit friends and treat medical treatment for the people. She traveled between the front and back of the mountain through this road, so it was called the Cao Xueqin Trail. Over the years, fans of "Dream of the Red Chamber" have often spontaneously searched for this path and followed the footsteps of the master.

The Cao Xueqin Trail starts from Zhengbaiqi Village (Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall), passes through Donggou Village, Shifang Pujue Temple (Wrecking Buddha Temple), Tuigu (Cherry Taogou), Sanzhuxiang, and reaches Baijiatuan Village. On the way, there are Qing Dynasty diversion stone canals, watchtowers, ancient wells, Longwang Temple, Shifang Pujue Temple, Guanghui 'an, Longjiao Temple, Shou' an Mountain Stone Carvings, Sun Chengze Tuigu Villa, Shishangsong, Yuan Baoshi, Guangquan Temple Ruins, Wuhua Temple, Xiaoshiqiao Ruins, Xianwang Temple and many other historical attractions and relics.

In folklore, many scenery on the path are archetypes in the story of "Dream of the Red Chamber". Red scholars listed eight of them as the "Eight Scenes of the Former Residence", namely: "Ancient Sophora and Youxia","Ancient Dun Overlooking","Smoke and Willow on the River Wall","Microwave of the Ancient Well","Lost Stone of Yuanbao","Marriage of Wood and Stone","Guangquan Ancient Well", and "Hard Rock".

Since the publication of "Dream of the Red Chamber", Cao Xueqin's family background and life, as well as the village location and residence of his "Huangye Village" where he wrote the book, have always been topics explored by redologists and redologists enthusiasts. In April 1971, an old-fashioned dwelling house with several sets of wall-inscribed poems was discovered at No. 39, Zhengbaiqi Village, Xiangshan Prefecture, which was believed by some experts to be the place where he wrote his book. In April 1983, the Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall was built in the Beijing Botanical Garden (where the Zhengbai Banner was originally located) with 8 hectares of land, named "Huangye Village."

The small wooden building at the entrance of the village is simple and elegant.

In front of the gate, there is a handwritten letter from Mr. Zhou Ruchang, a redologist, who gave a sentence to Xue Qin: "I advise you not to hit the diners 'clips, and I advise you not to knock the door of rich children. Cold leftovers have virtue, rather than writing books in Yellow Leaf Village." This poem is considered to be evidence that Cao Xueqin wrote a book here. Dun Cheng is the fifth grandson of Nurhachi's twelfth son Azigi. He has a brother named Dunmin. Dun Min, Dun Cheng and Cao Xueqin are poetry friends.

Walking into Huangye Village, you will see a granite boulder standing in front of you. On the front are the six characters "Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall" inscribed by the calligrapher Mr. Qigong (ninth grandson of Emperor Yongzheng).

The inscription on the back is "Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall Notes", which briefly describes Cao Xueqin's life and contributions, as well as the beginning and end of the creation, addition and repair of the memorial hall. At the end of the article, he praised it: "A world-renowned genius, whose character will always be there, and his writing style will shine brightly for thousands of years."

Eight Scenes of the Former Residence: "Ancient Sophora and Youthful Summer"

Among the many trees, locust trees are deeply loved by old Beijingers. Its tough character and vigorous vitality seem to be particularly suitable for accompanying this ancient capital that has experienced vicissitudes. Therefore, Beijing has the custom of "first settling the house, then planting locust trees." There are three ancient locust trees in front of the main entrance of the Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall, which have a history of more than 400 years and are listed as the famous locust trees in the capital.

The first ancient locust tree on the west side of the main entrance is 20 meters high and its trunk circumference reaches 5 meters;

The circumference of the second trunk reaches 3.7 meters;

The most famous one is the "crooked necked locust tree" on the east side of the main entrance.

There has always been controversy about the authenticity of Cao Xueqin's former residence, but according to local elderly people, a little song about Cao Xueqin's former residence was circulated in the Xiangshan area in the past: "Ancient locust trees in front of the door with crooked necks, small bridges and flowing water, wild celery and hemp." There are many wild celery growing on the slopes here. Cao Xueqin often uses it to treat people and names herself "Qin". The scenery in front of the memorial hall coincides with the ditty. Especially in midsummer, the old locust trees in front of the door block out the sky and the sun, as Cao Xueqin wrote: "The western suburbs of Lujie are quite secluded."

The memorial hall is a three-way courtyard, and the words "Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall" beside the door were also inscribed by Mr. Qi Gong.

The door is mottled, but the lion bolt on the door is majestic.

The first courtyard entering through the gate is facing a mixed brick and wood shadow wall. On the west side is a row of houses, on the east side is an office, and on the north side there is an old locust tree with branches everywhere.

The second courtyard is an exhibition hall, with a main room and east and west wing rooms. There is a small bamboo forest and several persimmon trees in the courtyard, with several blue persimmons hanging sporadically on the branches.

The gentleman was sitting next to the bamboo forest, looking up, frowning slightly, and looking into the distance. There was a glass of wine in front of him, as if he was drinking alone under the moon.

The exhibition hall mainly displays cultural relics related to Cao Xueqin's life history and physical materials related to Dream of the Red Chamber.

The brocade woven by Jiangning is exquisite and luxurious.

Cao family genealogy

The poem titled on the peeling wall: "Far from being rich and near being poor, there are few friends in the world with courtesy; few relatives and friends are scattered in the world because of wealth", which describes the warmth and warmth of people in the world.

The third courtyard is the "Qinpu Learning Workshop", which is divided into two gardens: the east and the west. In the garden in the east, due north is a row of low houses. The plaque on the door reads "Qinpu Learning Workshop", there is a green mailbox in front of the door, and a plaque on the windowsill reads "Dream of Red Mansions Post Office". This is the only Dream of Red Mansions Bookstore in the country.

The bookstore has an elegant environment and sells books and cultural and creative products related to Cao Xueqin and "Dream of the Red Chamber".

There are many and exquisite types of cultural creations here.

There is a famous sentence by Mr. Yang Jiang about reading in the store: Reading is like "visiting the door stealthily". If you want to see an admired teacher or pay homage to a famous scholar, you don't have to say hello in advance. Open the book and burst into the door. Turn a few pages and enter the room.

There are no houses in the garden in the west, only two millstones.

This is the west gate of the memorial hall.

In addition to the memorial hall, there are also teahouses, wine tavern, ancient dunes, wells and vegetable fields in the village, giving a simple and natural pastoral scenery. The ginkgo trees planted in the village are green and tall. In mid-autumn, the leaves are colorful and the ground is golden, which is intoxicating.

Eight Scenes of the Former Residence: "River Wall and Smoke Willow"

The river wall is a diversion canal built during the Qianlong period to ensure the water needs of Qingyi Garden and Yuanmingyuan. The source of the water is the water source of Cherry Taogou and ends at Jingming Garden on Yuquan Mountain. Along the way, stones are cut to form grooves, which are covered with stone tiles. The grooves are placed on the stone walls at the lower part of the north, commonly known as the "river wall". Because there are many willows planted on both sides of the stone canal, catkins fly and smoke is misty, it is called 'smoke willows on the river wall'. Two sections of the river wall remain, one section is on the west side of the Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall and the other section is in Cherry Peach Valley.

Eight Scenes of the Former Residence: "Ancient Dun Autumn View"

During the Qianlong period, in order to quell the rebellion in the Greater Jinchuan area, the Qing government built watchtowers in the Qiying area imitating residential buildings in the Jinchuan area. There were once 68 watchtowers built in the Xiangshan area, but now only 6 and a half are left. One of them is located on the west side of Cao Xueqin's former residence. There is a stone carving "invitation platform" at the entrance of the staircase. Cao Xueqin often climbed the watchtower with her friends, looked far into the distance, drank wine and wrote poems to express her thoughts. Dunmin once wrote an article "People in the Western Suburbs Traveling and Watching," the poem said: "Autumn colors call people from the ancient dunes, and the west wind rustles open the plains. Thousands of layers of white clouds in remote mountains, and a clear chime in Yellow Leaf Village..."

There are two red-clad cannons to the south of the watchtower. Cao Xueqin's Gaozu once participated in the project of casting the red-clad cannons.

Eight Scenery Scenery of the Former Residence "Ancient Well Microwave"

There is an ancient well on the north side of the memorial hall. It is the only well left in Zhengbaiqi for daily drinking water for villagers. It has a history of more than 300 years. The well is more than 20 meters deep, and the well water is sweet and clear. When Cao Xueqin lived here, her daily drinking water was taken from this well, and she used the water from this well to grind ink to write "Dream of the Red Chamber""after reading it for ten years, adding and deleting it five times."

Xiangshan area is rainy in summer and is prone to floods. In order to pray for peace, most villages along the canyon have built Longwang temples. In front of the Longwang Temple north of the memorial hall stands a giant locust tree with a trunk circumference of nearly 5 meters. It is called "Longwang locust".

Shifang Pujue Temple was built during the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty. It is also called the "Reclining Buddha Temple" because there is a huge bronze statue of Sakyamuni Buddha Nirvana in the temple.

The ancient cypresses in front of the temple reach the sky, and they look like powerful soldiers standing on both sides of the road holding large swords and long halberds.

The glazed archway in the temple was built by Emperor Qianlong when he expanded the Reclining Buddha Temple. The plaque on the front of the archway is engraved with the words "Tongshen Secret Collection" and the words "Full of Essence and Strict" are engraved on the back. They are all imperial books of Emperor Qianlong. Such a high standard demonstrates the lofty position of Shifang Pujue Temple in the politics and religion of the Qing Dynasty.

There is a Guanghui 'an site in the courtyard of the Bee Research Institute on the west side of the Wrecking Buddha Temple. Guanghui Temple was built in the Ming Dynasty. It was originally a private house and was later converted into a temple. Guanghui Nunnery has three courtyards, namely the gate gate, the protection hall, the middle hall, and the back hall. There are steles dating from the Wanli period in the nunnery, as well as incense burners and iron bells forged during the Qianlong period.

Continuing north from the Guanghui 'an site is Cherry Valley. Cherry Valley is a canyon sandwiched by two mountains. It runs from the source of the water to the Wrecking Buddha Temple. It is about one kilometer long. Cherry trees were planted on both sides of the mountain streams in the Ming Dynasty, and they were rich in The "pairs of cherries" used to pay tribute to the emperor. Cherry Taogou is also known as "Tuigu" and "Zhoujia Garden". The name "Tuigu" originates from the fact that Sun Chengze, assistant minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, resigned and lived in seclusion here during the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty. His grandson was named "Tuigu"; the name "Zhoujia Garden" originated from the Republic of China. It was bought by Zhou Zhaoxiang, Minister of Finance of the Beiyang Government, and built a residence.

There is a garden on the hillside at the entrance of Cherry Valley. There is a bamboo forest in the garden and the "Shizhu Xuan" inscribed by Zhao Puchu. This is the ruins of Longjiao Temple.

Longjiao Temple was a temple built by the eunuch Deng Keng of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Jianshen, the Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty, gave the temple the name "Longjiao". Today, only two stone monuments remain.

Opposite the stone tablet is an ancient locust tree. The ancient locust tree has luxuriant branches and thick trunks. It takes three or four people to hug it.

The roots of the ancient locust trees exposed to the ground are shaped like dragon claws, and they are powerful and powerful.

From the west gate of Longjiao Temple Ruins is a stone road leading to the canyon. Not far away, you will find another river wall.

Ancient trees reach the sky in Cherry Peach Valley, strange rocks are everywhere at the bottom of the ditch, the streams are gurgling, and birds are singing. In addition to cherries, there are also flowers and trees such as spring jasmine, apricot peaches, and crabapple in the ditch. When the flowers bloom, the mountain flowers bloom, like a paradise.

Walking along the stone road, you can see the stone carvings of "Shou 'an Mountain" on the cliff. This place was originally the entrance of Cherry Peach Valley, with huge rocks as the road. The original three characters "Shou 'an Mountain" were inscribed by Yan Song in the Ming Dynasty. Today, the three characters "Shou' an Mountain" are inscribed by the famous calligrapher Shu Tongfu.

Under the stone carvings, there are flyovers, waterfalls and "Wenshan Pavilion". The inscription on the front of the Wenshan Pavilion reads "Wenshan", and the inscription on the back reads "Know the Source".

After crossing the bridge, there is a large metasequoia forest. Walking through the forest, you are surrounded by tall and straight metasequoia trees, and at your feet are murmuring streams. The sun shines into the forest, forming mottled tree shadows, and the air is filled with warm tree fragrance.

At the end of the Metasequoia forest there is a small white marble stone bridge across the stream. This bridge was moved from Duan Wangfu.

Walking along the east side of the stone bridge are the ruins of Wuhua Temple. The temple was built during the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty, and today only two remains of monuments and a few stone components are left. Up the stone steps on the west side of the stone bridge is the "Luyan Jingshe", also known as the "Zhou Family Garden". The courtyard is lush with lush trees and dancing bamboo shadows, making it elegant and quiet.

The "Ru Li Pavilion" in the courtyard is named because it looks like a bamboo hat. Song Luo of the Qing Dynasty wrote in a poem: "Like before the Li Pavilion opens and recedes into the valley, the four mountains gather green and fall to the top."

Sun Chengze's villa is up along the stone steps on one side of the "Ru Li Pavilion". Sun Chengze was a scholar in the Chongzhen Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty. After the Qing soldiers entered the Pass, he served as assistant minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He is familiar with Beijing's geography, folk customs, and anecdotes, and has compiled books such as "Tianfu Guangji" and "Yu Lu of Chunming Dreams". The villa is named "The Residence of Shuiyun and Flowing Clouds", which takes Du Fu's meaning that "the water flows without competition, but the clouds care too late", reflecting his secluded state of mind that is aloof from the world. The villa is now turned into a teahouse.

Sun Chengze also built the "Shihui Book Nest" and the "Tuiweng Pavilion" in Cherry Valley, where he recited poems and appreciated paintings all day long, met friends through literature, and wrote books and essays.

There is a "December 9th Movement Memorial Pavilion" in Cherry Taogou, which was built to commemorate the anti-Japanese and national salvation demonstration held by Peking university and middle school students on December 9, 1935.

The memorial pavilion consists of three triangular pavilions. The idea is: the triangle is the epitome of the camping tent when the "December 9th" Movement held the military summer camp; the three triangles form a three-dimensional character "crowd", which symbolizes the awakening of the general public and the determination to unite themselves to resist aggression; the tall and straight architectural lines symbolize the youthful and positive spirit of young people. The eight bright red characters "Don't forget the national humiliation, realize the dream of China" look particularly dazzling in the sun.

Cherry Valley is the place where the Peking Federation of Students and the Democratic First Team jointly held a summer camp during the December 9th Movement. From 1936 to 1937, three summer camps were held here, with 500 to 600 young students participating. Students left four red characters "Defend North China" on the big bluestone next to the ditch.

Eight Scenery Scenery of the Former Residence "Wood and Stone Front League"

On the hillside not far from the "Defending North China" stone tablet, there is a towering stone. Surprisingly, there is an ancient cypress growing on the top of the mountain. Although the ancient cypress is not large, it is four to five hundred years old. Its thick roots support a crack in the huge stone. This is the famous "Pine on the Stone". According to folklore, Cao Xueqin often wandered here. Inspired by this scene, she created the story of Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu's "Alliance between Wood and Stone" in "Dream of the Red Chamber".

In the Xiangshan area, there has always been a small song: "Returning to the valley and climbing on the pine trees, it is called the edge of wood and stone. Huge rocks are jagged and precious, sweet springs overflow with sweet water. Crazy Monk Cave on the mountain and White Deer Rock at the foot of the mountain. Cao Gong gave birth to a flower pen, and Bao Dai passed down forever."

The "Yuanbao Stone" of the Eight Scenery Scenery of the Former Residence

Not far in front of "Pine on the Stone", there is a huge stone shaped like an ingot. The bottom of the "Yuan Gemstone" is suspended in the sky, and a couch is built inside. There is a hollow in the couch, which is built into a window shape to allow light and air to pass through. In history, monks have practiced here. Legend has it that during the Liao Dynasty, an immortal rode a white deer here and lived in a cave in a rock, so this cave is also called the "White Deer Cave".

According to folklore, this stone is the prototype of the hard stone under the Qingken Peak of Wuji Cliff in the barren mountains in "Dream of the Red Chamber". The first chapter in "Dream of the Red Chamber" says that "the shape is a treasure, but it has no real benefits" refers to this stone, so Cao Gong called it "Jia (fake) Baoyu".

The "source of water" is the end of Cherry Valley and the starting point of Cherry Valley spring water. At that time, the spring water here continued to flow into a small pool. The spring water was clear, sweet and rich in minerals. People came here to collect water every day. As early as the Ming Dynasty, the source of the water was a tourist attraction for literati and literati. Emperor Qianlong also visited this place and wrote the poem "Stone Wall Facing the Tianchi Lake".

There is a "Valley Returning Pavilion" on the hillside above the "Water Source". The pillars of the pavilion are engraved with Wang Wei's poem "Go to a place where the water is poor, sit and watch the clouds rise." Back then, Mr. Yao Xiang wandered in this quiet valley, looking closely at the strange trees and rocks, and watching the wind and clouds from a distance. He must have been leisurely and happy.

"Guangquan Ancient Well" in the Eight Scenes of the Former Residence

Guangquan Temple, halfway up the mountain at the head of the water source, was abandoned in the late Ming Dynasty. There is an ancient well in the temple with sweet water. It is one of the two ancient wells in the West Mountain. During Sun Chengze's period, there were still ancient wells that flowed out of water. During the Republic of China, they turned into dry wells. Today, only ruins are seen. Cao Xueqin and his good friend Zhang Yiquan had been here and left poems to sing.

The Eight Scenery Scenery of the Former Residence "One Fist Rock"

"One Fist Hard Rock" is under the Langfeng Pavilion in Xiangshan Park. It is named because it looks like a fist. The "Yiquan Stone" on the stone was inscribed by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, which means "the ancestors wield the fist (power)".

The walking and writing of a generation of literary heroes have brought this originally barren mountain road back to life. While walking, every grass, tree, stone, word, room and pavilion around me seemed to have his footsteps and figure.