There is an 800-meter-long street inside the Peace Gate in Xi'an, called "Xiamaling". In Shaanxi dialect,"horse down" is pronounced with "toad", so it is also called "Toad Ling". The kabuki who "still holds the pipa half to cover her face" in Bai Juyi's "Pipa Xing" comes from here. A capital girl who lives in Xiamaling, she lives in Xunyang and also has unparalleled pipa skills. The sentence "We are all fallen people in the world" tells the same tragic situation as the poet and the pipa girl. Not only was he not only denied his talents, but he was forced to stay away from his hometown.

Because the name of Xia Ma Ling in "Pipa Xing" is widely known, but its origin is even more important. According to legend, Xiama Mausoleum was the tomb of Dong Zhongshu, a great scholar of the Western Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty respected him very much and dismounted every time he passed by here to show his respect. Therefore, people called it Xiama Mausoleum.

Han Wu was prosperous and respected Confucianism

Xiamuling is famous for Dong Zi, who was Dong Zhongshu, a philosopher and Confucian scholar during the Western Han Dynasty. In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, the country needed to recuperate, and the "Yellow Lao Way" that advocated inaction prevailed. After the "rule of literature and scenery", Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's national strength was strong. Dong Zhongshu's idea of "unification" was in line with the needs of society and could consolidate the imperial power and strengthen the ideological rule, which was praised by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

During the reign of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, the "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms" occurred. Therefore, Dong Zhongshu believes that consolidating political power and preventing separatism and separatism are the most important issues at the moment. He extracted the idea of "great unity" from the Confucian classic "Gongyang Spring and Autumn Annals", advocating respect for imperial power and advocating the three cardinal principles and five constants. Only when thoughts are unified can there be unity of laws, people know what social norms to follow, and the country can achieve political unity.

Unifying thinking is the key to "unification". Dong Zhongshu repeatedly emphasized to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty that he should "respect Confucianism only" so that sectarian theories other than Confucianism would no longer confuse the people, so that the imperial rule could be implemented. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty accepted Dong Zhongshu's suggestion, and Confucianism became an orthodox thought in China for thousands of years.

The mystery of the tomb, past and present life

Regarding the specific location of Dong Zhongshu's tomb site, there are three theories from successive dynasties: "the burial tomb of Maoling in Xingping","the Dong Tomb of Xi'an Jiaotong University" and the Dong Tomb of Xiamuling ".

The Northern Song Dynasty geographical chronicle "Taiping Huanyu Ji" more than 1000 years ago recorded that Dong Zhongshu's tomb was "twenty miles northeast of Xingping County." In the 1990s,"Xi'an Historical Atlas" and "Maoling Chronicles" believed that Dong Zhongshu was buried with the tomb in Maoling.

The "Dong Tomb of Xi'an Jiaotong University" statement also emphasized that the Toad Mausoleum was the site of Dong Zhongshu's tomb, but disagreed with the location of the Toad Mausoleum. Both the "Chang 'an Annals" of the Northern Song Dynasty and the "Lei Bian Chang' an Annals" of the Yuan Dynasty mentioned that "there is a Toad Mausoleum on Yanzhi Slope south of Xingqing Pond", positioning the Toad Mausoleum in Jiao Tong University south of Xingqing Palace today.

Today's "Dong Tomb in Xiamuling" originated from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Ancient books at that time believed that the tomb site was Yanzhipo in Chang 'an City. Various historical records record that folklore makes Dong Zi's tomb confusing, but the Xiama Mausoleum inside the Peace Gate has become Xi'an's most precious urban memory.

It is close to the city wall and surrounded by an old residential area. No matter how busy the city is, it always looks leisurely. Walking through it, you can see tourists from home and abroad, as well as residents walking dogs and playing chess leisurely.

The "Zhu Xiuying Bangbang Pork Hulutou" near Xiamaling is famous in Xi'an. The owner puts out the stall at 4 or 5 p.m. every day. A large aluminum basin is placed at the entrance of the store. It has an alluring color of smoked fat sausage, pork belly, pork liver and other aromas. It has endless aftertaste.

Allowing time to flow, history has been lost in the hustle and bustle of the times, and the former pavilions and pavilions seem to still tell the past. The memory of the city not only stays in the words of historical books, but also remains in the streets and buildings.

(Text: Peter Pan/Review: Ice Cream)