Notes on life:Daming Lake

        In middle school, there was a Chinese textbook "Daming Lake" excerpted from Liu E's "Old Disabled Travel Notes". The description of Daming Lake in the text, such as "Lotus on all sides, willows on three sides, hills and lakes on one city", or "A cold spring recommending autumn chrysanthemum, three more paintings wearing lotus root flowers", is still fresh in memory, but I never thought I would come to this scene one day!

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        Autumn color of Minghu Lake
         Even though the Chinese mainland has been stationed for nearly six years, for a while in Chengdu and for a while in Shanghai, it has never been expected that they will be stationed in Shandong, and that they will be in Jinan, where "every family springs and every household flourishes". Three weeks after moving to Jinan, I can't wait to think about the pilgrimage to Daming Lake when I'm about to settle down. Coincidentally, there is a bus directly to the Daming Lake Park at the entrance of the residential area. I don't hesitate to carry my camera on the bus and go straight to the Daming Lake.
        
         It's late autumn now. It's about a month and a half later than Liu Ying's time when he visited the lake. So the lotus canopy on the lake has withered away. It's impossible to appreciate the interest of "canoeing and picking lotus seeds while eating", but although "lotus flowers on all sides" are missing, "three-sided willows" are true. Along the lake, there are really poplars and willows, and there are several red maple trees mixed with them. The article "Daming Lake" describes exactly the same. Today's weather is not very clear, Qianfo Mountain is a bit hazy, but you can still imagine how beautiful the mountain reflection is in the lake when the weather is good.
        
         If you come here, you will be at peace, leaving aside the complicated environment of Shili Yangchang, you will come to the place where Li Qingzhao grew up, walking in his hometown, and inviting each other to illuminate the bright moon of Xin Qiji. Is it not another experience of life? The scenery of Daming Lake in all seasons of the year must be quite different. Liu E only came in autumn, but I had a chance to see the spring, summer, autumn and winter of the lake. Is it not a good chance? Liu E knows something underground, and I'm afraid he'll be envious of it.
        
         In the sunset, I leave Daming Lake, I know I will come again, time... It's about winter.

        suffering sharpens our senses
         Last time I visited Daming Lake, it was entered by the North Gate, walked around the east side of the lake, and then went out by the Southwest Gate, in late October. This time, the winter is approaching. I will go through the southwest gate, around the west side of the lake, and out of the North gate. Hudong, small bridges, ancient houses, willows everywhere, very beautiful; relatively speaking, Huxi is a large area of children's playground and cruise ship wharf, more lively, less witty.
        
         However, in the northwest corner of the lake, there is a Tie Gong Temple mentioned in "Travel Notes for the Disabled", which I did not see last time. The Temple worshiped Tiehyun, who was loyal to Emperor Huiwen in the early Ming Dynasty and fought against Zhu Di, the Yan King. Tiehyun fought beautifully in Jinan and defeated the rebels several times. Unfortunately, the other generals did not fight hard. Tiehyun was finally captured and cruelly beaten (late).
        
         At the beginning of Ming Shenzong's reign, a temple was set up for Tiehyun's rebellion. Because Tie Hyun served as a minister of Zuo Bu in Shandong Province during the Jing Dynasty (later promoted to Shangshu of the Ministry of Military Affairs), there were many Tie Gong Temple in Shandong. Of course, thanks to Travel Notes, the Tie Gong Temple on Daming Lake is the most famous one. It is only a small scale, estimated to be only 10 square meters. Tie Hyun's statue in court clothes stands in the center of the temple, with the plaque of "Hao Qi Long Live" hanging in the middle, and there are some couplets on both sides. One of them, "Iron Shoulder bears moral principles, and the blue blood shines on the lake" is a good illustration of Tie Hyun's human nature. Long knowledge is that only after visiting Tie Gong Temple can we know that Tie Hyun is not a Han, but a colorful person. Thus, it can be seen that a person who is not respected by later generations has little to do with his race. What matters is what he has done and what role models he has left behind. And right and wrong, black and white, although at that time inevitably distorted by political power, but for a long time, history will eventually give a fair.
        
         Although today is a midwinter season, the winter sun is warm and does not feel cold. People come and go by the lake, which is also lively. It's been more than two months since I came to Jinan. How long will it take to know? Fortunately, I have tasted the Shandong onions. The crispness and sweetness of Yantai apples are more attractive. Maybe I should forget Shanghai and Taiwan. At least don't compare Jinan with these places. After all, different customs and different human feelings are valuable and lovely. Suddenly I think of Su Dongpo's "Dingfeng Bao": the younger the returnees from ten thousand miles, the more they smile, they still have Lingmeixiang when they laugh. How about Lingnan? But Tao, this heart is at ease in my hometown.
        
         Yes, it's my hometown.
        
         Spring Snow in Minghu Lake
        
                 Throughout the winter of 2018, even the surrounding Tai'an and Jining have been snowing heavily, but Jinan has never been a snowflake. Although the temperature after nightfall is below zero, the snow is hard because of the combination of low temperature and no humidity. In 2019, the Lunar New Year is coming to an end. It was thought that the snow scenery of Daming Lake could only be expected for the next year. The clinker and the changes of nature were like life experiences. A sudden snowfall came on Valentine's Day in 2019, and it was so big and violent that it lasted for more than ten hours. The whole Spring City is wrapped in silver makeup overnight, so beautiful and enchanting that people are intoxicated.
        
         Snow has a fantastic foil effect, the wild flowers ignored by the roadside in peacetime become Cinderella in glass shoes once they blossom in the whole white snow; while the original bright and moving red leaves, with snowflakes, gently sway in the snow with the wind, the beauty of that color, the elegance of the swaying, as if a beautiful woman dancing in front of you, is really "looking back for a moment". Laugh at all kinds of beautiful people.
        
         Before the spring snow came, the scenery of Daming Lake was very monotonous. There were only dark yellow willows left in the willow trees, and the lotus and lotus leaves had already withered away. Even the stems and the lotus buds of the lotus flower had only a few branches left, lying dry on the surface of the water. Most of the reeds on the lake are patches of reeds. When there is sunshine, a large patch of reeds is still very beautiful. However, when the weather is cloudy, reeds give people a feeling of incomparable loneliness and desolation.
        
         Unlike the previous two occasions, this time I entered through the southwest gate of Daming Lake and went out from the South gate, almost encircling the whole lake. Deliberately, I went to Tie Gong Temple again, bowed to the statue of Tie Ceng, looked at the plaque of "Hao Qi Chang" and looked around the empty man. Alas, not only "all sages and sages have been lonely since ancient times", but also loyal ministers and heroes.
                 After leaving the Tiegung Temple and walking eastward for ten minutes, another primitive building came into view. There is a sign beside the building, which says "Temporary Command Post of Kuomintang Army in Jinan Campaign". The Jinan Campaign is relatively unfamiliar to most Taiwanese who grew up. It is not as famous as the Pingjin Campaign, Liao Ming Campaign and Xu Beng Campaign (called Huaihai Campaign in mainland China). However, its key point is no less than the three major battles. It can even be said that Jinan will not lose the battle between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.
        
         Wang Yaowu, the general of Jinan, was the descendant of Chiang Kai-shek's immediate family. He served as 51 division commander, 74 army commander and 24 group army commander during the period of resistance against Japan. He fought in Nanjing Defence War, Wanjialing Campaign, Shanggao Campaign, First Vice-Chiefsha Campaign and Changde Campaign, and so on. The Jinan Campaign lasted nine days, and the total number of soldiers killed on both sides was about 50,000. In the end, the Communist Army opened up two major field areas in North China and East China, so far as it wanted to attack, it would attack wherever it wanted to go. Since then, the Kuomintang government has been defeated like a mountain, and lost the whole mainland of China a year later.
        
         Up to now, there are no traces of the bloody war in Jinan. Only Heroic Hill on the Hunan side of Daming has a martyr's cemetery, and this command post remains on the Bank of Daming Lake to commemorate this historical pain.
        
         Despite the low temperature of minus 2 degrees in the snow, Daming Lake Park is still full of tourists, making snowmen, fighting snowbattles, helping the old and carrying the young, and rising to peace. This is the peak of peace. This is the day that the common people think of.
        
         As we walk, we take pictures. Hours pass by inadvertently. In order to leave the city centre before the next bus flow emerged, I hurried away from the South Gate with my camera on my back and looked back before boarding the bus. Daming Lake was covered in rain and snow. Recalling the green willows I saw when I first came to Daming Lake, I can't help thinking of the book of songs, "I used to be, Yang Liu Yiyi, now I come to think, rain and snow are falling".
        
         Daming Lake, this time I leave you, it's wind, snow and dusk.