HuaqingPoolissituatedabout35kilometreseastofthecityofXi’an.Historically,theWesternZhoudynastysawtheconstructionoftheLiPalaceonthespot.IntheQindynastyapoolwasbuiltwithstones,andwasgiventhenameLishanTang(theLishanHotSpring).ThesitewasextendedintoapalaceintheHandynasty,andrenamedtheLiPalace(theResortPalace).IntheTangdynasty,LiShimin(EmperorTaiZong)orderedtoconstructtheHotSpringPalace,andEmperorXuanZonghadawalledpalacebuiltaroundLishanMountainintheyearof747.ItwasknownastheHuaqingPalace.ItalsohadthenameHuaqingPoolonaccountofitslocationonthehotsprings.
HuaqingPoolislocatedatthefootoftheLishanMountain,abranchrangeoftheQinlingRanges,andstands1,256metreshigh.Itiscoveredwithpinesandcypresses,lookingverymuchlikealikeadarkgreengallopinghorsefromalongdistance.SoithasthenameoftheLishanMountain(Limeansablackhorse).
TheTangdynastyEmperorXuanZongandhisfavouritelady,YangGuiFeiusedtomaketheirhomeatFrostDriftingHallinwinterdays.Whenwintercame,snowflakeswerefloatingintheair,andeverythinginsightwaswhite.However,theycameintothawimmediatelyinfrontofthehall.Itowedagreatdealtothelukewarmvapourrisingoutofthehotspring.ThisistheFrostDriftingHallthatgreetsustoday.
ClosebytheFrostDriftingHallliestheNineDragonPool.Accordingtolegend,theCentralShaanxiPlainwasoncestrickenbyaseveredroughtintheveryremotepast.Thus,bytheorderoftheJadeEmperor(theSupremeDeityofHeaven),anolddragoncameattheheadofeightyoungones,andmaderainhere.Yetwhenthedisasterwasjustabating,theyloweredtheirguardsomuchthatitbecameseriousagain.Inafitofanger,theJadeEmperorkepttheyoungdragonsundertheJadeCauseWay,withtheMorningGlowPavilionandtheSunsetPavilionbuiltatbothendsofitrespectively,tomaketheyoungdragonsspoutcleatwateralldaylongtomeettheneedsoflocalirrigation.Besides,hehadtheolddragonconfinedtothebottomoftheRoaringDragonWatersidePavilionsituatedattheupperendoftheJadeCauseway,andobligedhimtoexercisecontrolovertheyoung.
The Great Wall, like the Pyramids of Egypt, the Taj Mahal(1) inIndiaand the Hanging Garden of Babylon(2), is one of the great wonders of the world. Starting out in the east on the banks of theYaluRiverinLiaoningProvince, the Wall stretches westwards for 12,700 kilometers to Jiayuguan in the Gobi desert, thus known as the Ten Thousand Li Wall inChina. The Wall climbs up and down, twists and turns along the ridges of the Yanshan and Yinshan Mountain Chains through five provinces-Liaoning,Hebei,Shanxi,Shaanxi, andGansu–and two autonomous regions–Ningxia and Inner Mongolia, binding the northernChinatogether.
Historical records trace the construction of the origin of the Wall to defensive fortification back to the year 656 B.C. during the reign of King Cheng of the States of Chu. Its construction continued throughout the Warring States period in the fifth Century B.C. when ducal states Yan, Zhao, Wei, and Qin were frequently plundered by the nomadic peoples living north of the Yinshan and Yanshan mountain ranges. Walls, then, were built separately by these ducal states to ward off such harassments. Later in 221 B.C., when Qin conquered the other states and unifiedChina, Emperor Qinshihuang ordered the connection of these individual walls and further extensions to form the basis of the present great wall. As a matter of fact, a separate outer wall was constructed north of the Yinshan range in the Han Dynasty(206 BC–1644 BC.), which went to ruin through years of neglect. In the many intervening centuries, succeeding dynasties rebuilt parts of the Wall. The most extensive reinforcements and renovations were carried out in the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) when altogether 18 lengthy stretches were reinforced with bricks and rocks. it is mostly the Ming Dynasty Wall that visitors see today. The Great Wall is divided into two sections, the east and west, withShanxiProvinceas the dividing line. The west part is a rammed earth construction, about 5.3 meters high on average. In the eastern part, the core of the Wall is rammed earth as well, but the outer shell is reinforced with bricks and rocks. The most imposing and best preserved sections of the Great Wall are at Badaling and Mutianyu, not far fromBeijingand both are open to visitors. The Wall of those sections is 7.8 meters high and 6.5 meters wide at its base, narrowing to 5.8 meters on the ramparts, wide enough for five horses to gallop abreast. There are ramparts, embrasures, peep-holes and apertures for archers on the top, besides gutters with gargoyles to drain rain-water off the parapet walk. Two-storied watch-towers are built at approximately 400-meters internals. The top stories of the watch-tower were designed for observing enemy movements, while the first was used for storing grain, fodder, military equipment and gunpowder as well as for quartering garrison soldiers. The highest watch-tower at Badaling standing on a hill-top, is reached only after a steep climb, like "climbing a ladder to heaven". The view from the top is rewarding, hoverer. The Wall follows the contour of mountains that rise one behind the other until they finally fade and merge with distant haze. A signal system formerly existed that served to communicate military information to the dynastic capital. This consisted of beacon towers on the Wall itself and on mountain tops within sight of the Wall. At the approach of enemy troops, smoke signals gave the alarm from the beacon towers in the daytime and bonfire did this at night.
Emergency signals could be relayed to the capital from distant places within a few hour long before the invention of anything like modern communications. There stand 14 major passes (Guan, in Chinese) at places of strategic importance along the Great Wall, the most important being Shanghaiguan and Jiayuguan. Yet the most impressive one is Juyongguan, about 50 kilometers northwest ofBeijing. Known as "Tian Xia Di YI Guan" (The First Pass Under Heaven),ShanghaiguanPassis situated between two sheer cliffs forming a neck connecting northChinawith the northeast. It had been, therefore, a key junction contested by all strategists and many famous battles were fought here. It was the gate of Shanghaiguan that the Ming general Wu Sangui opened to the Manchu army to suppress the peasant rebellion led by Li Zicheng and so surrendered the whole Ming empire to the Manchus, leading to the foundation of the Qing Dynasty. (1644-1911)JiayuguanPasswas not so much as the "Strategic pass Under the Heaven" as an important communication center in Chinese history. Cleft between the snow-cappedQilianMountainsand the rollingMazongMountains, it was on the ancientSilk Road. Zhang Qian, the first envoy of Emperor Wu Di of the Western Han dynasty (206 B.C-24 A.D), crossed it on his journey to the western regions. Later, silk flowed to the west through this pass too. The gate-tower of Jiayuguan is an attractive building of excellent workmanship. It has an inner city and an outer city, the former square in shape and surrounded by a wall 11.7 meters high and 730 meters in circumference. It has two gates, an eastern one and a western one. On each gate sits a tower facing each other. the four corners of the wall are occupied by four watch towers, one for each. Juyongguan, a gateway to ancientBeijingfromInner Mongolia, was built in a 15-kilometer long ravine flanked by mountains. The cavalrymen of Genghis Khan swept through it in the 13th century. At the center of the pass is a white marble platform named the Cloud terrace, which was called the Crossing-Street Dagoba, since its narrow arch spanned the main street of the pass and on the top of the terrace there used to be three stone dagobas, built in the Yuan Daynasty(1206-1368). At the bottom of the terrace is a half-octagonal arch gateway, interesting for its wealth of detail: it is decorated with splendid images of Buddha and four celestial guardians carved on the walls. The vividness of their expressions is matched by the exquisite workmanship. such grandiose relics works, with several stones pieced together, are rarely seen in ancient Chinese carving. The gate jambs bear a multi-lingual Buddhist sutra, carved some 600 years ago in Sanskrit(3), Tibetan, Mongolian, Uigur(4), Han Chinese and the language of Western Xia. Undoubtedly, they are valuable to the study of Buddhism and ancient languages. As a cultural heritage, the Wall belongs not only toChinabut to the world. TheVenicecharter says: "Historical and cultural architecture not only includes the individual architectural works, but also the urban or rural environment that witnessed certain civilizations, significant social developments or historical events." The Great Wall is the largest of such historical and cultural architecture, and that is why it continues to be so attractive to people all over the world. In 1987, the Wall was listed by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage site.
1Good morning! Ladies and gentlemen:
Today we will go and visit the Yueyang Tower, Yueyang Tower lies in the west of Yueyang city, nearby the Dongting Lake, it is listed as three famous towers in the south of Yangtze River, together with Yellow Crane Tower at Wuhan, Hubei province and Tengwang Tower at Nanchang, Jiangxi province.
YueyangTowerwas originally built for soldiers to rest on and watch out. In the Three kingdoms Period, Lusu, General of Wu State, trained his soldiers here and then rebuilt it as a tower to review his troops.
In the forth year (716 A.C) of Kaiyuan of Tang Dynasty, General Zhangshuo was dispatched to defend at yuezhou and he rebuilt it into a Tower named South Tower, and then Yueyang Tower. In the forth year (1044 A.C) of Qingli of Song Dynasty, Teng Zijing was stationed at Baling Jun, the ancient name of Yueyang city. In the second year, he had theYueyangTowerrepaired and had poems by previous poets inscribed on the walls of the Tower. Fan Zhongyan, a great artist and poet, was invited to write the well-known poem about Yueyang Tower, in his essay which entitled《A Panegyric of the Yueyang Tower》, the two sentences Fan writes :“ Be the first to worry about the troubles across the land, the last to enjoy universal happiness” have for thousands of years been a well-quoted dictum and made the tower even better known then before.
The architectural style ofYueyangToweris quite unique. The main tower is 21.35 meters high with 4 columns, 3 stories, flying eave, helmet roof and wood construction, the helmet-roof of such a large dimension is a rarity among the ancient architectures inChina.
Entering the tower, you"ll pass the famous couplet: "Dongting is the water of the world, Yueyang is the tower of the world." Moving on, there is a platform (Dianjiang tai) that once functioned as the training ground for the navy of Three-Kingdom period general Lusu. To its south is the Huaifu Pavilion in memory of Dufu (712-770AD), who was the famous poet during the Tang dynasty and wrote the famous poem <> and later died in the city. Stepping out of the Xiaoxiang Door, the Saint Plum Pavilion (Xianmei ting) and the Three Drunkards Pavilion (Sanzui ting) can be seen standing on two sides. In the garden to the north of the tower is the tomb of Xiaoqiao, the wife of Zhouyu, another famous Three-Kingdom general. Evening Scenes of Chongqing
The Red Star Pavilion in thePipashaPark, the Kansheng Pavilion in theElingPark, and a place called Yikeshu on theNanshanMountainare vintage points for observing the nocturnal scenes of the mountain city ofChongqing. At night the entire city is inundated in an ocean of lights, which form a colorful three-dimensional painting, with waves of the Yangtze andJialingrivers glistening against the moonlit, star spangled sky.
Sites of the Provisional Capital
Chongqing figured importantly in modem Chinese history. During the War of Resistance againstJapan, it was the "provisional capital" ofChinaunder the Kuomintang rule from November 1937 to October 1945. Vestiges of that period are still there in and around the city. These include theRedCragVillageand 50 Zengjiayan, as well as Chiang Kai-shek’s mansion,GuiyuanGarden,LinyuanGarden, and themansionofC.C. Kong, the embassies of various countries toChina, as well as former residences of important politicians, generals and cultural figures.
Martyrs’ Mausoleum atMountGele
The former headquarters, radio station and prison of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics of the Military Council (a colossal secret service of the Kuomintang) at the foot of theGeleMountainin Shapingba District have become the mausoleum for those who died a martyr’s death there inChina’s dark days. In the dying years of World War 11, it was the site of the "Sino0US Institute for Cooperation in Special Technology".
Dazu Grottoes
The Dazu Grottoes in the county of the same name is best known for the stone carvings on the Baodingshan and Beishan mountains, which are fine example of grotto sculpture in the late years of Chinese feudalism. The sculptures, done in fastidious chisel work and gracious imagery, are marked by a new sculptural language that eschews religious taboos and espouses true life.
Yangtze River’s Three Gorges
Sailong down the Yangtze fromChongqingto Yichang allows visitors to see the spectacular scenery of the Three Gorges along with its splendid cultural heritage and fabled local folklore. The cruise, which combines sightseeing with scientific, artistic and folklore exploration, is a national-caliber tourist program. The 193-km-long Three Gorges, consisting of the majestic Qutangxia, statuesque Wuxia and ferocious Xilingxia gorges, is one of and ferocious Xilongxia gorges, is one of the world’s major canyons. Along the way there are such scenic attractions as theFengduMountain. Baidi city, Shibao village, Zhang Fel’sTemple, Qu Yuan’sTemple, and the Three Gorges Dam.
Lesser Three Gorges
The Daning River is the largest Yangtze tributary, which rises in the southern side of theDabaMountainand flows for 250km before emptying itself into the Yangtze at the western entrance to the Wuxia Gorge. The Lesser Three Gorges on the Daning River, a 50km-long affair covering the Longmenxia, Bawuxia and Dicuixia gorges in the lower reaches of the river, is billed as one of China’s 40 best scenic resorts thanks to its gorgeous mountains, elegant peaks, turbulent rapids, limpid water, exotic rock imagery and serene scenery.
DiaoyuCity, Hechuan
Established in 1242, or the 2nd year of the Chunyou reign of the Southern Song,DiaoyuCitycovers 2.5 square km up theDiaoyuMountainon the southern shore of theJialingRiverinHechuanCity’sHeyangTown. In 1258, the Mongols launched a three-way attack on the Song, and in February the next yearDiaoyuCityfound itself besieged. The Song army mounted a valiant counterattack that last3ed for 36 years, and made world war history by rebuffing a strong enemy with a weak force. This prompted some European historians to laudDiaoyuCityas the "Meccaof the East" and "Where God broke his whip". The ruins of the ancient battlefield ofDiaoyuCityare well kept there.
Jinyun Mountain
Nicknamed "Less Mount Emei",JinyunMountainis a national scenic resort 55km from downtownChongqing.
FurongCave, Wulung
The Furong (Hibiscus) Cave is located by theFurongRiverinWulungCounty. The main part of the cave is 2,700 metres in length and 3.7 square metres in area. TheSplendidCaveis the most impressive. Housed in it are nearly 30 varieties of stalactites chiseled into every manner of exotic imagery by the cunning labor of nature. Major attractions are Gold Throne Hall, Leifeng Pagoda and Sky-reaching Jade Pillar.TibetOverview
TibetliesontheQinghai-TibetPlateauofthesouthwestborderofChina.Theaverageheightofthewholeregionismorethan4,000metersabovesealevel,forwhichTibetisknownas"RoofoftheWorld".ThehighestpeakofTibet,alsothehighestinHimalayasandinthewholeworld,isEverestPeak,whichisashighas8,846.27metersabovesealevel.
AlthoughapartofChina,Tibethasauniquecultureofallthereown.ItismainlyinhabitedbyTibetans,aminoritynationalityofoldandmysteriouspeople.TouristattractionsincludethePotalaPalaceinLhasa,JokhangTemple,andanumberofBuddhistsacredplaces.
Tibet(XiZanginChinese)istothesouthofXinJiangUygurAutonomousRegionandQingHaiProvince,tothewestofSichuan,tothenorthwestofYunnanandtothenorthofIndiaandNepal.Itspopulationof2.3millionpeoplecomefromavarietyofethnicgroupsincludingTibetan,Han,MonbaandLhota.ItscapitalcityisLhasa.
NorthwestTibet,mainlyQingHaiplateau,ishometoavarietyofunusualanduniqueanimals.AcrossthenorthernexpanseofTibet,youcanseevastgrasslandswherehorses,yakandsheeproamfreely.Theworld’slowestvalley,theGrandYarlun-tzanpoRiverValleyliesineastTibet.
NearlyallTibetansfollowTibetanBuddhism,knownasLamaism,withtheexceptionofapproximately2,000followersofIslamand600ofCatholicism.TibetanBuddhismwasgreatlyinfluencedbyIndianBuddhisminitsearlytime,butafteryearsofevolution,TibetanBuddhismhasdevelopeditsowndistinctivequalitiesandpractices.Awell-knownexampleisthebeliefthatthereisaLivingBuddha,whoisthereincarnationofthefirst,abeliefalientoChineseBuddhism.
Itisfreezingcoldinmosttimeoftheyear.MosttouristscometovisitTibetonlyinthewarmestseasons,June,July,AugustandearlySeptember.
TheNine-BendCorridorwestoftheNineDragonPoolleadsdirectlytotheMarbleBoat,whichresemblesadragonboatonthewatersurface.IntheMarbleBoatliestheNineDragonTang(theNineDragonHotSpringwhereEmperorXuanZongusedtotakebaths).Attheheadofhiscourtladiesandhundredsofhisofficials,hewouldcometotheHuanqingPalacetospendhiswinterdaysinOctoberoftheLunarcalendarandreturntoChang’anCityastheyeardrewtoitsclose.TheNineDragonHotSpringwasoriginallybuiltwithcrystaljade,whosesurfacewasdecoratedwiththecarvingsoffish,dragons,birdsandflowers.Inittwinlotusflowersalsocarvedwithwhitejadecouldbeseenaswell.Thespringwaterwelledfromthebreakofanearthenjar,andspouteduptothelotusflowers.HencethenameLotusFlowerTang(theLotusFlowerHotSpring).
TheGuiFeiBathingPoolwaswhereYangGuiFei,EmperorXuanZong’sfavoritelady,usedtotakebath.Itwasoriginallybuiltwithwhitejade,andinitscenterabloomingflowerspoutedwaterlikeaspring.ThepoollookedverymuchlikeaChinesefloweringcrabapple;HenceitsnametheChineseFloweringCrabappleHotSpringortheLotusHotSpring..
LadyYangusedtomakeastayinthispaviliontoseesightsortoairherhairafterabath.Therefore,itwasnamedtheHairAiringPavilion.Whetherthesunwasrisingorsetting,thepavilionwasaglowwithsunshine;hencethenametheFlyingRoseatePavilion.
SouthwestoftheGuiFeiBathingPoolstandsabrick-builtpavilion.OnitsheadthreebigChinesecharacters“XiJiaLou”(FineSunset-BathedPavilion)areinscribedaccordingtothemodelofthemostcelebratedaccordingtothemodelofthemostcelebratedChinesecalligrapher,YuYouRen,hereisthesourceofthespringwater.
Atthisspatherearefourhotsprings.Theyhaveanhourlyflowof112tons,andaconstanttemperatureof43°C.Thespringwatercontainslime,sodiumcarbonate,sodiumsulphateandotherminerals,whichmakesitsuitableforbathingandconsiderabletreatmentofquiteafewdiseasessuchasdermatosis,rheumatism,arthritisandmuscularpain.TheFineSunset-BathedPavilionmarksthefirstsourceofthespringwater,whichwasdiscoveredsome3,000yearsago,roughlyintheWesternZhouDynasty.Itswaterflowaverages25tonsperhour.
Takeupthestepseastofthesourceofhotsprings,youwillgraduallyseetheFive-RoomPavilionwhereChiangKaishekmadeatemporarystayduringtheXi’anIncident.
TheXi’anIncidenttookplaceonDecember12,1936,anditisalsoknownastheDoubleTwelfthIncident.AftertheIncidentofSeptember18,1936,theJapaneseimperialistsseizedthethreeprovincesnortheastofChina,andintensifiedtheirinvasionofNorthChina.ThiswastheverymomentvitaltotheChinesenation.YetChiangKaichekpersisteddoggedlyincarryingouthisreactionarypolicy“domestictranquilityisamustfortheresistanceagainstJapaneseinvades,”andcommandedtheNortheastArmyandNorthwestArmy,respectivelyheadedbyZhangXueliangandYangHucheng,toattacktheShaanxi-Gansu-NingxiaBorderRegion.InspiredbyourParty’spolicy“letusstoptheinternalwarandunittoresisttheJapaneseaggressors,”thosetwogeneralsmadetoChiangKaishektheproposalofformingaunitedfrontwiththeCommunistPartyfortheresistance.Notonlydidherejecttheproposal,butflewtoXi’antoschemethe“suppressionoftheCommunistParty.”Andtheslaughterofthepatrioticyouth.Outofpatriotism,ZhangandYangstartedthefamousXi’anIncident.
VeryearlyonthemorningofDecember12,1936theIncidentwasimpending.ZhangXueliang,togetherwithYangHuchengorderedasquadofbodyguardstosurroundtheHuaqingPool.Theyfoughtafiercebattlethere,andwipedoutChiang’sbodyguardsinonevigorouseffort.ThesoundoffiringcametoChiangKaishek,andhewassoterrifiedthathecreptoutofthewindowwithhisnightgownandslippersonly.What’smore,hehurthisspinalbone,andlostoneofhisslipperswhilecrossingoverthebackwall.HestaggeredupLishanMountain,andhidhimselfbehindastoneinthecrevicehalfwayonit.ThosebravesoldiersbegantosearchthemountainimmediatelywhentheyrushedintotheFive-RoomPaviliontofindthatChiang’shatandclotheswerestillthereandthathisquiltremainedwarm.IntheendtheyfoundChiangKaishek,andthusescortedhimtoXi’an.
InordertoavoidacivilwarandtrytestablishanationalunitedfrontfortheresistanceagainstJapan,MaoZedongonbehalfoftheC.C.P.C.insistedonapeacefulsettlementoftheIncident.Therefore,adelegationheadedbyZhouEnlaiwassenttoXi’an.ZhouEnlaiandhissuitedidalargeamountofworkthere,tookeverythingpossibleintoconsideration,andultimatelyforcedChiangKaishektoaccepttheproposalbyhistwogenerals.OnDecember25,Chiangwasfreed,andflewbacktoNanjing.TheXi’anIncidentwassopeacefullysettled.
ThepeacefulsettlementoftheIncidentputanendtotheinternalwarwhichhadlastedfortenyears,andacceleratedtheformationanddevelopmentofthenationalunitedfrontfortheanti-Japanesedrive.Moreover,itshowedthattheco-operativerelationshipsbetweentheCommunistandNationalistsarrivedatanewstage.ItmarkedagreatturningpointinmodernChinesehistory.
Intheyearof1946theKMTgovernmenthada“NationalRejuvenationPavilion”builtnearthecrevicewhereChiangKaishekhadhiddenhimselfintheIncident.Itwasalsocalled“VitalEnergyPavilion”.Afterthenationalliberationitwasrenamed“CatchingChiangPavilion”.ClosebythepavilionstandsawoodenboardwhichcarriesabriefintroductiontotheXi’anIncident.Ironchainsandringsinthecreviceseastofthepavilion,bywhichvisitorscanclimbuptotakealookatChiangKaishek’sshelter.
UpthewindingpatheastoftheFive-Room-Pavilionyouwillcatchsightofabridge-likeconstruction.Itshinesregularlywithamyriadofeveningsunraysbothinsummerandautumn,andlooksverymuchlikerainbow.SoithasthenameoftheHoveringRainbowBridge.
LocatedontheXixiuRidge(theWestEmbroideryRidge)oftheLishanMountain,theremainsofthebeacontoweroftheWesternZhouDynastyseemeasytoidentify.
Thebeacontowerwasmostlybuiltatthetopofthemountaintogiveborderalarminancienttimes.Itwasconstantlyunderspecialcontrol.Oncetheenemieswerepressingontowardstheborder,thebeacontowerbegantotakeeffect:itwasmadetosmokeinthedaytimewhilesetonfireatnight.
ThestorygoesthatBaoSi,QueenoftheWesternZhoudynastywashighlyhonored,yetshenevercrackedasmile.KingYoutriedmanywaystoputasmileonherface,buthefailedoverandoveragain.He“calledhiscourtbandtotollbellsandbeatgongs”,andshepulledalongface.Thenthebandwereaskedto“playthebamboofluteandstrings”andsheremaineddispleased.Afterwards,“maidsofhonourservedwine,festivelysinginganddancing,”andshedidnotletoutasmileatall.
“Youdon’tlikemusic!Whatonearthareyoufondof?”theKingasked.
“Inearlyhavealikingfornothing.ButIcanstillwellrememberIlikedtogiveeartothesoundoftearingapieceofcolouredsilkwhenIwasachild.Itwasclearanfmelodious,”shereplied.KingYousaidinexcitement,“Thatisverysimple.Howcomeyoudidn’tletmeknowitearlier?”
Thusheorderedtheofficiallyappointedpropertymanagertooffercolouredsilk,andmadefreshandenergeticmaidsofhonourtotearitintopieces.Hundredsofboltsofcolouredsilkwereutterlytorn,butBaoSiremainedunmoved.
“Whydidn’tyouletoutasinglesmilethen?”heasked.
“Ihaveneversmiledsofar,”theQueenreplied.
TheKingtriedoverandoveragain,butfailedrepeatedly,andintheendhegaveorders,“AnyonebothinandoutofcourtwhocanamuseBaoSiwillbeawardedonethousandpiecesofgold.”
AfterwardsGuoShifu,atreacherouscourtofficialcameandofferedadvice:“Setthebeacontoweronfireandfoolyoursovereignrulers.”ThatnighttheKingandQueenreachedtheLishanMountainbycarriage,andgavetheorder.InthesplitsecondtheflamesofthefirelituptheskyadthesovereignrulersmovedtheirtroopsimmediatelytotheLishanMountain.TheretheyfoundnothingbutthattheKingandQueenenjoyeddrinkingfestively.TheKingthendispatchedhisbodyguardtoinformthemthat“Everythingshouldhavebeenallright.Ihavejustbeenjokingwithyou.”Whentheygotthis,theylookedateachotherinblankdismay,andleftdisappointed.Sureenough,BaoSiburstintolaughter,strokingherhandswhenshenoticedallthetroopscomeinvainandgonoisily.Accordingly,GuoShifugotaprizeofonethousandpiecesofgold.LateronKingYoudidsomoreoftenthannot.In771B.C.QuanRong(athenminoritytribe)stagedanarmedrebellionagainsttheWesternZhouDynasty.KingYouorderedurgentlytosetthebeacontoweronfire,butallthesovereignrulersremainedunmoved.ConsequentlyKingYuwaskilled,andBaoSiwastakenaway.TheWesternZhoudynastyvanished.HereincometheChineseidiom“Asinglesmilecostsonethousandpiecesofgold”and“Thesovereignrulersarefooledbythebeaconfire.”