Shangri-La, which means “the sun and the moon in the heart” in Tibetan, is a place that everyone knows. It is where Zhang Jie and Xie Na held their wedding, and is also known as “the place closest to heaven”. In my heart, Shangri-La is a city of moonlight.
Zhongdian, it is really hard to describe. It is not a well-known international metropolis, there are no eye-catching landmarks, no well-known classic music, no unique delicacies, and no famous people that everyone knows.
This town on the southwestern border, as the starting point of the ancient tea and horse road into Tibet, has experienced the baptism of a long time, witnessed prosperity and decline, and its cultural and historical affiliations are not only unclear, but also fluctuate. However, it is such an unknown town that has a special attraction for me.
In the intervals between conversations with friends about Zhongdian, I often feel a mysterious call. According to the Bible, the silence in the intervals of speech foreshadows the arrival of angels. The angels in the Bible are messengers sent by God to save Jesus who suffered, but my angels lead me back to Zhongdian.
The first time I set foot on this land, under the high altitude sun, the whole town was so peaceful, with Tibetan wooden houses lying among the mountains. The sky above the snow mountain was azure blue, without a single cloud. Under the sun, the abandoned earthen houses were drowsy, only the huge prayer wheel was awake. On the stone-paved ancient road, there were no pedestrians, occasionally a few yaks walked leisurely, accompanied by the sound of bells from thousands of years ago. This seems to be my first impression of Zhongdian.
Thinking back to this point, I feel a mixture of emotions. This small town has brought me much sweetness and sorrow, and has also witnessed the passing of my youth. This feeling is so magical, it seems that in an instant, it can take you through time and space, to the horizon that has disappeared.
“The Lost Horizon” was written by British author James Hilton in his book of the same name in 1933, about a secret realm called Shangri-La. He described a place in southwestern China full of peace, tranquility, and eternal mystery. In the kingdom of “Shangri-La”, the environment is pleasant, people live in harmony with nature, and it is a paradise in the eyes of the Western world. However, the whole feeling is like wandering in a realm of nothingness. Shangri-La, in Tibetan, means “the sun and the moon in the heart”, representing peace, tranquility, and happiness, and is the spiritual home of mankind.
In 2001, Zhongdian was renamed Shangri-La. This western town, as described, does have a strong sense of mystery, often making people think. People who have not been here may not even know where it is; those who have been here leave with mixed feelings, leaving only an indescribable mystery in their memories. People who are familiar with it feel that it represents an ideal; and for those of us who are eager to hear stories, Shangri-La is even more unique. All of this fully confirms the saying of the Austrian writer Musil: It is much better to investigate than to jump to conclusions.
Shangri-La’s geographical location is remote, as seen on a map, it is located in the northern part of the Hengduan Mountains, the southeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the whole town is surrounded by mountains, like a lonely city.
In the long river of history, the sense of belonging of Zhongdian has also been ambiguous. In the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, the Naxi king who lived in Lijiang unified the various tribes, and in the 16th year of Hongwu of Ming Dynasty (1383), after fighting with the Tibetan chieftains, his rule extended to the border area of Yunnan, Tibet, and Sichuan, including Zhongdian, Mangkang, Batang, Litang and other places. During the period of the Mu clan’s rule over Zhongdian, they promoted the exchange of goods between Yunnan and Tibet in this region, gradually forming an economic and trade zone.
In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the Mu clan’s strategy towards Tibetan Buddhism changed, shifting from a diversified policy of supporting both the Kagyu and Gelug schools before the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty to solely supporting the Kagyu school, which led to the intensification of religious conflicts between the two schools. In the early Qing Dynasty, Mu Yi, the chieftain of the Mu clan, supported the Kagyu Karmapa Temple in Zhongdian, led by Jiashi Temple, and its followers to unite in opposition to the Gelug school, resulting in their suppression by a Tibetan and Mongolian army led by Batutai, who was sent by the 5th Dalai Lama. As a result, all the Kagyu temples in Zhongdian were destroyed except for Cheng’en Temple. The Great Treasure King of Tibetan Kagyu was expelled from the sect due to his failure in the sectarian struggle and took refuge in Zhongdian. On the other hand, Wu Sangui, who was a warlord in Yunnan, in order to win over Tibet, in the 7th year of Kangxi (1668), ceded Weixi, Zhongdian, and Muli, which were under the jurisdiction of the Mu clan chieftain, to Tibet. From then on, the Mu clan chieftain lost control of the Tibetan areas of Zhongdian.
In the 27th year of Kangxi (1688), at the request of the Dalai Lama, Fan Chenghun, the governor-general of Yunnan and Guizhou, requested “to set up a barter market in Zhongdian, and then set up a ferry to allow merchants to trade.” After the establishment of the market in Zhongdian, it gradually became a major market for trade between Yunnan and Tibet and a gathering place for goods, with merchants from Tibet, Qinghai, Lijiang and other places doing business in Zhongdian. With the increasing expansion of ethnic economic ties centered on the “Tea Horse Road”, Lijiang and Zhongdian gradually became important transit stations for trade between Yunnan and Tibet. In the second year of Yongzheng (1724), Zhongdian was once again explicitly placed under the jurisdiction of Yunnan, and merchants and miners from all over the country came to Zhongdian to trade and mine, promoting the development of the Zhongdian market.
During the Republic of China period, the economic ties on the Tea Horse Road became more active on the basis of the original foundation. The commercial trade in Zhongdian was once prosperous. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, due to the chaos in the ethnic regions of Yunnan, Tibet and Sichuan, the once flourishing Tea Horse Road gradually declined and fell into the trough of history.
Looking back at the past, I find that the fate of Zhongdian is so fickle, like the Lingbo Prison, where heaven and hell meet, it seems destined to bear unpredictable imperfections.
The streets of Zhongdian, like the streets of other Tibetan areas, are empty and desolate. Walking on the street, there is always a sense of scenery from the western world. It is a gathering place for various ethnic groups, Tibetans, Han, Naxi, Bai, Lisu, Yi. What is ethnicity? Ethnicity is inherently ambiguous and difficult to define. Can ethnicity be defined by language? Or by skin color? Or by cultural influence? Do you deeply love the place where you live, yet regard the local ethnic group as alien? Is ethnicity mutable or immutable? Can it be cultivated or weakened in the process of development? These are the questions I often thought about when I was in Zhongdian.
I suddenly thought of Kafka’s “The Castle”, where the land surveyor K is sent to work in a certain city, but is blocked outside the gate of the castle, so K and the castle authorities engage in a protracted and cumbersome negotiation about whether he can enter the castle. The castle is right there on a small hill, but it is within sight yet out of reach, it is so majestic and cold. Faced with this powerful castle, K never managed to enter it until the end. After reading it, I felt a sense of loneliness and absurdity of trying to integrate.
Sometimes, living in Zhongdian, I suddenly feel a sense of being a stranger. Maybe, like K, no matter where you are, as a stranger, you may never be able to integrate into that environment, no matter what methods or means you try. This may be the paradox of being a stranger, you are enjoying freedom in loneliness.
For many years, I have felt that I am an exile outside of orthodoxy, and to this day, I still feel that I am an exile outside of time.
Actually, everyone is their own Lingbo Prison, birth and death are the beginning and ending of our book of life, in between there are countless joys and sorrows, but there are always things that are unforgettable. For me, Zhongdian, the existence of such a nameless place has a different meaning.
As Borges said: “The writer’s intention is to depict the world, but in the end, he finds that the world he depicts is like a mirror, reflecting nothing but ourselves.”
I am the world I live in,
All that I see and feel originates from myself.
Irish writer Joyce, in reminiscing about the city of Trieste where he once lived, wrote: “Trieste devoured my liver.” This phrase is in Italian, and it is a pun that expresses “my book is full of sadness.” Zhongdian and I are also so surreal, lonely, melancholic, yet deeply in love.
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