A Song Dynasty Poet and Tonglu’s Beautiful Countryside

By Dong Lirong

In the efforts to revitalize its rural area and turn it into “beautiful countryside”， Tonglu county in Zhejing province has been striving forward to set a good example. Since the first national conference on improving the rural living environment was held in Tonglu， its reputation as the pioneering place of China’s “beautiful countryside” initiative has been widely known.

Interestingly， about ten centuries ago， the allure of Tonglu’s rural villages had already been noted by an eminent poet and captured in his poems.

In 1034， Fan Zhongyan （989-1052）， a prominent statesman and literary figure of the Northern Song dynasty （960-1127）， was sent to serve as the prefect of Muzhou prefecture （which was known as Tonglu county， or Tonglu jun， at the time）. Although he stayed there for only half a year， Fan was highly praised for his achievements and， perhaps more importantly， his poems， entitled “Ten Quatrains on the Charming and Graceful Tonglu County” （Xiaosa Tonglu Jun Shiju）， painted a full picture of Tonglu’s beautiful countryside at the time.

Indeed， the ten quatrains， each starting with the line “the charming and graceful Tonglu county” （xiaosa Tonglu jun）， are both depictions of Tonglu’s countryside in the Northern Song period and the ideal state of rural society in Fan Zhongyan’s mind， at the heart of which is the idea of xiaosa， the pursuit of happiness in a most “charming and graceful” manner.

Then， more specifically， what did Tonglu’s beautiful countryside look like in Fan Zhongyan’s eyes？

A pristine environment.

Unsurprisingly， Tonglu county boasted of an unspoiled surroundings and ecosystem 1，000 years ago. What is more noticeable though is that in Fan Zhongyan’s poetry， one would find not only clean water， verdant mountains， blue sky and white clouds， but also houses， tea fields and the local residents living in perfect harmony with the well-preserved nature.

The charming and graceful Tonglu county，

Open the door and you’ll smile.

How fortunate it is in this life of toil，

To face green mountains all the time.

Reads one of the poems.

The charming and graceful Tonglu county，

The whole family sit together and happily chat.

No singing to be heard， nor dancing performed，

The stony creek flows around the house in the background.

Reads another poem.

With green mountains and stony creeks， watching rural families enjoy time together after agricultural work， Fan Zhongyan couldn’t help but admire Tonglu’s beautiful countryside.

A happy life.

It is the duty of a public official to work for the benefit of the place where they serve. Fan Zhongyan was no exception when it came to serving the people in Muzhou， and it must have been Fan’s top priority to make them live a safe and happy life.

In Fan’s description， in the Tonglu countryside， people were living a life， where thousands had built attractive houses， each household had spring hidden among bamboos， families sat together to spend some quality time， and people opened their doors before they began to smile happy smiles. In fact， one quatrain said：

The charming and graceful Tonglu county，

Take a long midday nap you can after work.

In this place of happiness and bliss，

Who’ll care about money and career？

For Fan， it was more than enough to just enjoy a thorough afternoon nap.

A prosperous industry.

In the poems， Fan Zhongyan had made references to Tonglu’s tea plantations， lotus harvesting as well as fishery.

The charming and graceful Tonglu county，

Half of the spring mountains are tea fields.

The new thunders bring good news，

Waking up the sprout before the rain comes.

The above poem spoke of a booming tea industry in Tonglu’s rural area at the time. “Calling on each other to harvest lotus， they happily board boats of magnolia wood，” described on stanza. “Fishermen must have their tricks， as superb fish they have caught”， described another. Apparently， lotus harvesting and fishery were the mainstay of the local economy as well.

A flourishing culture.

Fan Zhongyan knew all too well the crucial role that culture played in changing the appearance of a place and stimulating its development. Therefore， he always attached great importance to promoting culture in each and every place where he served. In “Ten Quatrains on the Charming and Graceful Tonglu County”， Fan also made that point very clear.

“With a stick of lakawood incense， you’ll gradually be enlightened by the Yellow Court Classic，” observed Fan， referring to a third-century Chinese Taoist meditation text （Huangting Jing） that people could read. “People will think of Du Mu， everything seems to be in slow flow.” In the two lines， Fan appeared to have remembered Du Mu （803-852）， a Tang dynasty （618-907） poet， who also happened to have served as the prefecture chief of Muzhou， perhaps expecting to get some inspiration from his predecessor. Finally in one poem， Fan wrote：

The charming and graceful Tonglu county，

Yan Guang’s former Fishing Terrace is near.

If not for the magnificent mountains and rivers，

Emperor Guangwu would’ve never allowed Yan to settle here.

Yan Guang （39 BC-41 AD， courtesy name Ziling） is a celebrated hermit who lived during the final years of the Western Han dynasty （206 BC-25 AD） and the early Eastern Han dynasty （26 AD-220 AD） period. He declined the invitation from Emperor Guangwu of Han （5 BC-57 AD）， who was one of Yan’s best friends， to become a senior official and instead retreated to the Fuchun Mountains. Yan’s refusal to pursue wealth and power has been widely admired throughout Chinese history. Fan’s mentioning of the classic text and the prominent figures of the past indicated his hope that they could help encourage cultural development in Tonglu.

A place of civility.

To a large extent， what is more significant about the ten quatrains is the totality of Tonglu’s countryside that Fan Zhongyan presented to the outside world， a place where people lived contentedly and where social manners and customs were well developed a millennium ago.

The charming and graceful Tonglu county，

The Wulong Mountain is shrouded in mist.

Free from burdens and worries，

The heart is empty as white clouds.

In the current pursuit of rural revitalization， Fan Zhongyan’s portrait of Tonglu’s countryside during the Song dynasty is perhaps all the more instructive， and a valuable lesson or two could well be drawn from his “charming and graceful” poetry.