Full Moon Over Lijiang (The Universal Fly Dance)
Trip Start
Mar 21, 2005
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Trip End
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Lijiang,
China
Monday, May 23, 2005
When flies meet, they encircle one another before dancing in separate directions.
This dancing is the same whether in China or the United States...
This entry is dedicated to my dancing and carpentry friends, wherever you are.
The full moon marks the 15th day of the lunar calendar month or the pinnacle of the month's energy as it ebbs and flows. It turns people into werewolves, if you watch late-night USA Network TV movies. In Lijiang, the hub of the Naxi people, the full moon brings bonfires, dancing, and riotous singing across canals. For me, the full moon also marks a full lunar month since I arrived in Hong Kong. The cycle repeats itself now, once again, as the moon wanes, and today is a period of reflection and dissolution of energy in Lijiang.
The full moon of the 5th month of the lunar calendar is an auspicious day for new beginnings, for the construction of new homes. On the morning of the full moon, a baker's dozen men gathered to erect the frame of a new home. The pine timber, harvested from the surrounding forested hillsides, was freshly sawn and chiseled, ready for assembly. Piece by piece, the Baker's Dozen fit and pounded the pieces together, using large pine mallets. The craftsmanship was apparent as fit of the tongues into the grooves of the posts and beams was impeccable. Meanwhile, other men hoisted more posts and beams through the narrow stone streets.
1 Full Moon Over Lijiang
"Ee! er! sun!" the foreman shouted as the Baker's Dozen hoisted a section of posts and beams into the air a few more feet, pushing, pulling, and stabilizing the structure, bit by bit. At the end of the auspicious day, the entire structure was erected.
Soon, brick and stone walls will surround the posts and beams, creating a solid home. Homes in Lijiang must be solid in order to persist. The Naxi people, who make the Lijiang valley and surroundings their home, are intent on making things that last. They must do so out of necessity as they live near the Red River Fault. Frequent earthquakes rip through the mountains and valleys of this shifting landscape. The last earthquake, in 1996 measured 6.9 on the Richter Scale, killed hundreds of people, and destroyed thousands of homes. Remarkably, most of the homes built using traditional means survived, whereas the new concrete structures were completely destroyed. Now, new construction puts this wisdom to good use.
As most of the old town of Lijiang survived, it is now a World Heritage Site as deemed by UNESCO. This also means that old Lijiang is also a major attraction. The full moon, weekends, and just about any other event or non-event bring thousands of tourists to Lijiang. On the full moon, the Naxi bring wood to the central square. As the full moon rises over the lantern-lit old buildings, the wood pile is lit and crowds dance around the bonfire. As the fire turns to coals, Chinese tourists flock to the nearby bars. Canals that line the streets separate bars from one another.
2 Bonfire
They become the dividing line--the boundary. On one side, the Chinese drinkers, complete with conductor and cheerleaders, sing out one song. The other side responds with another louder song. Back and forth this match continues in the fashion of: "We've got spirit yes we do, we've got spirit, how about you?" Luckily a canal separated the bars, even if it was only a few feet wide.The town has a hip edge reflective of its location as a crossroads. Beyond Bob Marley tunes, other tunes from Supreme Beings of Leisure, Manu Chau, and Buena Vista Social Club play in the restaurants and shops. Tibetans from the north, Han from the east, and many cultures from the south and west hinterlands meet in Lijiang to trade and travelers from throughout the world come to visit, each bringing their cultures, ideas, and wares. The Naxi people greet all with a smile.
Along with its new hip edge, Naxi culture is still alive and well. Surrounding the stores, bars, restaurants, and guest houses are hundreds of old homes, surrounded by a newly-rebuilt new city of half a million people. In the valley stretching under Jade Dragon Snow Mountain's towering 18,000 feet are hundreds of winter wheat fields with scattered farms and villages. Here at 8,000 feet, the amber waves of grain are ready for harvesting, whereas further below, the Bai of Dali have already harvested and tilled the soil. In the late afternoon, under May cumulonimbus skies rumbling over Jade Dragon, cattle and goats, pastured in heavily-grazed pine savannas, return home to Naxi farms.
3 Singing Across the Canal
Back in town, scholars study their ancient language and writing, which uses pictograms, similar to those of ancient Egypt. The market in the south section of the old town bustles. Elder women carry goods wearing traditional dress--white and blue and embroidered. Men, boys, and younger women typically wear whatever suits their personality.On the full moon, I biked through the Lijiang Valley north towards Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Along the way, I played music with the townsfolk of Basha and visited a Tibetan temple on the east slope of the Jade Dragon.
Folk music is alive and well in Basha. I arrived in Basha, sweaty and thirsty, from an hour bike ride, and got myself a cold beverage from the local fridge. Thirst quenched, I headed around the corner, saying "ni hao" to an octet of locals. Immediately, they got up and began playing music. They were the "tourist attraction" of Basha and did well for themselves, financially speaking. I decided to join them and played a few tunes, poorly, as I didn't know the oriental tuning of the shi yue, a stringed instrument. Instead of moving on, I stayed with them for a long while, in the warm shade, eating sunflower seeds and playing the shi yue as others played flutes and bowed string instruments. A pair of tourists from England and Australia approached: "I see you're the odd one out, eh?" We played a few tunes for them as they snapped a few shots and went on their own path.
Biking up one thousand vertical feet, I reached the Yufeng temple, named after the 500-year, 10,000 flower camellia tree growing in its courtyard.
4 Jade Dragon Snow Mountain over Lijiang
The Yufeng temple is a Tibetan Buddhist temple and one of the first signs of the cultural reach of Tibet. Here is also the first snow mountain of the Hengduan, the eastern geographic boundary of Tibet. At the temple, I spun the prayer wheels and such, donating to the rebuilding of part of the monastery. I stayed for a long while, and one of the monks, Xi Zhong Xai, gave me a hada, a gift of friendship from the Tibetan people. Cruising down the switchbacks that left me breathless on the way up, I watched the winter wheat fields roll by laughing periodically for no reason.Along the way, the familiar sounds of birds greeted me. Their songs are slightly different in China, but hawks, crows, sparrows, and the other birds all share similar sounds. The language may be different, but the tone and meaning are universally the same. Familiar plants also greeted me: multiflora rose. In the United States, ecologists work to eradicate multiflora rose, which is an invasive exotic species whose persistent growth chokes native plant species. I remember passing many thickets of dense multiflora rose while hiking with my dad back in Delaware. In the rich soils of Massachusetts, multiflora rose reduces biodiversity, and rare species disappear in its presence. Here, the species is native; its underlying meaning is different, although the plant is the same. Or is it? Meanwhile, the flies continue their dancing.
Comments
greetings from Oregon!
I'm drooling following your blog. You're giving me the travel bug again! Great photos -loved the night scenes and the flute player. Thanks for taking the time to add all the details. I never knew so much about marble! Shubayatra!