[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty":3,"chapter-a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-34":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","A Literary Genius in the Song Dynasty",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2336417,4568,"Chapter 34: City of Hibiscus","a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-34",34,"\u003Cp>The night passed without incident; the yellow-faced man, shackled in heavy iron, caused no trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When it came time to part, the two groups headed north and south respectively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After several more days traveling northwest across the Sichuan Basin, Lu Beigu finally saw a grayish silhouette rise on the distant horizon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A light rain had just fallen; outside the carriage, the damp wind carried the scent of earth and vegetation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ninety years ago, Meng Chang of Later Shu favored hibiscus flowers and ordered the people to plant hibiscus trees along the city walls. When they bloomed, forty li of Chengdu were draped in brocade—hence the nickname ‘City of Hibiscus,’ just like the ‘City of Brocade’ story, though today you can no longer see such splendor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Pan pulled back the carriage curtain, sounding somewhat wistful: “But not seeing it now may not be such a bad thing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Indeed,” Lu Beigu agreed. “When the whole city was awash in brocade, Lady Huarui’s final poem read: ‘One hundred and forty thousand laid down their arms, not one among them a true man.’ Such prosperity truly erodes the spirit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the carriage drew nearer, the silhouette resolved into towering city walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The walls were extremely high, entirely faced with blue bricks, their battlements like teeth stretching endlessly. Most astonishing was the thick growth of banyan vines crawling over them; fresh leaves glistened emerald after the rain, lending the ancient city a touch of vitality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The carriage entered through the South Gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even government vehicles were required to stop and undergo inspection, so everyone disembarked and walked into the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After passing through the long gate tunnel, Li Pan suddenly tapped the wall beside him and asked, “What do you notice?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu studied it carefully, then tapped the bricks with his knuckles to listen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like those pretending to know how to pick melons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, with walls this thick, whether you tapped with knuckles or swung a fist against them—*bang bang*—the sound made no difference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet though he could not discern differences by sound alone, as they walked farther along the wall, Lu Beigu began to notice something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The inner two zhang of bricks are older; the outer one zhang is newer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm. You’re observant.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Pan said, “Chengdu’s city has stood for over a thousand years, its foundation unchanged, but the walls have been rebuilt several times. The inner two zhang are the Tang-era rammed-earth walls, filled with clay, gravel, and interwoven willow branches. The outer one zhang is our dynasty’s addition—also rammed earth, but faced entirely with blue bricks.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This actually correlates closely with the evolution of siege weaponry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the Tang and Northern Song, city walls were rammed earth, sometimes faced with brick for appearance alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But by the Southern Song, Jin, and Yuan dynasties, with the rapid development of trebuchets, such rammed-earth-and-brick walls evolved into rammed earth with embedded brick layers to enhance impact resistance. By the Ming, they even advanced into fully brick-and-stone structures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, upon close inspection, Lu Beigu noticed inscriptions on the bricks—“Xinfan,” “Guangdu,” “Lingquan”—likely indicating bricks supplied by different counties around Chengdu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they passed through the gate tunnel, a wave of noise surged toward them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A street several zhang wide stretched straight ahead, its bricks gleaming from recent rain, with clear water trickling in gutters on either side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon closer look, these street bricks differed greatly from those in Hejiang County.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ground bricks were specially made, long and narrow, laid in either a herringbone or checkerboard pattern, so rainwater would quickly drain toward the gutters on either side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today, Chengdu has sixteen waterways, four of which cut through the city walls to carry wastewater outside—proof of highly mature urban planning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet compared to such minor details as bricks, the most striking feature was the shops lining the street: all two- or three-story wooden pavilions, vermilion railings hung with colorful signs—Xue Tao Paper Shop, Zhang’s Sichuan Fans, Jinjiang Tea House, and so on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shops stretched endlessly; the city’s prosperity was unmatched in Sichuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In roadside teahouses, several men dressed as scholars sipped tea and chatted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Buddha Bathing Festival is coming soon. Temples inside and outside the city are all decorating with lanterns and banners—definitely worth a proper outing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“True. I heard Zhaojue Temple and Daci Temple are holding Buddha Bathing feasts—can’t miss them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu noticed their tables held delicate porcelain cups, with small dishes of pickled plums cut into petal shapes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such teahouses were mid- to high-end; along the street, countless open-air teahouses lined the sidewalks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps due to the growing urban class, though it was morning—the time for work—Lu Beigu saw nearly every teahouse packed with people drinking tea, chatting, and passing the time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, this reflected the Song’s commercial prosperity, but whether it was good or bad was hard to judge—and perhaps could not even be judged by simple “good” or “bad.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this was merely the most prosperous city in Sichuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu could scarcely imagine how grand Kaifeng must have been in this era.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The carriage turned into another alley, the road narrowing by half yet growing even livelier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vendors on both sides had set up oilcloth umbrellas, their cries rising and falling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An old woman sold “spicy chicken feet”—chicken claws pickled in Sichuan pepper and cornelian cherry, piled red and glistening on lotus leaves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nearby, a vendor pushed a wheelbarrow with a wooden tub floating with white, tender tofu curds, sold fresh as scooped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Try some, sir? Authentic ‘River Water Tofu Curds!’” the vendor called enthusiastically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The constables, who had already eaten river tofu curds in Luzhou, politely declined—they’d already had one bout of diarrhea and had no desire for another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After turning several more corners, a broad open space finally appeared ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the end of the street stood a grand building with upturned eaves and bracket sets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Twelve halberds stood before its vermilion gates; beneath the eaves hung a plaque reading “Chengdu Prefecture Office”; outside stood a towering drum-and-horn tower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’re here,” Li Pan adjusted his robes. “Remember, Mr. Zhang despises flowery words. Answer plainly and with substance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Pan handed over Zhang Fangping’s letter to the guards; after verifying their identities, the entire party was barred from entering—only Lu Beigu was permitted to accompany Li Pan through the ceremonial gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond the ceremonial gate lay the administrative precinct of Chengdu Prefecture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On either side stood the offices of the Assistant Prefect, clerical officials, military bureaus, and official quarters—including the Joint Hall, Military Supply Depot, Law Court, Tea and Wine Bureau, and others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most prominent was the warning stone before the main hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It bore sixteen characters: “Your salary, your stipend—blood and fat of the people. The common folk are easy to oppress; Heaven is not to be deceived.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The original text came from Meng Chang of Later Shu’s twenty-four-verse “Edict of Admonition,” written in Guangzheng Fourth Year; Emperor Taizong of Song revised it into this version and promulgated it nationwide in Taiping Xingguo Eighth Year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for its actual effect—hard to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since this was a private audience, Zhang Fangping, this regional governor, did not receive them in the main administrative hall, but in the rear residence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>——————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>①In Song dynasty documents, a prefectural office was commonly referred to as “fushu” or “fuzhi”; the term “fuya” emerged only in Ming and Qing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1225,"2026-06-20T21:44:14.864Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","98d3f9713b05036d1707bb8e312a421e59ef1724c7786f5ae6b4f2e63d612d7f","a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-35","a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-33",56,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-cover.jpg"]