PS: Shennongjia is located in the western border of Hubei Province, bordering Baokang County of Hubei Province in the east, Wushan County of Chongqing City in the west, bordering the Three Gorges in the south of Xingshan Badong, Fang County, Zhushan and near Wudang in the north, spanning east longitude 109 ° 56 '--110 ° 58 ', north latitude 31 ° 15 '-31 ° 57 ', with a total area of 3,205 square kilometers and five towns and three townships and a national forest nature reserve administration, a forestry administration, a national forest park, a national geological park, A Dajiuhu National Wetland Park and a provincial-level tourist resort. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 More than 85% of the forest land is used, and the total population is 80,000.

1. Shennongjia

Shennongjia is located in the western border of Hubei Province, bordering Baokang County of Hubei Province in the east, adjacent to Wushan County of Chongqing City in the west, bordering the Three Gorges in the south of Xingshan Badong, leaning on Fang County, Zhushan and near Wudang in the north, spanning east longitude 109°56'--110°58', north latitude 31°15'-31°57', with a total area of 3,205 square kilometers and five towns and three townships and a national forest nature reserve administration, a forestry administration, a national forest park, a national geological park, A Dajiuhu National Wetland Park and a provincial-level tourist resort. More than 85% of the land is forested, with a total population of 80,000.

Shennongjia is named after one of the ancestors of China, Shennong, who set up a wooden ladder here, picked a hundred herbs, saved the people from illness, and taught the people to grow crops.

1. Physical geography

In ancient times, the Shennongjia forest area was still a vast ocean, which was gradually upgraded into a multi-level land through the Yanshan and Himalayan movements, and formed strata with distinctive local characteristics such as the Shennongjia group and the manger garden group. Shennongjia is located on the eastern edge of the second tier of China's topography. The mid-alpine landform is composed of the remaining veins extending eastward of the Daba Mountains, and the mountains in the area are tall and gradually decrease from southwest to northeast. The average altitude of Shennongjia is 1,700 meters.

The peaks of Shennongjia Mountain are more than 1,500 meters. Among them, there are six peaks above 3,000 meters above sea level, more than 20 peaks above 2,500 meters above sea level, and the highest peak is Shennongding with an altitude of meters, becoming the first peak in Central China, and Shennongjia is therefore called "the roof of Central China". The elevation of the Shizhu River in the southwest is only 398 meters, which is the lowest point in the territory, and the relative height difference is as high as one meter. Shennongjia is the watershed of the Yangtze River and the Han River. There are four water systems in the territory: Xiangxi River, Yandu River, Nanhe River and Blocked River. Since the region is located in the northern subtropical monsoon zone of the mid-latitudes, the temperature is cool and rainy, with every 100 meters of elevation gain. The seasons differ by three to four days. Due to the alternating influence of the hot and humid southeast monsoon and the dry and cold continental high pressure throughout the year, as well as the regulation of heat and precipitation by alpine forests, a pleasant climate with no extreme heat in summer and no severe cold in winter is formed. While southern cities are generally hot in summer, Shennongjia is a cool world. Shennongjia is located in the mid-latitude northern subtropical monsoon region. Controlled by atmospheric circulation. The temperature is cool and rainy, and with the increase of altitude, three climatic zones are formed: low mountains, middle mountains, and subalpine mountains.

The annual precipitation is also distributed from low to high to 761.4~2500 mm, so the three-dimensional climate is very obvious, "the foot of the mountain in midsummer and the top of the mountain in spring, the foothills of the mountain in the autumn of the top of the ice, the red orange, yellow and green are not enough, the spring, summer, autumn and winter are the most difficult to distinguish" is the true portrayal of the climate of the forest area. It is home to the only well-preserved subtropical forest ecosystem in the mid-latitude interior of the Northern Hemisphere in the world today. The forest coverage rate in the territory is 88%, and the protected area is 96%. A large number of precious ancient relict plants such as dove tree, tulipwood, and incense are retained here. Shennongjia has become a green treasure land in the same latitude of the world. It has global significance for the study of forest ecology. Shennongjia has many magical geological wonders. There is a tide river in Honghua Township, and the river water swells three times a day. The tide rises once in the morning, noon and evening, and lasts for half an hour each time. At high tide, the color of the water varies depending on the season; In the dry season, the water color is cloudy, and in the rainy season, the water color is clear. There is an ice cave in Songluo Township, as long as the natural temperature outside the cave is above 28C, the hole begins to freeze, the water in the mountain crevice seeps out along the cave wall to form a crystal ice curtain, extends down to more than 10 meters, the water dripping at the bottom of the cave is formed into icicles, the form is diverse, the top is generally mushroom-shaped, and it is hollow.

In late autumn, the ice begins to melt, and in winter, the temperature inside the cave is higher than the outside of the cave. The unique geographical environment and three-dimensional microclimate make Shennongjia a transitional area of plant species in the north and south of China and an intersection zone where many animals thrive. Shennongjia has more than 3,700 kinds of plants (more than 730 kinds of fungi, more than 190 kinds of lichens, more than 290 kinds of ferns, more than 30 kinds of gymnosperms, more than 2,430 kinds of angiosperms, and more than 4,000 kinds of mosses), of which 40 kinds are under national key protection; There are more than 1,000 and 50 kinds of animals (more than 70 kinds of mammals, more than 300 kinds of birds, more than 20 kinds of amphibians, more than 40 kinds of reptiles, more than 40 kinds of fish, and more than 5,600 kinds of insects), of which 70 kinds are under national key protection. It includes almost all species of flora and fauna from Mohe in the north, to Xishuangbanna in the south, to central Japan in the east, and to the Himalayas in the west. Shennongjia is the only well-preserved oasis in Chinese mainland and the only green treasure in the middle latitudes of the world. It has the only intact subtropical forest ecosystem in the mid-latitudes of the world today, and is the most distinctive monopoly of world-class tourism resources, with rich and colorful flora and fauna, ancient, endemic and rare. The vigorous and upright fir, the simple and fragrant rock cypress, the graceful and luxurious alder, the graceful dove tree, and the iron fir that dominates one side, the branches are luxuriant, covering the sky and the sun; Golden snub-nosed monkeys, white bears, Sumatra antelopes, giant salamanders, white storks, white cranes, golden eagles and other animals and birds infest the grass and fly through the forest. Everything is so harmonious, peaceful, and serene.

There are also beautiful and ancient legends and simple and mysterious folk customs, and people and nature together constitute the original ecological and cultural circle of the mountains in Chinese mainland. The legend of Shennong's herb picking, the mystery of the "savage", the Han mythological epic "Dark Biography", the ancient salt road of Sichuan and Hubei, the wedding customs of the Tujia family, and the charm of the mountains and towns all have fascinating temptation. Hongping Canyon, Guanmen River Canyon, Jiadao River Canyon, and Wild Horse River Canyon are majestic and magnificent; Yinyu River, Yandu River, Xiangxi River, and Dajiu Lake have beautiful scenery; The swallow cave where Wan Yan inhabits, the hot and cold cave that is cold and hot when it is hot, the ice cave that freezes in midsummer, the tide hole where there are three tides a day, and the money fish hole where the thunder rings out of fish are amazing; The flowing springs and waterfalls, the sea of clouds and the Buddha's light are all grand views.

2. Darkness

Folk songs, known as the first creation epic of the Han nationality, began to circulate in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It vividly describes the process of the formation of the world and the origin of human beings, and integrates many historical and mythological figures and events such as Chaos, Prodigals, Pangu, Nuwa, Fuxi, Yandi Shennong, Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan, etc., and the relevant content recorded in the existing historical books in China is not the same, which is very precious;

(1) Synopsis

At the beginning of the celestial body, it was just a cloud of gas, a chaos, filled in darkness, there was no water at first, after the efforts of many generations of gods, and then there was a god named "Jianggu", only to create water, at that time, the sky sprouted, and a drop of dew grew. The dew was swallowed up by a god named "The Prodigal". The "prodigal" died after swallowing the dew droplets. His body was divided into five pieces, and after that, there were five shapes. Only then did the earth have entities, and the oceans appeared, and the Kunlun Mountains appeared. Kunlun Mountain vomited blood and water, and Pangu was born. Pangu invited the sun and the moon to open up the world, and finally Pangu was incarnated when he was dying, and his torso turned into everything on the earth: Wuyue Mountains, the sun, moon and stars, rivers, lakes and seas, grass, trees and forests, etc. After Pangu died, the gold, stones, plants, trees, birds and beasts on the earth turned into various gods, and at this time, there were no real human beings. The gods fought with each other and made a noise until the flood overwhelmed sin. In the flood, there was a fight between the Yellow Dragon and the Black Dragon, and a god named Our Lady of Wu Tian came and helped the Yellow Dragon defeat the Black Dragon. Huanglong laid eggs and thanked each other. Our Lady of Wu Tian swallowed the dragon egg and gave birth to three gods: one Lord Heaven, one Lord Earth, and one Lord Hades. In the flood, five dragons floated in the East China Sea with a large gourd. Our Lady opened the gourd and saw that there was a brother and sister Fuxi and Nuwa inside, so she persuaded them to get married, and then gave birth to the gods who created the world, and it was only then that flesh and blood human beings were born.

According to investigation, "The Legend of Darkness" had a woodcut book in the Ming Dynasty, and some of the old people in Shennongjia had seen this kind of woodcut book, but unfortunately it has been lost. However, some old singers say that "The Legend of Darkness" began to circulate as far back as the Tang Dynasty, although its age is not yet certain, but its long history is beyond doubt.

(2) The earliest 'genealogy' of the nation

It can be said that this book is the earliest 'genealogy' of our nation, and it should be known to everyone and even people all over the world. "The Legend of Darkness" is a myth, and this group of Han people living in the Shennongjia area has an unbelievable imagination. About the story of the monstrous flood, everyone may know that after the flood, people were drowned, Fuxi and Nuwa brothers and sisters became relatives and became the ancestors of people, and so on. But before the flood, "The Legend of Darkness" came up with many, many centuries, many, many distant ancestors,

(3) Alchemy

The darkness of matter can also be understood as absolute light, and it is said that "the life of an alchemist" is because the essence of true alchemy should be interpreted as the act in which the mind and soul are detached, purified, and become one with the Creator of the universe, transcending the transformation of matter and spirit. Being in the "darkness of matter", this is the true desire:

"According to the understanding of alchemy, the individual is related to all things, and the matter and the spirit are a unique and identical individual, and through the manipulation of the two, miracles can be created, and finally the evolution of objects can be realized." ("The Great Mysteries of Alchemy", Andrea. by Andreaaromatico)

It can also be said that alchemy is an effort to return to the beginning of creation, and the true meaning of alchemy is determined only when he recognizes some connection between himself and the original founder, the incarnate person (the flesh incarnates as the basic substance of the universe). All this later existence is but a part of the physical body, and these substances, consciousness, spirits, and ourselves, are scattered everywhere, and to return to them requires spiritual alchemy. This alchemist is in this universal sense.

Our alchemical philosophy begins with the Tao. (To be continued.) )

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