Firmament

Don't scold the old man.

—Salar proverb

One day in the summer of this year, Master Ma proposed to go to Mengda, southeast of Jishi City, to inspect the local military and political affairs. He took Niu Zhanxiang and other entourages and Ibrahim out of the east gate of the county seat, along the south bank of the Yellow River to Dazhuang, and stationed in a worship temple.

While inspecting official duties, Master Ma acquired nearly 100 horses from Tibetans in Wendu, Chahan, Daowei and other places to strengthen the cavalry team.

Ma is usually dull and cautious, and has no other hobbies except for accumulating money.

On this day, he finished his business at hand and walked out of the door with broken steps. Maybe things went well, maybe he got a fortune, and his interest was particularly high.

Master Ma smiled and said to his entourage, "I heard that the scenery on Mengda Mountain is very beautiful. Today, let's go up the mountain for a tour, what do you say?"

The entourage was flattered and said yes again and again.

Master Ma left Dazhuang with his entourage and rode all the way south to the prestigious Mengda Mountain.

The ancient trees on Mengda Mountain are towering, the grass is knee-long, the mountain flowers are splendid, the birds are chirping, and the stream is murmuring. At the top of the hill there is a mountain lake called the Celestial Pond of the Eyes of Salur Anguru (Salul language, girl). The Tianchi is clear and turquoise, blending with the blue sky, like a blue jewel. The reflection of the peaks moves slightly with the waves. It's like a wonderland on earth.

The secretary of Master Ma knows astronomy and geography, and while looking at the scenery, he introduces the story of Tianchi to everyone

"According to the folklore of the Salur people, a long time ago, there was a beautiful large pool of water in Qingshui. The rich man was rude and blasphemous, and he angered the holy and clear waters. For a time, the flying sand and rocks, and the billowing smoke and dust engulfed Mangsi. The pool disappeared without a trace, leaving only a dry sandy beach. People looked for a large pool everywhere, until they found the Mengda Mountain, which is pine and cypress, and the peaks and peaks are strange, and then found a pool of pond water. Since then, people have called it Tianchi or Shenchi.

According to Han folklore, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty set up 24 passes in Hezhou Wei and arranged for troops to guard 24 passes to prevent internal and external turmoil. Combined with the folk witchcraft culture, the government enshrined the souls of 24 founding heroes as the local gods of the mountains and rivers inside and outside the Guan. Hu Dahai was named the god of Wutaiguan Lake near Tianchi, so the common people called Mengda Tianchi Hu Dahai Pool. Chang Yuchun was named the god of the lake in Dariga Mountain Pool. The two mountain pools, one south and one north, correspond to each other. "

As they walked along the shore of Tianchi, they met an old man from Salur who was herding sheep.

In order to show that he was approachable and considerate of the people, Ma put down his official stand and stepped forward to talk to the old man.

The old man dragged a long tone and told the legend to Master Ma:

"Once upon a time, there was a King Gwajian in ancient India. His only son is called Prince Su, who is said to be a past life of Shakyamuni, and he is charitable by nature. He gave alms to beggars and the poor from the treasury. People from neighbouring countries disguised themselves as beggars and poor people also came to beg.

"On one occasion, the prince had to give a treasure elephant to the Brahmins of the enemy country, which aroused the dissatisfaction and indignation of his father and his courtiers. They decided to exile the prince to the Dandou primeval forest in the West Sea of Huaxia.

"The prince must take his wife and children on the road. On the way, he gave alms to the beggars of the chariots and horses in which he was riding. They came to Dandou through many hardships and lived in a cave.

Later, he gave his two children to the begging Brahmins. The Brahmins begged with their children, hoping to exchange them for food and clothing, but they could not find a suitable patron. Perhaps by providence, they unwittingly returned to India and were recognized by the king's attendants. The king ransomed his grandchildren with silver and gold.

After the loss of their children, the prince and his wife wept all day long. Over time, their tears gathered in a puddle of water. In Tibetan, it is called Dongri Yucuo, which means Luoshan Bihu or Thousand Mountains and Bihu. The prince and his wife suffered for 12 years before they were allowed to return to China.

"When the neighboring countries heard that the prince and his wife had returned safely, they returned the treasure elephant. The two countries turned enemies into friends and became friendly neighbors.

"In summer and autumn, the leaves and plants fall into the Yucuo Lake in winter, and are cleaned up by the waterfowl. There is never a single leaf floating on the surface of the lake. When it freezes in winter, many auspicious patterns such as stupas and Haifa conch are formed on the ice surface.

"After the Naoban Salur people migrated from the Western Regions to Jishi, they called this place Qizi (i.e., Jiezi), which means that here, the winter Yucuo Lake was renamed Mengda Tianchi. "

Master Ma joked: "You Salur people are so powerful that you have turned the holy land of the Buddha into your treasure land." "

The old man laughed twice, waved his whip, and drove the sheep away as if riding a white cloud.

Instead of returning directly to the Dazhuang station, Ma Daren and his entourage went down to Mount Munda, but went to the village of Tashapo to visit his old friend of Salur, a descendant of Hassan, Han Sulaiman. Master Ma met him when he came here to recruit soldiers.

Han Suleiman has a thick beard, a beanie fuchsia round hat on his head, a white cloth sweat jacket and a red cloth belt around his waist, although he is in his 60s, his body is still very tough, and he looks like a person in his early 50s.

Han Suleiman warmly invited Master Ma and his entourage to his home as guests.

Ibrahim noticed that the houses of the Salurs in the area of Munda were very different from those elsewhere.

Almost every house here is a two-story fenced wooden building facing north and south. On the second floor are bedrooms, storage rooms, and shower rooms. On the first floor are the storehouses and livestock pens, which are very similar to the dwellings of the Qiang people in the west of Shuzhou and the south of Longyuan.

Seeing that the guests were interested in their housing, Han Suleiman explained:

"Don't dislike the Nau's smallness. There are many steep slopes here, and there is very little flat land. The mountains are full of primeval forests. The Nau people relied on the mountains to eat the mountains, took local materials, and built fence wooden buildings with spruce trees, which could occupy a little less valuable land.

"The walls on the first floor are made of granite mixed with grass and mud. This makes the foundation sturdy and able to bear the weight. Use a mixture of stone and mud to build the partition wall of the room and the waist of the front wall. The fence wall of the second floor is made of branches to form a fence wall, which is plastered with black soil and grass mud, and then plastered with white soil mud, which is light and firm, beautiful and generous. The middle is empty, which not only saves building materials, but also reduces the weight of the building, and it is warm in winter and cool in summer, and the air permeability is also very good. "

Niu Zhanxiang said to Ibrahim: "This is a really good method, it can save land and grow crops. Why didn't we think of this method when we were in Dongxiang and Xixiang?".

Ibrahim smiled and said, "Even if I thought about it, I couldn't do it." We don't have trees there, and we don't have any materials to build fences. "