Jiangxi Province - Stone Bell Hill 石钟山

Stone Bell Hill is located near Jiujiang, By the side of Poyang Lake in Jiangxi Province. Standing on the summit of the Stone Bell Hill, at an elevation of 61 meters, the tourist can enjoy a panoramic view of the vast blur lake, Poyang Lake, the mighty Yangtze River and the misty Mount Lushan. The tourist will be deeply impressed by the extensive water surface, distant mountains, the boundless sky and the carefree clouds. According to the “Classics of Waters水经” written by Sang Qin of the Han Dynasty汉代桑钦 , the Stone Bell Hill stands at the mouth of Peng Li (former name for Poyang Lake). Why was it called the Stone Bell Hill ? Opinions have varied over hundreds of years. Legend has it that two treasured bells in the Lingxiao Hall of the Emperor of Heaven玉皇灵霄殿fell to earth right here, forming two stone bell hills. The one beside the lake is the upper hill and the one near the river is the lower hill. This article only covers the lower Stone Bell Hill. Li Daoyuan, a hydrographer of the Northern Wei Dynasty 北魏水文地理学家郦道元， Deemed that as there is a dep pond at the foot of the Stone Bell Hill, when gentle breeze stirs up the waves, the water would beat the rocks and make a loud sound like that of a large bell, hence the name. Li Bo, the magistrate of Jiujiang in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) 唐代九江刺史李渤, found twin stones lying beside the pond sat the foot of the hills, which gave ambiguous and clear sounds while being struck. Therefore, he believed that the hill was named after the stones. Su Shi of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) sailed in a boat in moonlit night to the foot of a cliff of the Stone Bell Hill. He was there the surging waves in the crevices and caves of rocks beating against each other and heard the deep sonorous sound of bell that resulted. He then sighed for the simplicity of the description of Li Daoyuan and laughed at the narrowness of Li Bo’s judgement. All these three famous scholars expressed their views that Stone Bell Hill was named after its sound. Another argument was that the Stone Bell Hill is pointed in the upper part, wide in the lower part and curved in the middle, resembling a bell, hence its name. This argument held that the hill was named after its shape. The third explanation was that as the hill has both the sound of bell and the shape of a bell, it was called the Stone Bell Hill. It seems that the last argument is more comprehensive and scientific.

At “Return Home Pavilion,” it seems that Tao Yuanming陶渊明 (365 to 372 or 376-4270 , the magistrate of Pengze彭泽令 1,500 years ago, was still drunk and lying on a rock. He was determined not to make curtsies for his salary of five bushels of rice and to abandon his official post and return home to lead a carefree life. There are over dozens of pavilions scattered here and there, picturesque and spectacular. The Stone Bell Hill is located at a strategic position between the Yangtze River and Poyang Lake, usually called the “key point to the river and the lake.” It has always been a place contended by parties to hostilities in war. It was the place where Zhou Yu of the State of Wu in the Three Kingdom period trained naval forces东吴周瑜操练水师与此 ; It was the place where Zhu Yuanzhang (1328-1398, ruled 1368-1398), first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, wiped out the army of Chen Youliang and conquered the land south of the Yangtze River朱元璋灭陈友谅评定江南于此 ; It was the place where the heroes of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Revolution left their relics of fierce battles太平天国英雄百战遗故垒于此 ;It was also the place where Li Liejun (1882-1946) of the Republic established after the Revolution of 1911 held a rally to pledge resolution to the punitive expedition against Yuan Shikai (1859-1916) standing on the ancient battlefield of Stone Bell Hill and looking at the east-flowing river, the tourist can imagine how many heroes were washed away by the waves. 民国李烈钧讨伐袁世凯誓师于此。石钟古战场，看大江东去，浪淘尽多少英雄。

Stone Bell Hill is time-honoured and became a scenic spot long ago. Notables of past dynasties gathered here and left behind a number of valuable inscriptions of poems for Stone Bell Hill. According to rough calculation, more than 750 poems and over 100 pieces of calligraphy, paintings and inscriptions are now preserved which are in praise of Stone Bell Hill, including the works of such illustrious personages of past dynasties as Xie Lingyun谢灵运 (385-433),Li Bai李白 (701-762), Bai Juyi白居易(772-846), Wen Tianxiang文天祥(1236-1283), and Zhu Yuanzhang朱元璋,Nowadays the walls of Huan Xiang villa are still inlaid with four pieces of the handwriting of Wei Zheng of the Tang Dynasty 唐代魏征(580-643), four painted screens of Su Shi of the Song Dynasty on the thrmes of plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum; six poetry screens of the handwriting of Huang Tingjian黄庭坚 (1045-1105); and the two couplets of the handwriting of Zheng Banqiao (1693-1765) of the Qing Dynasty清代郑板桥 .

The Stone Bell Hill has also been called the “Small Penglai” (a fabled abode of immortals in East China). Water and rocks all have their own unique features. With regard to the hill, its cliffs facing the water are very steep with crisscrossed crevices and caves of unknown depth. When the water rises to a certain level and rolling waves are blown by wind against the caves, thunderous sounds like that of a big bell can be heard. And when the wind becomes strong, terrifying waves would shake the rocks. The sound resembles that of the tide of the Qiantang River, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province or the collapse of Mount Taishan, Shandong Province. As for the water, look into the distance at the convergence of the vast Poyang Lake and the rolling Yangtze River, and the tourist will find the lake water coming from the south is clear while the river water coming from the west is muddy. These two currents of water flow abreast for nearly 25 kilometers before the water becomes entirely muddy. This is the demarcation line between the clear and muddy waters, and the sight is magnificent. In respect of its rocks, their shapes and colours are wonderful with such features as “wrinkles皱,” “brightness透,” “thinness瘦,” “leak漏” and “strangeness怪.” Some of the rocks are purplish red, and some of them can send out sound of a gold bell. Their shapes are multifarious and fantastic.

Jingdezhen (a city in Jiangxi Province, one of China’s leading porcelain manufacturing centers) porcelain first appeared in the Han Dynasty, with a history of about 2,000 years. Once the varieties of Jingdezhen porcelain were as many as 3,000. The characteristics of the Jingdezhe porcelain lies in the fact that “it is as white as jade, bright as mirror, thin as paper, and sound as chime景德镇瓷器素有“白如玉，明如镜，薄如纸，声如磬”之称.”

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