Benxi is located in the mountainous area of ????Liaodong. The mountains here are high and densely forested. It is an important water source conservation area in eastern Liaoning. With rivers crisscrossing the area, Benxi is indeed the "source of water". But the origin of the name "Benxi" has another origin.
Benxi is named after Benxi Lake. Benxi Lake is located in the city. The lake surface is less than 15 square meters, which can be said to be the smallest lake in the world. Although the lake is small, it is also famous. It was once included in the ten scenic spots in Kanto. "Benxi Lake in Liaodong" written by Gao Shengxian, a scholar during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, was carved into a stone at the mouth of the lake. Next to the lake was the Cihang Ancient Temple, which was built in the late Ming Dynasty. Sanskrit music and incense were once very popular.
This lake is surrounded by peaks and mountains, wide on the outside and narrow on the inside, resembling a wine glass made of rhinoceros horns, so it is called "Bei Rhinoceros Lake", homophonic to "Benxi Lake". From then on, the city was named after the lake. Benxihu City was officially established in 1939. After the founding of New China, the word "Lake" was removed and named Benxi City.
Benxi has a long history. The ancient human cultural sites excavated by archaeologists in Miaohou Mountain show that human ancestors thrived here during the Paleolithic Age between 40,000 and 50,000 years ago. This not only fills the gap in Paleolithic human fossils in Northeast my country, but also provides valuable historical data for studying the distribution and transfer of humans in Northeast Asia.
The legend of the water cave:
When chaos first emerged, Benxi was a vast sea, and the Taizi River was a river flowing into the sea. There lived a fish couple in the Taizi River. The husband was a loach covered in patterns and the wife was a slender eel. They gave birth to a son who was covered in patterns like his father and had a slender body like his mother. He was named Little Eel.
Little eel has been determined to learn skills since he was a child, and he wants to do something big to change the family and honor his ancestors. According to the fish family of the Water Kingdom, if you want to do something big and change your family, you have to practice hard and jump to the Dragon Gate. If you jump over the dragon gate, you can become a dragon, and if you become a dragon, you can make waves and spread the clouds and rain.
But where is the dragon gate? It is said to be in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, on the border of Henan Province. Therefore, if the fish in the Taizi River want to jump over the Dragon Gate, they have to enter the Benxi Sea, then the Liao River, the Bo Sea and the Yellow River and go upstream.
But then the Taizi River flowed into Benxi Sea and it was over. No fish in Taizi River or Benxi sea can hope to jump over the dragon gate. The little eel thought that as long as he could practice this thing, it would be fine. Why did he have to jump over the dragon gate? Why does it have to be Jackie Chan? So it went up and down the Taizi River to find teachers and friends, and practiced carefully, studying and practicing hard for more than three thousand years, month by month and year by year.
God really pays off. It has finally developed a body that is invulnerable to swords, guns, water and fire, and has developed the ability to fly in the clouds and ride in the mist. It can also change, and its body can be big or small, and can grow up to 180 years old. It is ten feet long, flying in the sky, and can be as small as half a pin-sized fish cub, hiding in the crevices of the rocks under the water. What is even more surprising is that it can also create clouds and cause rain. It has the same abilities as a dragon, just because it did not jump over the dragon gate. It can't just change into dragon form.
This year, it is the Qingming Festival again. The little eel knows that rain is necessary for spring planting and summer plowing, so he decided to spread clouds to make it rain. It whistled, and many fish brothers and turtle brothers came. The eels cast their spells, and the fog and clouds immediately started to rise.
In an instant, its body became as thick as the mouth of a vat, more than a hundred feet long, and danced in the sky in twists and turns, and rain began to fall one after another. Its fish brothers and turtle brothers also followed suit to make trouble.
At this time, the world is worried because there has been no snow in winter, no rain has fallen in spring, and the ground is dry and cracked, making it impossible to plant seeds! After getting this good rain, everyone kowtows and burns incense everywhere. The eel became even more proud when he saw it, and exerted more strength.
Besides, the Dragon King of Benxi Sea was sitting idle in the palace when he suddenly saw rain falling from the sky. Monk Zhang Er was really confused and was about to order people to investigate when he saw Prime Minister Turtle and the patrolling Yaksha. Noisily burst into the palace: "Your Majesty the Dragon King, the eel spirits in the Prince's River rebelled and started raining on their own!"
The Dragon King was furious: "How dare a little eel be so bold? This is not bad!" So he quickly issued an order to go find the eel to question him.
He led his men and horses to fly high into the sky, and when he saw the little eel, he shouted: "You are so brave, you dare to spread clouds and rain at will, why don't you come and die!"
The little eel said : "What does it have to do with you, the Dragon King, if I make rain for human beings?"
The Dragon King said: "It is the business of our dragon sons and grandsons to make rain. If you make it privately, what crime should you do?"
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The little eel said, "I, the eel, have the ability to make rain. I am welcome to make rain in the world!"
The Dragon King was furious and gave an order, and a great battle started. The war among the water tribes in this water country is unusual. Both sides fight against each other by making waves and spreading clouds and rain, fighting to the death. As a result, the world is filled with water and the sky is connected with water, turning both sides of the Taizi River and the surrounding area of ??Benxi into a A piece of land.
The terrain of Benxi Sea is low in the northwest, and the sea water rushed out of a gap in the direction of Liaoyang in the northwest. There was a loud "bang" sound, and the torrents rushed down, overwhelming the river and the sea, and the Dragon Palace in Benxi Sea collapsed. Dragon sons, dragon grandsons, fish, turtles, shrimps and crabs all followed the flood, entered the Liao River, and entered the Bohai Sea. The Benxi Sea Dragon King also lost his armor and was defeated, and went to the Bohai Dragon King to ask for help.
The Dragon King of the Bohai Sea couldn't refuse, so he led some fish spirits, turtle monsters, shrimp spirits, crab mothers, clam monsters, snail ladies, patrolling yakshas, ??and little ghosts to help fight the eels. The eel takes advantage of the victory, condescending and unstoppable. The Bohai Dragon King lost several battles in a row, so he had no choice but to hang up his no-war card, tightly guard Haikou, and write an emergency memorial to the Jade Emperor.
This water war resulted in rolling yellow waves in the Taizi River and Liao River basins, causing houses to collapse and people and animals to drift. Many people fled to the top of the mountain with their young and old, and ate wild fruits and roots to soothe their bellies. The Kitchen Gods offered by each family also lost their incense and had no place to live, so they had to return to the Heavenly Palace to report to the Jade Emperor.
It happened that the Jade Emperor was summoning his ministers in Lingxiao Palace to discuss whether they should send out troops to conquer the eel spirit. The ministers discussed a lot. Some memorials said that the army should not be sent out. The sea of ??Benxi has dried up and cannot be restored to its original state. Why bother to mobilize the army and disturb the world? Some memorials said that this will not end and it will make the world laugh. The dignified Dragon King, The Jade Emperor couldn't control a little eel spirit, and he really lost the majesty of the Dragon Palace and heaven.
This made the Jade Emperor undecided. It happened that the Kitchen God returned to the Heavenly Palace in advance to complain and scolded the eel spirit for his crime and deserved death. The Jade Emperor immediately issued an edict, ordering God Erlang to subdue the eel spirit. Erlang Shen followed the order and led his troops down to earth with the Barking Dog. They met the eels in the sky above Liaodong and set up a battlefield.
Although Erlang Shen's three-pointed and two-edged spear disappeared, the eel's eight mouth whiskers turned into eight steel whips, like eight dragons, which not only entangled his spear, but also tightened towards his head. He was whipped and beaten violently on his body.
Erlang Shen then secretly ordered the barking dog to go behind the eel to help. Unexpectedly, the eel was on guard and pretended not to know. When the barking dog just approached and wanted to bite, it flicked its tail and struck. The attack made the barking dog scream several times and fall to the ground. Erlang Shen was stunned and lost his mind. His helmet was pulled off by the eel's steel whip. He was so frightened that he fled back to Nantianmen as if he was dead.
It’s just that the helmet was whipped so hard that it rolled in the clouds like a wheel. It rolled until it reached Fengcheng County before it made a "dong" sound and landed between Jiguan Mountain and Huanghuadianzi, turning into a high mountain. People So he called it Maogui Mountain.
When the Jade Emperor saw Erlangshen coming back with a disastrous defeat, Longyan was furious, so he took charge of the expedition himself. He ordered the four heavenly kings to be the vanguard and led the eight heavenly kings, twenty-eight constellations, thirty-six heavenly gangs, seventy-two earth evil spirits and other heavenly soldiers and generals to surround the eel spirits from all directions. , Killing Immortal Sword, Divine Whip, Scattering Plague Flag, Ecstasy Umbrella, Qiankun Circle? Even the pagoda of King Li Tianwang was also sacrificed.
But they were all blocked by the eel's eight mouth whiskers, holding it in mid-air and unable to fall down, so it flew up and down. They fought like this for three days and three nights. The eel thought to himself that if they were entangled in large numbers, they would inevitably be fooled. The thirty-six tactics were the best, so it immediately fell from the air. When its tail touched the river water, it turned into a half-pin-sized tail with a snap. The eel cub fell into the river and burrowed into the cracks in the rocks.
The Jade Emperor hurriedly asked his clairvoyants and shunfenger to search for it, but no trace was found, so he had to move back to the heavenly palace.
The Jade Emperor was sitting on the embroidered pier of the Lingxiao Hall and had just taken a breath. However, Taibai Jinxing walked up the golden steps with a cane, knelt down in front of the imperial case, and shouted: "Your Majesty the Jade Emperor. , I have a way to subdue the eel spirit."
"Ah, dear dear, what's your trick?"
Taibai Jinxing slowly walked away from the clothes. He took out a golden needle from his sleeve, held it in the palm of his hand, and said: "Your Majesty, this is the treasure of the old man Tianhe Fish. It is called the 'Treasure Golden Needle'. You can use it to subdue the eel spirit without any effort!"
"Okay, then I'll send you to subdue it!"
Taibai Jinxing said: "Your Majesty, that eel has practiced Taoism for more than three thousand years and is very spiritual. We, the immortals in the sky, Go, it will be recognized at a glance, and it will definitely not take the bait. Please allow me to go to the lower world to find an ordinary person, and let him go." The Jade Emperor said: "Okay, okay! Go quickly." p>
"I obey the decree!" Taibai Jinxing kowtowed and went down to the hall, then hurriedly stepped on the auspicious clouds and left the Nantian Gate. When I arrived in Liaodong, the clouds fell, and I became an old man wandering around. In a high ground and waterless place, I saw a young man in his twenties wearing white mourning, kneeling in front of a grave, burning paper and crying.
Taibai Jinxing asked: "Who are you in this grave?"
The young man wiped his tears and said: "They are my father and mother. They were drowned by the flood."
Taibaijinxing said: "That is the flood caused by the eel spirit. You can get rid of this eel spirit and avenge your parents!"
The young man looked at Taibaijinxing and said , said: "Even the heavenly soldiers and generals cannot subdue it. How can we ordinary people subdue it?"
Taibai Jinxing said: "I will give you a treasure, which will definitely subdue it."
Taibai Jinxing said and took out the most precious golden needle, "Tie it with a red rope. At midnight, when the stars are in full sky, go to the bank of the Taizi River, face the river, and hold it in your right hand. Make the secret with your left hand and say: "Eel, eel, don't worry, this is a golden needle, no bait, no hook." Recite it three times in a row, and you can catch it as soon as you loosen your hand, but be sure not to remove the hook. Put it down on the ground, grab three handfuls of soil and bury it, turn around and run away. After three days, you can take off the hook and stick three needles on its head, and you can kill it. This precious golden needle is yours. This is a priceless treasure. If you need anything, just take it out, hold it up with the index finger of your right hand, pinch it with your left hand, close your eyes, and recite the incantation "Golden Hook". Golden hook, help me share my worries. I want ××, go and find it. Then it will automatically become a hook with your right hand, and what you want will be hung on the hook."
The young man took the golden needle. Look, the old man has turned into the breeze and disappeared. The young man was surprised and surprised, knowing that he had met a god. ?
After he returned home, he found a silk rope and tied the golden needle. At midnight, he came to the bank of the Taizi River where the waves were rolling. According to Taibai Jinxing's instructions, he recited the incantation and caught fish. When a small eel fish came, he quickly placed it on the ground, grabbed three handfuls of sand and buried the eel, turned around and ran away, when he heard a long whistle behind him and a series of thunderous thunders.
When he ran a hundred steps and looked back, he saw a high mountain rising out of the mist, and it was growing taller.
On the third day, the young man came to check carefully. When he walked to the mountain, he saw that the golden needle turned into a golden hook and was hooked in the eel's mouth. The eel had become very big. Yes, I don’t know how long it is, because it was pressed in the mountain, and it seemed to have grown with the rocks. I saw its eyes full of tears and told what happened. The young man felt soft and decided to spare the eel spirit from death.
From then on, the eel used its eight mouth whiskers to do good deeds for people. When someone slips and falls into the water, it will use its long whiskers to rescue him; when it encounters a woodcutter tumbling down a cliff, it will use its long whiskers to gently hold the person up; when the floods rise in summer, it will become even busier and rescue the person. People are fishing day and night without stopping.
As the years pass by, four of its eight long whiskers have fallen off, but it does not stop and continues to do good things and help people. On this day, when the sun was about to set, suddenly, the eel's only mouth whisker fell off, and the golden hook hooked in the mouth suddenly straightened, and then fell off, and was about to fall into the river. , it hurriedly put its head out and bit the golden needle.
At this time, it suddenly felt that its body was loose and separated from the rock. Looking back, I saw that the festoons on my body were gone, and it was covered with scales. It had turned into a dragon, and what was left on the cliff was a big hole.
It moved its body happily, holding the most precious golden needle in its mouth and swimming down the river. Because it had turned into a dragon, it entered the Liao River smoothly, entered the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea? That most precious golden needle From then on, it fell into the Dragon Palace of the East China Sea and was renamed "Dinghai Shenzhen".
Later it was borrowed by Sun Wukong as a weapon, and it was also called the "Ruyi Golden Cudgel". However, Sun Wukong did not get all the secrets of it. He could only make it big or small, and change it in thousands of ways, otherwise he would recite the formula "Golden hook, golden hook, share my worries, I want to catch the monster, go and find it quickly", and swung the hook It will be much easier to hook the monsters and go to the West to learn scriptures.
After a long time, the descendants of Xie Jiawei discovered that the cave was several miles long, with countless beautiful festoons on both sides and on the top of the cave, resembling figures, villages, and landscapes. In fact, it was the skin taken off by the eel. Because the bottom of the cave is flat-flowing green water, people called it Xiejiaweizi Water Cave, which is today's "Benxi Water Cave" or "Jiuqu Galaxy Cave".
Extended information:
Characteristics of Benxi Water Cave:
Benxi Water Cave is a large water-filled cave formed millions of years ago. The entrance of the cave faces south and north. The entrance of the cave is 16 meters high and 25 meters wide. It is in the shape of a half-moon. The upper end is engraved with the four characters "Benxi Water Cave" in Bo Yibo's handwriting. There are two water and dry caves inside. Entering the cave entrance is a majestic building with a height and width of more than 20 meters each. The "welcoming living room" can accommodate thousands of people.
To the right of the hall, there is a dry cave that is 300 meters long. The caves are scattered in heights, with caves in the caves, twists and turns, and each has its own cave sky. Stalactites develop in groups along the cracks on the cave roof and rock walls, showing various forms. The objects and images are not artificially carved, but become natural and interesting, just like the wonderland of the Dragon Palace. The ancient well, Longtan, Baibu Pond and many other landscapes make tourists daydream and linger on.
At the end of the cave is a clear pool, which is bottomless and filled with water vapor, making people feel desolate and chilling.
In front of the hall is the pier leading to the water cave. The water surface of more than a thousand square meters is like a quiet and unique "harbour". Wherever the light reaches, the cruise ships in the water and the stone scenery in the cave are reflected in it, making people feel like Enter paradise.
Go down the stone steps from the revetment, board the boat from the pier through the promenade, and then you can swim in the water hole. The total length of the water tunnel is 5,800 meters, of which 2,800 meters have been developed, with an area of ??36,000 square meters and a space of more than 400,000 cubic meters. The most open part is 38 meters high and 70 meters wide.
There is more than 1,000 square meters of water in front of the hall. There is a pier that can berth 40 cruise ships at the same time. You can swim in the water cave while rafting and appreciate the size, length, depth and speed of the water cave. The beauty of the waterfall, then, you have to marvel: "There are thousands of stalactites and strange peaks, boats and clear water among poems and paintings. The bells and bells can only be found in the fairy world, and this is the only cave in the world.
Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia - Benxi Water Cave