World Heritage Sites in Fujian – A Translator’s Commentary

World Heritage

Sites in Fujian

Song Chun， Yu Yiming， Lin Ye， Su Xi

Fujian People’s Publishing House

May 2020

88.00 （CNY）/Volume， 352.00 （CNY）/Set

Brief introduction：

From an international perspective， in Chinese and English， with rich text and beautiful photos， this book presents the four World Heritage Sites in Fujian Province from an all-round and multi-angle point of view， showing the beauty of Fujian World Heritage Sites to the world， and telling humanistic stories of Fujian mountains and rivers.

Song Chun

a freelance writer sojourning in Wuyi Mount.

Yu Yiming

a native of Tulou， Deputy Secretary General of Longyan Writers’ Association， founder of Fujian （Yongding） Hakka Tulou Literary Institute.

Lin Ye

an independent director and a freelance writer， who concerns about local culture; he planned and shot the documentary Around Fujian in 30 Days.

Su Xi

a media professional and columnist， who has written a number of book reviews， film reviews， music reviews， and many jottings about city life.

Greetings！ My name is Richard Howe and I was fortunate to be one of the translators on this project. It is a great joy to read this wonderful series of books about four beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Fujian Province： Mount Wuyi， Kulangsu （Gulangyu）， the Fujian Tulou （Earthen Houses）， and Taining Danxia （Geopark）. Each book has many stories about the history and culture along with fantastic photographs！ The complete set will offer you many an enjoyable reading evening and can also be used as a guidebook on your trip when you visit these great places.

I have lived in Fujian for over 20 years and have traveled to all these beautiful sites many times. One of my great joys is revisiting them after several years， and seeing them better-preserved， artfully restored， and opened for the world to enjoy.

When I first visited Kulangsu （Gulangyu） in 1997， many of the historic buildings were in disrepair and overgrown with weeds. Today， however， mostly all been restored into an architectural wonderland. When I first visited， it was just a quaint fishing village with musical instrument shops and art shops on every small alleyway. You could stop and talk to an artist and buy a beautiful artwork directly from him/her … once the paint dried of course. Also， there were many music students practicing music on the streets of this special “Piano Island”.

The history of this island is really fantastic – whether you visit it in person or scan through the wonderful pages of this book. Take your time， meander through the streets （pages） and visit these historic and unique buildings， notice the fusion of Western and Oriental cultures through the exterior designs， and then learn about the early years of China’s opening up to the West. The old photos of people and places from a century ago are so fantastic！ The photos and text are especially interesting for Western readers as it chronicles the early Western sea farers setting up their trading company offices and then being followed ashore by missionaries， doctors and educators who established many early schools and hospitals on the island. One of the earliest was Hope Hospital， where an early president of the hospital said of its mission， “Our purpose is to spread hope of life and cure diseases …” What a great and noble goal – spreading hope in a country which during that difficult time， needed compassion most.

The island is truly a living museum for architecture – so many different blends of Western and Oriental architecture creating the unique “Amoy Deco” style. Offices and residences of wealthy Westerners and returning overseas Chinese， consulates， government buildings， churches， schools， hospitals … all of them on one small island. Your journey around Kulangsu is an architectural journey through time; from Koxinga’s statue （learn about him） to Sunlight Rock （with a panoramic view of the island and Xiamen）， around to the famous Shuzhuang Gardens， and more. Before “Amoy” developed into modern Xiamen， Kulangsu was the most famous and most desired place to live in China.

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I also visited Taining over twenty years ago and it was just a small village near a lake and mountains – pretty but nothing special. I revisited it several years later and was pleasantly surprised by the complete transformation. The village had been restored with quaint old-style shops selling handmade crafts and teas， the streets were clean， and the uniform signage made you feel as though you were in an ancient Song Dynasty village – and the Global Geopark is fantastic – peaks， pillars， red cliffs， caves， so many wonderful landscapes opened to tourists！

I knew of other towns at the time， which had similar Danxia landforms but had not experienced such a fantastic development， so I asked a local merchant how they accomplished so much in such a short time. He told me it was two things： first， the villagers all got together with the authorities and came up with a development plan which they all agreed to support; secondly， they were fortunate to have three successive enlightened mayors who followed the plan. A testament that something truly remarkable can happen when the villagers and the government get together – mountains can be moved.

Before you go there， read the book， note all the special places you want to see and then travel there to enjoy them. In the book you can enjoy the spectacular photos of all the great historic and scenic spots – from the spectacular Ganlu Rock Temple to Dachibi and Cat Mountain， from Dajin Lake to Zhaixia Grand Canyon’s unique Sky Dome Rock， from Baxianya （Eight Immortals Peaks） to Qizhen Rock … oh … and while at Qizhen Rock get me one of Mei Fu’s immortality pills … and enjoy the delicious local foods.

Before you leave Taining， I recommend a bamboo boat ride down Shangqing Stream … and ask the oarsman to sing some Kejia （Hakka） songs – it is really an experience which brings everything together – the water， the mountains， nature， and the folk songs. Don’t worry about understanding the words， just enjoy the moment. Later as you page through the photos in the book you will marvel at many other places that you missed on a short 1-2 day visit … so you will want to return … haha … no problem， the village folk will welcome you back as “old friends”.

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Continuing the journey to the fabulous Tulou （earthen houses） – what a sight！ I have traveled the world and have never seen anything quite like these unique structures. I’ve seen medieval fortress towns in Europe， but nothing quite prepares you for the famous Tulou. The closest thing I have seen were some Native American adobe dwellings in the American Southwest， but even they cannot compare with the Fujian Tulou.

You can read the wonderful descriptions in the book and gaze at fascinating photos， but you really must see one of these structures in person to appreciate them （the photos in the book are wonderful but the real Tulou takes your breath away）. You will marvel at the organization of so many family units living in one large structure – I wondered how they all got along with each other – one key is that every family in the clan was equal. Each large structure had designated places for bedrooms and kitchens and storage and ancestor worship – and all just one large family （clan）.

They usually are built in clusters but come in many different shapes; round， square， rectangle， polygonal， octagonal， crescent， terraced， “D” shape， etc. – all conforming to the terrain， and blending with nature according to fengshui. There is even one long stretch of Tulou called the “Tulou Great Wall” because the large structures stretch on for a few kilometers. The outsides are designed for defense （no windows on the first level and only one strong entrance door）， and the insides are designed for living and are beautifully decorated with wood carvings， lattices， paintings， and many small local folk decorations.

The Tulou were built by the Hakka people who migrated from Central China hundreds of years ago – you can read about their culture in the book – their unique construction， layout， and stories. Each Tulou has a clan founder and each clan has a history – its own unique story. In every Tulou， the sturdy entrance gate opens into a walkway leading to the ancestral hall， where the soul tablets of the ancestors are on display. And every festival and family gathering always honors the ancestors first.

At the end back of the book is a section with touring itineraries to help you visit several great Tulou in one day – also， if you desire， you can spend a night in a Tulou and experience their lifestyle firsthand. The Hakka people are very open and friendly to visitors – believe me – my wife is a Hakka！

You will have a great time tasting their specialty foods and listening to their Hakka songs. Hakka people place an emphasis on the following characteristics： generosity， filial piety， diligence， honesty， loyalty， and benevolence. My wife thinks the world could learn something from the Hakka. I think she is right.

China has many festivals and unique customs and the Hakka have their own version of these festivals which you can read about in the book – my favorite is called “Beating the Newlyweds” – every couple who were married during the previous year must come and be “beaten” by their elders – don’t worry， it’s a gentle beating and all in fun to help the couple conceive their first child. A great culture and fantastic Tulou buildings – a must-see spot and a must-read for everyone interested in the oneness of humanity in this world.

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And lastly on our UNESCO journey， Mount Wuyi – gazing in awe at the incredibly beautiful landscapes as you float down Nine Bend Stream; stopping to taste the unique Dahongpao （Red Mantle） tea while pondering the great philosophy of Zhu Xi. I visited Mount Wuyi several times and each time came away with a greater appreciation of this fantastic scenic area. When I translated this book I added many personal impressions about the thoughts of Zhu Xi and how they interconnected with the land where he spent most of his life， teaching， drifting and strolling with friends while pondering the mysteries of the universe.

When I visited Mount Wuyi the last time and translated the tea portion， I learned so much more about this fascinating tea. Now I drink it almost every day. The famous Dahongpao tea is an integral part of Mount Wuyi – like the mountains， streams， clouds， birds， air， and trees – one eco-system that can’t be separated. In the book you will read about the tea’s history as a tribute tea for the emperors， how it’s grown， picked， fired （processed） and especially， how to properly brew it for maximum enjoyment.

What a great series of books！ What great photography！ What a great introduction to the World Heritage treasures of Fujian！ Read the books， give them as gifts to friends and family and carry them with you when you visit the places described in the books. Later when you return home， you can re-live your travels by picking up these books time and again.

I also hope you enjoy my personal reflections on Zhu Xi’s thoughts in the book about Mount Wuyi – like any philosophy， there are a thousand different commentaries – mine is just one， written in the winter of my journey through life.

Richard Howe

Xiamen， June 2020