Majiayan

Majiayan

Majiayan

Beneath the towering Jialiang Slope to the north of the county town, there is a cliff called Majiayan. In ancient times, it was known as Bangshan or Jiebangshan. About 20 meters above the ground on a whitish section of the cliff face, there is a bright red Chinese character “中” (meaning “center” or “hit the mark”) that is 4 meters tall and 3 meters wide. According to the Huangping Prefecture Annals from the Jiaqing era, this character was written by Wang Yun, a successful candidate in the imperial examinations during the Qing Dynasty and a native of Huangping. Six generations of Wang Yun’s family had 12 members who achieved the status of either jinshi (successful imperial examination candidates) or juren (provincial examination graduates), earning them the reputation of “Five Sons Passing the Imperial Exams.” They were truly a distinguished and notable family in Huangping. The purpose of writing the character “中” was to signify “hitting the mark in the exams.” Its prominent placement high on the cliff ensured it could be seen by all, aiming to inspire future generations to study diligently and strive for academic success, so they could achieve honors, bring glory to their ancestors, and serve the nation. Although I had lived in the county town for over twenty years and had gained a rough understanding of it through various historical records and materials, I had never actually visited the site myself. On January 30, 2009, the fifth day of the first lunar month in the Year of the Ox, on a bright and warm day, I decided to visit it alone, taking advantage of the holiday and the lingering good mood after the New Year. With a sense of reverence and curiosity, I set out to explore it.

This is the full view of Majiayan. From a distance, it consists of two completely connected cliff faces. Bathed in the winter sunlight and set against the blue sky, its majestic presence appears both grand and mysterious. At the base of the cliff are rows of small farmhouses and, in recent years, popular rural leisure resorts.

Majiayan is not far from the edge of the county town. At noon, carrying my camera in one hand and a photography bag over my shoulder, I walked along the new road in the development zone, passed through the under-construction Yijingyuan residential and commercial area, waded across the Miao Li River, which was soon to be regulated, and then trekked along a field path for a hundred or two hundred meters. In just over twenty minutes, I arrived at the foot of the cliff. There are several paths leading up to the cliff, but not knowing the exact location of the cliff inscription, I chose to start climbing from the trail beside the Longquan Tavern Resort, which I was most familiar with.

In truth, these so-called paths are nothing more than rugged, steep sheep trails. The surface is either naturally formed rocks or mud and grass—routes long established by local farmers tending their fields or grazing cattle on the mountainside. Walking along such mountain paths inevitably brings to mind Lu Xun’s famous words about roads: “There were no roads in the beginning; people walked and so a road was made.”

After ascending about 200 meters to the mountainside, I was already panting and sweating. I took a short rest and looked around. To my left happened to be a vegetable plot with relatively flat ground nearby, as if it were often trodden. Well, why not go in from here? Sure enough, beyond the vegetable field, a narrow path along the cliff came into view. It was winter, so the path was covered with dry twigs, leaves, and thatch, making it feel soft and spongy underfoot, almost like walking on a carpet—very comfortable.