Dragon-Shooting Platform

　　The Records of the Grand Historian · The Basic Annals of Emperor Xiaowu states: "In the winter of the fifth year of Yuanshou, Emperor Wu of Han ascended Tianzhu Mountain in Qian to perform rituals, and named it the Southern Sacred Mountain. He sailed along the river, departing from Xunyang through Congyang, passing Poyang, and worshipped the famous mountains and rivers."

　　The Comprehensive Gazetteer of the Ming Dynasty states: "The Dragon-Shooting Platform is located in Congyang Town, where Emperor Wu of Han personally shot a dragon."

　　Xunyang refers to today’s Jiujiang. Here, Shengtang refers to Shengtang Mountain, now known as Dengyunpo within Anqing City. Shengtang later became an old name for Anqing. The Eastern Jin poet Guo Pu once climbed Shengtang Mountain by the Yangtze River in Anqing and gazed into the distance, saying, "This land is fit for a city"—this is the origin of the name "Yicheng" (Fit City). Shengtang Mountain is located by the Yangtze River in Anqing and is also called Shengtang Bay. In the winter of the fifth year of Yuanshou during the Western Han Dynasty (106 BCE), Emperor Wu of Han set out on a southern tour. Traveling downstream along the river, he arrived at Congyang and suddenly saw the river in flood, with turbulent waves. The emperor climbed to Daguan Mountain by the riverbank in Congyang. Suspecting that a dragon was causing the chaos, he drew his bow and shot an arrow into the river. Instantly, the wind died down and the waves calmed. Overjoyed, Emperor Wu spontaneously composed the "Song of Shengtang and Congyang" to commemorate the event. Unfortunately, this poem no longer exists.

　　When we speak of Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, we often compare him with "the First Emperor of Qin." In fact, Emperor Wu was even greater than the First Emperor. He excelled in both civil and military governance and was the first emperor to establish China’s vast territory. After ascending the throne, he decisively abandoned the marriage-alliance diplomacy that the Han Dynasty had pursued for nearly seventy years and declared war on the Xiongnu, waging continuous military campaigns against them for forty-four years.

　　Dragon-Shooting Platform, also called Dragon-Shooting Cove. In ancient times, there was a large flat rock on the mountain with two natural marks resembling a pair of large footprints, said to be the footprints left by Emperor Wu when he drew his bow to shoot the dragon. This rock was later destroyed when a nearby organization built a house. Also, near the outlet of Xiaogangyao in Liancheng Lake, there is a mound believed to be the "Fallen Arrow Mound" where Emperor Wu’s arrow landed after shooting the dragon.

　　Dragon-Shooting Platform has always been a unique cultural landmark in Congyang’s history, with many poets of past dynasties leaving poems here. Yao Nai’s "Arriving in Congyang at Night": Light sails hanging as if coming from the white clouds, oars striking the midstream as the sky seems to part. In May, the river sounds echo for miles, and fellow travelers arrive at the Dragon-Shooting Platform late at night.

　　In the fourth year of the Shunzhi era of the Qing Dynasty, Zuo Guangdou, an unyielding imperial censor, had a son-in-law—Fang Wen, a renowned figure from the late Ming and early Qing periods—who built a hut beneath the Dragon-Shooting Platform. Deeply saddened by the fall of the nation, he wandered the rivers and lakes, never taking official office, and lived in seclusion in the riverside town of Congyang. In his poem "Reflecting on My Birthday," he wrote: "Drifting through the rivers and lakes, I return in my late years, choosing to settle near the Dragon-Shooting Platform. I pity alone the fierce waves on the river, and for all eternity, I still think of Emperor Wu’s talent." There is much implied meaning beyond the words—the nostalgia for the lost homeland and the various experiences of a life in exile flow endlessly like the river.

　　Also:

　　Dragon-Shooting Platform is also called Dragon-Shooting Cove, located at the "lower jaw" of Longkou. Halfway up the lower jaw, there is a huge rock suspended in midair, larger at the top and smaller at the bottom, supported by several scattered stones, as if it might topple at any moment—it is truly precipitous. On the top of the rock, there is a 3-meter square flat surface, with two faint footprints in the middle, each about two feet long, one in front of the other, said to be the footprints left by Emperor Wu. It is said that before the Han Dynasty, there was a giant dragon in Dongting Lake that often stirred up storms in the lake, devouring fish and shrimp, capsizing boats, and harming people. The public was outraged. When Emperor Wu heard of this, he slammed the table in anger and said, "I act on behalf of Heaven, the people's plight is my own trouble—how can I allow this?" So he dispatched three thousand imperial guards and personally led the campaign. Along the way, the banners blotted out the sun, and the roars shook the heavens. They arrived at Junshan Mountain. But for several days in a row, the lake remained calm. Emperor Wu found this strange—could it be that his grand presence scared the dragon away? So he secretly ordered the soldiers to sail back to the capital with empty boats, while the troops hid their flags and drums and lay in ambush on Junshan. Dressed as a fisherman, wearing a straw hat and straw sandals, he patrolled the lakeshore. By noon, indeed, water from Longkou Lake surged backward, waves churned on the lake’s surface, thunder and lightning flashed across the sky, and a green-eyed, red-bearded dragon with golden scales and crimson claws waved its tail, stirring the waves and lifting its head to the sky, searching for humans and animals to eat. Emperor Wu mounted the huge rock, drew his bow, and shot an arrow that hit the dragon’s throat with a whoosh. With a roar, the lake and mountains trembled, and the dragon plunged into the water, emerging before Emperor Wu with a trail of red water, thrashing its head and tail three times before dying from exhaustion. Immediately, the hidden troops swarmed forward, dragged the dragon ashore, and for three days, the three thousand soldiers feasted on its meat and burned its fat. Emperor Wu ordered the troops to return to the capital. When the boats reached Yuezhou City, the townspeople and fishermen gathered, burned incense, kowtowed, and shouted “Long live the Emperor!” Later generations, to commemorate Emperor Wu’s achievement in ridding the people of a menace, named this rock Dragon-Shooting Platform.