天台山为何成为唐代诗人的“诗和远方”( 四 ) 金学|顾彬|金庸|大者|侠之大者

As Mount Tiantai is near the sea, the scenic magnificence of the mountain area naturally includes the beauty of the sea, which appealed to the Tang romanticists and gave them lots of inspiration. “Sea” is mentioned in many poems of the Tang, either in a purely romantic tone by Li Bai or in a more realistic manner by Du Xunhe. Monk Jiaoran even shared his theory with his friend about the right timing of capturing the most beautiful moments of the sea. The best time to admire the seascape is when the sunset glow is fading, he advised.
The sheer height of the mountain impressed Li Bai and Cai Xiyi, the latter “complaining” that “the mountain is so close to the heaven that it is too elusive for earthly existence”.
The mountain area is strewn with cascading waterfalls in varying styles. Cao Song’s Tiantai Waterfalls describes the colors of the waterfall spectacle as the summer snow and compares the power of the waterfalls with spring thunders. The mountain’s waterfall vista is represented by the scenery in Shiliang, where the waters are set in an awe-inspiring backdrop of a weather-beaten stone bridge built treacherously in between two cliffs.
In sharp contrast to the ghostly waterfalls and cloud-clad cliffs is babbling crooks streaming down valleys and meandering in the depths of forests. It is easy to imagine how the poet Xu Ning was carried away when taking a random walk in breathtakingly beautiful scenery under the moonlight. “Beautiful waters are everywhere,” Xu Hun wrote in his poem that vividly describes the mesmerizing beauty of the Lingxi River in the Tongbai Mountain, part of Mount Tiantai region.
Mt. Tiantai is the birthplace of the Tiantai sect of Buddhism and the South sect of Taoism, with the core doctrines put together by Master Monk Zhizhe in his years living up in the mountain. Jia Dao and Zhou He, both known for their poetry, were also reverent monks. Buddhism and Taoism is therefore a very important theme in the “Tiantai poetry” of Tang. In many poems depicting the landscapes of Tiantai, readers today can find many clues suggesting the friendship and interaction between the Tang men of letters and religious people.

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天台云雾
Poems about Tiantai also show the poets were enchanted by the architectural charm in the mountain area. The Guoqing Temple, together with the dainty grace of its surroundings, was an endless source of inspiration to poets. The pine forests that stretched miles in front of the main entrance of the temple made their way into poems by Li Bai, Jia Dao and many others. The nocturnal tranquility and mystic atmosphere enriched by the moonlight filled the heart of Liu Shaoyu with enormous solace and soft sentiment. “The wind sweeps across the dense leaves, as if a celestial being is wandering around...and all the anxieties in me disappear...” he wrote.
Taoism is an important part of the “Tiantai poetry” of Tang, as can be seen in the poems by Meng Haoran, Zhou Pu, and Zheng Xun.