The Flame Mountain, which is famous for the myth of westward journey, has now become a famous tourist attraction in Turpan Basin, Xinjiang, and the story of Journey to the West has also become an important selling point in tourist areas. Here, there is a huge gold hoop-shaped thermometer to record the temperature of the ground. So, did the real master Xuanzang really pass by the Flame Mountain?
It can be seen from the road map of Xuanzang's westbound journey that Xuanzang passed through Gao Changguo. Gao Changguo, a Buddhist country in the Western Regions, is located in the southeast of Gaochang District of Turpan City. Flame Mountain is located in the northern edge of Turpan Basin, north of the ancient Silk Road. It can be seen that the story of Tang Priest blocking the flaming mountain has a realistic shadow.
In The Journey to the West, the local elders once described that 60 miles to the west, there were 800 miles of flames, and nothing grew around. In reality, the Flame Mountain is not that big. It is more than 100 kilometers long, about 100 kilometers wide and about 500 meters above sea level.
In the description of Journey to the West, it is very hot all year round near the Flame Mountain. the Monkey King buys a cake, which is "like burning charcoal in a brazier and burning red nails in a coal stove". So, is the volcano in reality so hot? According to records, the annual average temperature in Turpan is only 14.5℃, but the days above 35℃ are more than 100 days, and even the extremely hot weather above 38℃ is as many as 38 days. Flame Mountain is the hottest place in China in summer. 1July 3, 975, the extreme maximum temperature was 49.6℃, and the surface maximum temperature was as high as 89℃. It is no exaggeration to bake cooked eggs in Shawo, which is a veritable "China fever".
However, judging from the average temperature and precipitation map of Turpan for many years, the temperature in Turpan in autumn is not particularly high. Suppose the Tang Priest and his disciples passed through the Flame Mountain in June+10, 5438, and the monthly average temperature has dropped below 20℃, so it is generally not too hot to buy a cake. However, Turpan has a large temperature difference between day and night, so it may feel very hot at noon.
How do the residents around the Flame Mountain live in Journey to the West?
The boy who sells cakes said that the iron fan fairy has a handle "banana fan". If we get it, one will put out the fire, two will make wind, and three will rain. Local people will sow and harvest in time, so that they can stay healthy. It can be seen that although the Flame Mountain has high temperature all the year round, there is no problem for local residents to have basic food and clothing because of the iron fan princess banana fan.
So, will it rain in the real Flame Mountain?
Turpan basin is located in the center of Eurasia, living inland and far from the ocean. Sandwiched between Bogda Mountain and Kuruktag Mountain in the East Tianshan Mountains, humid air from the ocean is extremely difficult to enter because it is blocked by mountains. The terrain is too low, the short distance of the mountain basin height difference exceeds 5600 meters, and the airflow sinks and heats up, resulting in the "wind-burning effect", which further aggravates the dryness and heat here. The average annual precipitation in Toksun, the western edge of Turpan Basin, is 5.9 mm, and the lowest is 0.5 mm in 1968, so it is almost impossible to wet a grain of sand. However, there is a possibility of heavy rain in the desert. In the case of abnormal climate, when a heavy rainfall weather system passes over the desert, it will occasionally encounter other airflow "interception" to slow down its progress, or simply stagnate, thus pouring a large amount of water vapor carried in the cloud into the desert ground in the form of rainfall.
Of course, the probability of heavy rain in desert areas is very small. Even if it rains, it will be quickly evaporated by dry air and strong sunlight. Therefore, according to Journey to the West, it is obviously impossible to expect rain to sow food. What really nourishes Turpan Basin is groundwater. The precipitation in the northern mountainous area of the basin is 300-400 mm, and there is snow at the peak, which is the main irrigation water source of the basin. However, in order to avoid evaporation and improve water use efficiency, Karez irrigation is often used. Turpan's famous grapes, melons and long-staple cotton were all obtained in this way.
The origin of the flaming mountain in the Journey to the West is generally believed to be that the Monkey King kicked down the Dan furnace and dropped some bricks, which contained fire and turned it into a flaming mountain here. Some people think that this is no accident, but that the old gentleman in the throne deliberately planted the Monkey King and infiltrated Taoist forces within the sphere of Buddhist influence.
So, is there really a fire in the volcano?
It is generally believed that the Flame Mountain is mainly composed of red sandstone, conglomerate and mudstone. In midsummer, the red sun is in the sky, the reddish-brown mountain is brightly illuminated by the scorching sun, the sandstone burns and flashes, and the hot airflow rolls up like a raging flame, hence the name Flame Mountain. In fact, the Flame Mountain was once a sea of fire. Wang Yande's Travels of Gaochang said: "To the north of Beiting Mountain (that is, the flaming mountain), there is always smoke in the cloudless mountain. If the flame burns at night, birds and mice will be red. " Cen Can, a famous frontier poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote the poem "Crossing the Volcano" when he crossed the Flame Mountain for the first time: "When the volcano first appeared, it suddenly appeared in Puchangdong. The red flame burns the clouds in Hu-day, and the hot air flows through the frontier fortress. I don't know yin and yang charcoal, why burn it alone? Winter winter comes here, and the mountain is still a hot air. When people are sweating, they know the nature. "
Of course, the fire in the Flame Mountain was not set by someone, but spontaneous combustion of the coal seam. Tianshan Mountain is a region with strong geological activity. After many geological movements, most horizontal coal seams buried in the stratum become inclined coal seams. After the coal seam is exposed, it comes into contact with air, and the accumulated heat after oxidation raises the temperature, which leads to spontaneous combustion and eventually leads to coalfield fire. Of course, in the reality of coalfield fire fighting, there is no banana fan that can rain, so Cen Can and others all saw it.