一壺煮沸黃河水

飛揚

在山西省和陜西省交界的晉陜大峽谷中，黃河緩緩流淌過北方大地。當河水到達山西吉縣和陜西宜川縣交界處時，河床突然降低，上游300米寬的黃河水面在不到500米的距離內，驟然收縮到20至30米的寬度，河道被收縮成壺口的形狀。此時，河水以每秒1000立方米的速度，從20余米高的斷層石崖飛瀉直下，跌入30余米寬、約 20米深的石槽之中，掀起騰空黃浪，排山倒海、震天撼地。聽之如萬馬奔騰，視之如巨壺沸騰，故名“壺口瀑布”，是黃河上唯一的黃色大瀑布，也是中國的第二大瀑布。因兩岸的巖石長期受流水沖刷和打磨，瀑布以平均每年0.5米的速度不斷向上游退移。近年來，由于人們對水土流失進行了有效治理，黃河上游兩岸植被增加，黃河水裹挾的泥沙在逐漸減少，壺口瀑布位置變化的速度也在逐年放慢。

壺口瀑布東岸是山西省臨汾市吉縣壺口鎮，西岸則屬陜西省延安市宜川縣壺口鄉。壺口瀑布由于四季氣候和水量的變化，不同季節有著不同的風姿。春季冰雪融化，水量適度平穩，主瀑、副瀑連成一片，煙霧繚繞，千流競爭。夏秋千溪萬壑之水匯聚，流量猛增，主瀑、副瀑攜手傾瀉，浩浩蕩蕩。冬天冰封河面，冰凌匯集，晶瑩剔透，像是一座美麗的水晶宮。一年四季景色各異，造就了水底冒煙、旱地行船、霓虹戲水、晴空灑雨、旱天鳴雷、冰封倒掛、山飛海立、十里龍槽八大景觀，讓人驚嘆。

抗日戰爭時期，革命詩人光未然、音樂家冼星海，就是在這黃河壯麗情景的激勵下，譜寫出鼓舞人民斗志的《黃河大合唱》。如今，每天都有游客和研學團隊從各地奔赴這里，觀壺口瀑布，聽黃河濤聲，追尋抗戰先輩的英雄事跡，感受危難之際的民族情懷，從偉大的母親河中汲取精神力量。

Boiling a Pot of Yellow River Water

In the Shanxi-Shaanxi Grand Canyon on the border of Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces， the Yellow River flows slowly through the northern landscape. When the river water flows reaches the junction of Ji County in Shanxi province and Yichuan County in Shaanxi province， the river channel suddenly drops， and the surface of the Yellow River， 300 meters wide upstream， suddenly shrinks to a width of 20 to 30 meters in less than 500 meters， and the watercourse shrinks into the shape of a pot mouth.

At this time， the river water falls into a stone trough more than 30 meters wide and about 20 meters deep at a speed of 1，000 cubic meters per second from a fault in the cliff more than 20 meters high. It sets off a yellow wave， like a giant pot boiling， so it is named“Hukou Waterfall”. It’s the only yellow waterfall on the Yellow River， and is also the second largest waterfall in China. Due to the longterm erosion and polishing of the rocks on both sides， the waterfall continues to retreat upstream at an average rate of 0.5 meters per year. In recent years， due to the effective control of water and soil loss， the vegetation on both sides of the upper reaches of the Yellow River has gradually decreased， and the speed of change in the location of the Hukou Waterfall has slowed down year by year.

Hukou Waterfall has different styles in different seasons due to the change of climate and water volume throughout the year. In spring， as the ice and snow melt， the water volume is moderately stable， the main waterfall and the secondary waterfall are connected， the smoke is shrouded， and thousands of streams compete. In summer and autumn， as the waters of the Qianxi and Wanhe converge， the water volume soars， and the main waterfall and the secondary waterfall come together， going forward with great strength and vigour. In winter， the rivers are frozen， like a beautiful clear crystal palace.

During the War of Resistance against Japan， the revolutionary poet Guang Weiran and the musician Sinn Sing Hoi were inspired by this magnificent scene of the Yellow River to compose the The Yellow River Cantata that inspired the people’s fighting spirit.