Those days living in the Tao Family Courtyard (1)

? The Tao Family Courtyard, located in Mianmianpo Township (now Yongning Street), Naxi District, Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, was built in the sixth year of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty (1852) and has a history of more than 160 years. It belongs to the ancient residential layout of the Qing Dynasty, with a courtyard layout. In 1916, it was set up as the combat headquarters of Mianhua Spo's "Chasing Yuan Huguo" campaign commanded by Zhu De. Today, with mottled bluestone roads, pavilions, carved beams and painted buildings, and fresh southern Sichuan residential style, this Tao family compound that has gone through hundreds of years of wind and frost still exudes historical charm. For me, this is an unforgettable place that records a period of my growth.

Since the 1960s, the Tao Family Courtyard has become the office of the Mianmianpo Township Government. It was not until March 2012 that the town government moved and was renovated and built into the "National Defense War Memorial Hall". My father worked for the Mianmianpo government before retiring, so from 1993 to 2000, I experienced the transformation from a boy to a young man, from a student to a teacher in this compound, and spent an unforgettable time.

? Now I am wandering in the courtyard, stepping on the worn stone steps, touching the weathered stone lions, caressing the solid wooden pillars, looking up at the lifelike carved beams under the eaves, the memory seems to still stay in the courtyard. In the past, the courtyard seemed to be filled with the laughter of children chasing and playing, and the figures of adults dancing to enjoy the cool air in the evening flashed across the courtyard.