"Jishang ancient mansion" Cui Lu Village: merchant prosperity such as a dream, the ancient mansion monument has the remains of the article

The beauty of the ancient house.

Cui Lu village ancient house brick carving.

Ancient house in Cui Lu village.

Liu's ancestral hall in Cui Lu Village.

Wen/ Xing Yun?

Xingtai, Ji'nan, a thoroughfare from north to south, connecting east to west, with obvious transportation advantages, has left many legends of merchants and businessmen in history, and the ruins of those ancient houses spread inside and outside of the Taihang Mountains are proof of this.

But when it comes to the ancient village of Cui Lu Village, in Xingtai, no matter the scale of its ancient construction, or cultural connotation, it is difficult to find a second place in the Taihang Mountains.

For Cui Lu Village, there are experts who have commented that the scale of the mansion is comparable to Zhouzhuang in Jiangnan, and the culture of the commercial road is comparable to that of the Shanxi compound.

1?

Choke on the Taihang Mountain pass, a village of five families and four surnames

Out of Xingtai, along the Xingzuo line westbound for about 15 kilometers, you will arrive at the village of Cui Lu. If you continue westward, you will enter the Taihang Mountains. Cui Lu is located in the Taihang Mountain pass. Although it looks like Cui Lu village is not obviously different from other villages, but under the ordinary appearance is really hidden in the former glory.

Liu Dengliang and Wang Jintai, who are familiar with the history of Cui Lu village, said that according to Xingtai County Gazetteer, Cui Lu was built in the Sui and Tang dynasties and flourished in the Ming and Qing dynasties. At present, Cui Lu retained a number of stone tablets show that the village is now the formation of the old street in the early years of the Ming Dynasty.

General villages do not have "City God Temple", but Cui Lu had. A monument to the restoration of the temple in the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty records the construction of the temple in Cui Lu village, which shows the prosperity of Cui Lu village in the past.

The village is called Cui Lu, but there is no Cui surname in the village. Two old people said that the village is actually five families and four surnames: Liu, Yao, Wang, Zhao. Liu's surname for the village of Cui Lu's big surname, the population accounts for about one half of the village population, and live in the location of the obvious, more distributed in the village of North and South Street to the east of the center area.

Walking in the village of Cui Lu, beautifully carved courtyard door spacious and tall, abound, the villagers are used to, but often have outsiders to visit, especially during the holidays.

The courtyard door shape is the representative architectural style of Cui Lu ancient construction, but the courtyard pattern is more illustrative of Cui Lu's historical prosperity. Most of the ancient buildings in Cuilu Village are classic masonry structures with a unified style and clear planning, with limestone walls on the lower part and green brick walls on the upper part.

The old people recalled that in their youth, the old buildings in the village were even more spectacular, a large swath of two-story houses of hundreds of years. Unfortunately, in the last three or four decades, most of the old houses or were actively demolished, or because of the age of dilapidation and dumping, when the complex of the four family names lost the appearance of the old days.

However, the general pattern of historical buildings is still there. Through the existing complex, you can still imagine the financial strength of Cui Lu village. Liu Dengliang old man said, Cui Lu people once upon a time in business, go far and wide, a lot of people to do business in Shanxi. Shanxi Qiao family, Wang family were Cui Lu people business partners, so Cui Lu village building is also affected by the Shanxi architectural style.

In the ancestral hall of the Liu Clan in Cui Lu Village, there are two sentences: Although the ancestors are far away, the sacrifices must be sincere, and the children and grandchildren, although stupid, must not read poetry and books. Inheriting the family business of their ancestors, the people of Cuilu have made their trade to the whole country and accumulated wealth in the old days, and then they attached great importance to education.

A man's life is only as good as his education. He was very open-minded and good at accepting new things. The people of Cuilu were progressive in their thinking during the revolutionary era and joined the revolution at a very early age. To this day, many people's homes are still hanging on the door of the "national merit" plaque.

2

? The first village out of Shunde in the west, Cui Lu merchants broke into the four seas

According to the Cui Lu village "Liu genealogy" records: the Ming Yongle years, Cui Lu Liu family name ancestor Liu Ying from Shanxi Hongdong moved Cui Lu village, so a large family here more than 600 years of reproduction.

Cui Lu Village, as the first large village west out of Shunde Province, occupies a convenient transportation, coupled with Cui Lu people have vision, boldness, hard work, the history of Cui Lu people have opened a multitude of merchants, and over the Taihang Mountains as far as Ningxia and Hexi Corridor collection of skins. In the old days, Xingtai is the country's premier fur distribution center, Cui Lu Liu family business in the national fur market at the time of great fame.

The Liu family business began with Liu Kesheng, and has been around for hundreds of years. At the beginning, the Liu family business groceries, gradually accumulated, first in Shunde Province, South Pass opened Yongsheng Kui business, and then transferred to the operation of rawhide, go west of the mouth to sell fur. To the late Qing Dynasty, Shunde Nan Guan larger fur business **** there are more than 30, of which, Shunde Province, "Nan Guan ten big leather store" in the Yong Mao Chang and Yong Mao Sheng two major companies belong to the Cui Road Liu family.

On an ancient road, a team of horse gangs and packets have carried the hope of Xingzhou merchants. Cui Lu people also began to horse gangs started, five families of four surnames behind each family has a magnificent history of business.

At present, Cuilu Village, the largest group of ancient buildings in the Liu family compound, and there are "seven generations living together" "five generations living together" two plaques survived, it is understood that they are the glory of the local government in the Qing Dynasty. Liu's heyday, had lived at the same time different branches of the seven generations of Liu's close relatives, one of the Liu family name for the direct line of the five generations of the same hall. The entire compound living more than 200 people, every meal time, the stove room ringing bell, the whole family in the same pot on the stove to eat.

The Liu family compound structure is rigorous, the design rules, the whole family living together, each household independent, courtyard courtyard connected. So far, the Liu family compound is still preserved when the Liu family horse gangs left the stone groove, hitching stone, dismounted stone and so on. Cui Lu Village, many arches, streets and lanes are wider, all reflecting the year's traffic and logistics to and from the scene.

3?

Cultural integration of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism Carved beams and paintings to see the spirit

Liu family compound is divided into more than a dozen small courtyards, the total **** there are hundreds of rooms. The main gate of the mansion is a two-story building, the first floor of the door with a brick yard into three "auspicious" characters, the second floor is a watchtower, overlooking the village, both defensive functions. The main house of the compound corridor heavy eaves, carved beams and painted buildings, although through the wind and rain, still magnificent.

From 2009 to July 2014, Xingtai folk history expert Liu Shunchao after a detailed investigation, wrote "Cui Lu Village Liu family compound investigation report", Cui Lu Village, the current situation, history, village culture and many other aspects of the quite exhaustive examination.

According to the survey, Cui Lu village east-west length of about 892 meters, 300 meters wide north-south, a total area of about 267600 square meters. In the village, the Liu family compound has the largest floor area, accounting for about one-third of the village's ancient homes, and most of the basic intact, to Yongshou Hall, Yonghe Hall, Yongbao Hall is the most well-preserved.

In front of the Liu family compound are two shadow wall, each wall is 3 meters high and 7 meters long. Liu Shunchao said, "Shadow wall are so tall, you can imagine how big the Liu family mansion was."

Liu Shunchao said that he had taken the designer of the renovation of Jiangnan Zhouzhuang to visit the ancient houses in Cui Lu village, the designer then gave a very high evaluation of the Cui Lu ancient houses: "Zhouzhuang in the restoration of the former, the scale of the local ancient houses is not as much as half of the size of the Cui Lu."

Not only that, Cui Lu Village, these countless large and small compounds, many of the protection is complete and still inhabited. Each of these courtyards has one or more gate towers, and the ornaments are exquisitely carved, each with its own distinctive features.

The plate head of the ancient mansion doorway is generally made in the shape of a theater, the theme of "three sheep", "plum, orchids, bamboo and chrysanthemums", "happy", "Eight Immortals across the sea" and so on. Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea" and so on. Doorways are generally carved Chinese characters, such as "Tianguan Zhifu", "peace and security", "weekly rules and regulations", the surrounding area is also decorated with floral borders.

The courtyard door of the old house is mostly wooden door, more wood carvings, patterns are colorful, some are grapes on the plate pine tree and up, the branches are fruitful, squirrels creeping for food; some are auspicious clouds around the lintel, clouds between the flying dragons vaguely.

"The mansion's architecture and carvings, the integration of Chinese Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism traditional culture, each carefully studied are very elaborate." Liu Shunchao said, Cui Lu Liu family seven generations living together, five generations of the same hall, hundreds of years without separation, is rare, is inseparable from the Liu family "benevolence and righteousness, honesty, and harmony" of the family motto. In addition, the Liu family also attaches importance to the cultivation of the body, advocating "patience", Yonghe Hall West Couplet reads: Zhang Gong book patience word, Sima accumulation of Yin Gong.

With the Shanxi compound of the mansion culture reflects the culture of the Jin merchants, Cui Lu village of ancient houses is the same. These buildings, temples, and the prosperous trade of the Cui Lu people throughout history have allowed Cui Lu Village to embody a unique merchant culture.

Folk history expert Liu Shunchao believes that the Liu family compound in Cui Lu Village is an ancient mansion rich in historical and cultural connotations, a true reflection of the commercial culture of Shunde Province in the Ming and Qing dynasties, a microcosm of the economic development of Shunde Province Nanguan, and a generation of Jishang's spiritual home.