Walking horse pond ancient village of the cold window falls broken walking horse pond

The millennium old village of Walking Horse Pond has existed in the heart for a long time. It is said that the village of the Ming and Qing dynasties in many ancient buildings, simple folk customs, cultural relics and monuments are also many, according to the record: since the Northern Song Dynasty to the Ming and Qing dynasties, here Chen's family before and after the first 76, serving as a local official 161, known as "China's first village of the first scholar". This is for any love of reading people naturally have a unique gravitational pull - not to mention that in addition to reading, but also love to play in the mountains and explore the ancient me, I hope to find the spirit of the scholar and motivation there.

Walking horse pond village is located in ningbo yinzhou district maoshan town, located in yinnan plain, relying on fenghua river tributary of the dongjiang, from the city said up to but 20 kilometers. One morning during the May Day, my wife and I from Jiangdong Xingning Bridge bridge under the bridge about more than half an hour to Maoshan bus, and then take a few minutes of the tricycle to go to the village of Matang.

Jiematang village is surrounded by a protective river, a rectangular pattern, through the flat bridge with the outside world. Passing through the grand and lofty stands in the village entrance highway side of the "China's first village of scholar" of the newly built pagoda, walk a short distance to the southeast of the village to go Matang Zilai bridge. Zilai Bridge to take the "purple east" meaning, has been some years, under the bridge more than one piece of carved stone and stone in the speechless narrative of its long past, but the bridge has also been a modern cement pavement, as an ancient people only wearing a lame suit top. From the bridge to the village, I didn't see any outstanding old houses, but a rough concrete road and some less luxurious and ordinary houses built in recent years. Since ancient times, but at this time I don't think it's the rise of a large number of new homes around the old houses and make the old houses dwarfed, on the contrary, I think in the seemingly simple and heavy old houses around the new houses is really ugly and rough, little beauty to speak of, so that the whole village is just like a supposed to be simple peasant woman but accidentally put on a poor quality lipstick. Perhaps the reason is not yet developed, perhaps the vicissitudes of the years of nature, the first impression of the ancient village in my mind can not help but produce some discrepancies.

With a faint disappointment from the Zilai Bridge into the village, the first thing you see is the Zhejiang University will be listed here as a research base of ancient Chinese history of the monument, thatched grass and garbage next to the cluster, indicating that this place does contain a lot of historical precipitation, but also seems to have been forgotten. From the Zilai Bridge along the South Street not far to the old street. The old street is not very long, about 20 to 30 meters in length, with wooden two-story buildings along the street, which shows that this place used to be a commercial place. But with other historical commercial center of the region with the status of the old town shopping street is different, the scale is small and there is no old, it is estimated that at that time only for the village to solve the daily needs only. On the wooden wall panels of the old street, some quotations from Chairman Mao during the Cultural Revolution are still faintly visible. This makes me feel that the village will have a lot of old traces of the original flavor preserved, but also shows the stagnation and backwardness of the development of other suburban villages, it is a little unbelievable that this will be in today's fast-changing Ningbo. On the east side of the old street is the "Relic Hall", in front of which sit a lot of chatting villagers, and two pieces of stone drums carved during the Ming Dynasty have also become seats for relaxation, from which I presume that this is the so-called "Drums and Walls Gate". Inside the courtyard is very messy, put a lot of farmhouse utensils miscellaneous, hall on the plaque is old but also simple, but I do not know is the cultural lineage has been broken here, or now there is no longer any village and the old man's reason, in front of the hall of the 76 hung in the directory of the calligraphy is very rough, can not be complimented. The village of the scholar should not be no calligraphy deep old man ah! I do not know whether it is a long time no tourists visit, or commonplace, the villagers of my curiosity and explore the secluded just "nothing to see," a simple answer. There is a small watercourse in the north of the street in front of the "Relic Church", where a sister-in-law is washing clothes and panning vegetables. Watercourse area is not large, but there is a "public ban" dirt into the pool of the ancient monument is worth speculating, I can not help but think of "the quality of the original clean also clean to go, do not teach the dirt Nao trapped in the ditch. The verse, do people so, protect the environment is not so? In the absence of a "source of living water to" place, only to protect a party to keep the water clean, otherwise it can only be "dug and filled, filled and dug again," the futile.

Walking out of the "Relic Hall" and continuing west to the new Chen's ancestral hall located in the southwest corner of the village near the river and facing the water. The ancestral hall is relatively larger, the ink wall is high, "Fu" hanging from the top, the doorpost is "straight voice of Zhao Song, Zhongjie Yao Zhu Ming" on the ancestor of the praise couplets. But the door is locked and closed, so I have no way to admire it. In front of the ancestral hall is a relatively open flat land. Not far to the south is the Jinshi Bridge, dilapidated and covered with rocks and weeds, which has been abandoned by time, but I still feel that this is the old bridge, which is far more ancient than the remodeled Zilai Bridge. The southwestern wall of the shrine is connected to an old two-story house with an east orientation, which used to be the village pier. Two pillars of the house have been replaced by red bricks, which looks a bit unorthodox. But this realm is quite harmonious and quiet: green rice fields as far as the eye can see, a few abandoned cement boats sunk on the shore, a piece of hollowed out hitching stone engraved with the mark of time, the village women washing clothes under the shade of the trees hit the stone boards with a bang, a few leisurely foraging chickens pacing around, and occasionally a number of small birds flying in the branches of the trees or the eaves of the slope tops, as well as weeds, moss... ..., everything is written and sketched out the agrarian flavor of a do-nothing ancient village head, only a few poles seem to be the defeat of the idyllic feeling. According to the connection of the water system, the sails from here can directly reach the Hangzhou-Ningbo Canal and beyond, which was the harbor for villagers to enter and exit the outside world in the past, and it was also the starting point for those scholars who jumped out of the farm gate. Facing the static river, I can't help but sigh with emotion: "In the past, people traveled far from here, hoping to return as soon as possible. Now there are no more sails on the pier, and the river is full of old boats.

"Mr. pond hidden Mr. willow, gentleman river bloom gentleman flower". Around the ancestral hall to the west of the village protection river - Junzi River. Junzi River is also an ordinary north-south section of the pond, just because of the name and appears to be special with the other three sides of the village moat. "Quality over text is wild, text over quality is history, text over quality, then gentleman." I think here must be implied in the Chen ancestors on the future generation of reading as a person's expectations - that is, "where from here out of the Chen's descendants must become a gentleman of the hall". Seeing that there are still basically old mansions along the shore, we walked in through the alley. The path was winding and twisting, and many of the old houses inside were already dilapidated and tilted, some of which were already out of shape, with their frames in a precarious position. In our search, we encountered very few residents and very few people, but we were fortunate to be pointed out by them, and here, on the east wall of one of the residences north of the ancestral hall, we saw the most exquisite and representative stone window of Jomatang. In the tall horse head wall: stone window carving hollow, rustic texture, grinding fine, as soon as you look at the stone and never think it is made of stone, but it seems to be a wooden window painted a stone texture of the paint. Now in order to protect the stone window has been fixed and can not be opened, I do not know from when there is a very obvious vertical crack, let a person regret. The stone windows are the highlight of the building and the main feature of the building. In the subsequent walk, I saw a lot of different stone windows from time to time, most of them are made of lapis lazuli, red stone carving, rectangular, square, round, the pattern of most of the stone windows to ward off evil spirits, security, fortune, pray for blessings, but the damage is very much, some of the windows in the middle of the part of the stone pattern is already broken, so people are saddened.

In the middle of the Junzi River is the Tuanqiao Bridge, which is not known to have any origin, but I think: maybe it means that there are talented people in the village surrounded by the river on all sides. Along the river trough side of the middle road to the village to the east, to the center of the village - "crab liver umbilical cord". Crab navel is not big, because of the shape of the navel of the crab named. Pool turquoise riverbanks curved like a spoon, the southeast bank of a thousand-year-old tree, lush, gnarled branches tilted to the north into the pool, a stone pillar in the water to support the tree trunk, forming a tree attached to the stone of the spectacle of the reflection relative to the world as the world between the two trees connected to the stone. Look carefully: the tree has been hollow, full of weeds and moss and other plants. And even more amazing is the crown of the tree there is a side branch is very different, the size and shape of the leaves are clearly different, the old tree on top of the unknown when to grow a new tree, forming a rare child and mother tree, such as a crone with a crutch and embracing young grandchildren. Although this tree is a representative of the horse pond, but the tree is not big. Ancient trees, ponds, reflecting the north of the green tile walls, eaves and teeth of the mansion, I lost my heart here a little leap, feel other Jiangnan. Just the crab navel has also been smoothed by the cement, the feeling of the port is gone, but like a small sunbathing. I think it is a harm to attach cement to the stone road in the village for the sake of the moment. To be honest, I am very shy of seeing cement and tiles in any old town. In the face of the picture in front of me, I think that the emptiness of this place seems to have a kind of character embedded in it for the cultivators and scholars, that is, "implicit modesty" - is the pursuit of the Chen family's predecessors in the belly of the Chinese chapter of the children and grandchildren to do the study of the secret advice, and this is also a left and a right, with the And this is also a left and a right, together with the lotus pond on the east side of the village embodied in the "cleanliness and self-esteem" sentiment together constitute two deep moral character training rules. Although most of the compounds in the village have only gates without locks, in front of a barber store by the pond, there are two large, mottled stone locks that have been sleeping there for many years. I can not speculate on its original function, maybe it is to tie the boat, maybe it is for the town house, maybe ......, but I think it seems to be more in order to lock the "implicit modesty" and "good cleanliness "The truth of reading and doing. Maybe it's just me being paranoid, but it really doesn't seem that far-fetched to me.

From the crab navel to the left turn door into the tall mansion of the former courtyard, a very long room corridor, inside the empty, a row of nearly twenty upper and lower two-story buildings, only a few families of elderly people in the stay. The courtyard is narrow, a few large water tanks seem striking. Perhaps this was originally a compartment, only later to be separated, because it is east-facing. The windows are very old, some have rotted, but the delicate woodcut patterns on them are still very nice. From this courtyard out, through a small alley, suddenly heard the noise of people, in fear of breaking into the hesitation of the family in front of the eyes opened up, two tables of people are mingling, it seems to be held in the family's wedding banquet. Fixed eyes to measure, the original here is the "support gun hall" - the most valuable cultural relics "hand-painted ancestral statue" is enshrined here. In the smile and bold in our light step into. Hall in the center above is "support gun hall" huge plaque, below is said to be pasted in the wall of the mottled newspaper post, but was covered by the window, so I can not see. More than a dozen Ming and Qing dynasties of brushstrokes are divided into left and right. Some portraits for one person, some for two people, there are also three people, or wearing red, or wearing blue, or draped in yellow, the characters do not have any special sense, but the picture is detailed and exquisite and simple, feel very evocative. In the face of perhaps can not be called a historical figure of the former sages, heard the laughter of the descendants of the banquet, I think they must be very pleased. Can always look down on the descendants of life in happiness, this is a kind of how great and ordinary blessings ah. The people of the world through the ages, how many generations face their children and grandchildren?

From the "support gun hall" on the other side out, we went to the crab navel of the west side of the "Yigutang", was the end of the Qing dynasty old Chinese medicine Chen Songtao sitting place, is the most complete preservation of the Ningbo area of a hundred years of private clinics. The door is closed, through the gap and view, inside the "Han Bi Lu" and planted strange flowers and herbs "Hundred Herb Garden" is a deserted silence, grass and trees, disorganized, has been completely deserted. I do not know why "medicine" has not been inherited and continued here: it is said that Chinese medicine can remain in one corner without being afraid of the depth of the alley. Maybe it's the influence of "all things are inferior, only the book is high", but this I can not know.

Continuing along the road, we reached the most open lotus pond in the center of the eastern part of the village. Lotus pond area of about more than a thousand square meters, at this time is the lotus field, a Han green, the pond in the middle of the two stone masonry bridge, people walk which is like walking in the middle of the lotus from a distance. It is said that Chen's family to farming and reading, the family style is very positive, take the lotus "out of the silt and not stained" and "just straight" of the metaphor, require the children to lotus as a person's norms, so in front of the home dug this two acres of water ponds, planted with lotus, I think this is the so-called gentleman's riverside I think this is the so-called "gentleman's flower" along the Junzi River. Lotus pond side of the residence, called "in the new house", most of the retained brick walls flying eaves and corners of the classical architectural style, just a modern building in the middle of more or less appears to be disharmonious. In the new house seat south to north facing the lotus pond, covers an area of nearly 4,000 square meters, is the most ancient charm, the largest, popularity is relatively strong place, dozens of families share five patios. Because of the large number of people, there are two small tobacco and grocery stores where you can buy some things. Lotus pond is the wife in the whole village feel the best place, in the bank and a few stone benches for people to rest, we back on the old house, facing the lotus flowers in this place to stay for a long time.

From the lotus pond out, my wife has been a little tired, but I'm still not satisfied, continue to insist on going north. In the relatively remote northeast of the village, there is a back door of the river houses I think the mood is very good: stone bridge, two doors; a door on the right, connected to the stone alleys, turn can enter the door or out of the village; a door in the east, along the lower edge of a stone port, you can boat to the door, pick up the steps and return. Above the stone port, a wall stands alone, with a stone window, although it has been broken, but the ancient charm is still there. The door of the exposed combination of land and water in the form of a place, I can not help but think of "sedan chair from the door in front of the boat from home," Zhouzhuang Zhang Hall, but that is inside and outside of the separation, and this is more direct, "a two door double road even". There is also a CiYinTang also in this return trip to give me a deep impression of the mansion. Although my wife and I did not go in because the gate was closed, but from the trees and plants in front of the gate and the many exquisite details on the building's perimeter, you can see that this is a real mansion. But I was dismayed to learn that it was not built by a Chen scholar, but by a member of the clan who had made a fortune in business in Shanghai in the last century.

"The swallows that used to live in front of the king's pavilion have flown into the homes of ordinary people", and in many of the old mansions in Jomatang, swallows are found in the foyer as well as under the eaves of the house. On the one hand, this makes me feel the simplicity of the people here, but more to me is a kind of social change of things are not what they used to be: the scholar family has become a fleeting cloud of smoke, the only thing left here is not quite satisfied with life, the local government does not invest in the depth of the development of the tourism resources here, slightly complaining about the farmers. This, I repeated many times from the existing people of the go Matang that dissatisfied with the "this is a poor place," the words and feelings can be perceived. Facing the present-day Jomatang, I feel that it is really very shabby and unremarkable. It can be said that the most elegant here is the village entrance to the newly renovated "the world's first scholar village" of the pagoda, but also this "the world's first scholar village" reputation only from time to time to attract people, while the other is relatively ordinary, for the general tourists charm is not very big. Frankly speaking, before I also on the first of May this year, Ningbo around the introduction of the attractions did not point out the walking horse pond feeling strange, now I seem to understand a little. To the eyes of the ordinary people, this place is not suitable for tourism, and today there are no other tourists here in addition to my wife and I two people.

Day close to noon, we have been walking for about 2 hours, my wife and I want to find a restaurant, especially the so-called "Jinshi Hotel", but the result is nothing, we can only bring the leisure food to hunger. Afterwards, I thought: here in the scholar before becoming a scholar, but also a poor scholar, but also a crude meal, perhaps also for three meals a day and reading worry, often on the restaurant is very difficult to get into the restaurant, perhaps this is the creation of the "poor scholar" of the basic power. So it can be seen: in the long river of life, poverty and backwardness is not necessarily a bad thing, affluence and prosperity is not necessarily a good thing. At least walk horse pond is precisely because of backwardness, can save the old; at least it is precisely because of poverty, only constantly scholar generation.

"Great skill, great craftsmen have no name", the name is the embodiment of a person's life, but also a person's most treasured words. As far as my name "Chunli" is concerned, I not only cherish it, but also practice it as a life process. I don't know if it's because the best thing about the Walking Horse Pond is the windows, or because I always like to interpret words and indulge in word games. When all the experience of walking through the Mutang my footsteps (according to the pattern of the village, our entire walking route is basically a closed "Si" word, the starting point is located in the "hook" point of the Zilai bridge location, and then form a closed back to the original point), when everything is (When everything is clear with the chest, I suddenly feel in my heart that go horse pond in fact is the Chen family first to settle in this second ancestor Chen Xuan's a self works, a self to their own carved seal. Because I feel that the whole village of Jomatang is in fact the character for "window": the river around the village on all sides is the four sides of the window, while the mansion, streets and alleys, the river and the pond in the middle outline the window lattice in the middle and the pattern. And "xuan" and "window" are connected. This is my guess, but I think this is also a special plot for the text of the literati **** Ming. Because I think the upper ancestor on the horse pond ------ former Mingzhou governor Chen Hao, the reason why he chose to be buried in Yin County, Maoshan, is the name of the deep meaning of his own destiny and make it so: "Yin" word has "Chen" half of the word, "Mao" word has "Chen" half of the word. Mao" word has "reserve" half, and there is "grass" overlay on it, so to this governor of Chen reserved must think that this is their own hundred years of land, so there is no return to their roots. The father's intention must be known to the son, and there is a certain inheritance between father and son in their thinking. Therefore, Chen Xuan in his father's mausoleum, so that his father in a foreign land in the years of life, but also thoughtfully for their own outline of the fate of the word, this word is to replace the "Xuan" of the "window". Very fortunate, according to his father's tomb Maoshan and live in the south, here is made in heaven, there is a horse pond can let him choose. Just so many years, no one understands, no one insight into its Chen Xuan old man's thoughts only. In fact, Chen Xuan is the founder of the Chen family name. And the pattern of the village is never before people think is in accordance with the cosmological thinking of the circle of the sky and the creative. Therefore, in this perspective, I think, walk horse pond, the most should be commemorated should be the planning and creation of the village of Chen Xuan, rather than later in the high official, also has a good reputation of Chen Wo and other descendants, especially for the village of this family name.

"Ten years of hard work, books have their own golden house", for the decline of the horse pond, I think it is a special reason. Here should be said to have been out of a lot of high-ranking officials, but there is no real outstanding special gold house like mansion left, not to mention with the distant Shanxi Qiao family compound, Wang family compound than, that is, compared with the other water township village Zhouzhuang, Xitang, with the Li, etc., there is a considerable gap, which had to let me think about their financial strength. I think this must be the reason that here all the scholar for the Qing official: Chen family's lotus spirit so that the Chen family's scholar did not jump out of the farm door into the Dragon Gate as many places as the people convergence of wealth to return home to honor their ancestors, luxury and publicity, and make the village mansion generation out. Can imagine: if in more than seventy in as long as there are a few can be "three years Qing Zhifu, one hundred thousand snowflake silver", then here may appear more than one like the Tongli ancient town because of Ren Lansheng like retreat and think about the construction of the exquisite and wonderful "Retreat Si Garden". On the other hand, perhaps its descendants are like its ancestor, Chen Jin - always can be a foreign country as a hometown, go out and never return to the sake of the reason. But perhaps it is so, the Chen family can always maintain a kind of agricultural poverty, inspired by the next generation of people continue to study hard, out. One after another talent to become a scholar and out, naturally, this place is more and more run-down. Today, I think it has more social significance: a place out of so many officials but far more than those out of a few rich places to be more common, to be more dilapidated, which today many of their own mansions, and even build luxury graves of corrupt officials is not more of a powerful scourge and speechless accusations? As a person as an official to have the spirit of the lotus, if you can play such a sign, I think the horse pond is also in the broken in the not broken. Because of this kind of rags, I think it is more worthy of respect and admiration.

Out of the village, my wife and I stood under the plaque, looking at the "China's first village of scholar" under the "a clear and two Zheng Xun name vibration of the dynasty, four Jing three clear moral reputation of the township," and other praise of the joint sentence, can not help but fall into the deep thought of the go Matang. Walking horse pond is ordinary, here perhaps should not be as "the first village of the scholar" to position, because the scholar is only a result; here should be said to be the epitome of traditional Chinese society - a farming family through the study of their own villages continue to change; here is the Chen surname, a scholar! This is the place where hope sprang up and the foundation of life was laid. Therefore, I do not agree with others who say that the walk Mathang is "the ancient county of Simei, the state of literature, the victory of the river and mountains, the land and water," I think it is more accurate to say that it is "a thousand years of ancient villages, a lineage of generations of farming and studying, idyllic and happy". In addition, compared with the general cultural towns, I did not find any Confucian temples or temples here. I think all the scholars here must have become successful by studying diligently under the stone windows from generation to generation. There are only shrines here, and there are a few of them. I think this place must have remembered the teachings of their ancestors before them and worked hard on their own initiative from generation to generation. Therefore, I think this is also more or less from the point of view of tourism seems awkward, the culture of the scholar is actually to become the culture of the scholar, and in the long river of history, the scholar here is also more or less small. And there is no commendable reading stories circulated, which makes the significance of education also pale a lot, seemingly not powerful enough. If here can be like 24 filial piety, there are 76, or there are a few into the scholar hard study and success of the typical legend on the good, perhaps there ......, but has been forgotten.

Walking Horse Walking Horse Pond, Jinshi family Jinshi Zhuang.

Generations of people read the cold window, success as an official in his hometown.

The lotus flower is fragrant, and the cold window is broken and sacrificed to the ancestral hall.

All the scholars are gone now, and the ancient village of a thousand years has become deserted.

Returning from Jomatang, I feel that as an ancient village that has experienced a thousand years of the imperial examination system, for a family that advocates "excellence in learning", Jomatang has the typical significance of the family heritage specimen, the spirit of the family and education is very worthy of deep thought and research. But now as an architectural tourism sense of the ancient village ----- I am disappointed. Because I feel: with the development of the economy and social impatience, today's walk horse pond may be broken not only the old house and its stone windows, gradually in the loss of ancient color, and perhaps more important is in the loss of a traditional spirit, the past that "hard study" spirit in the baptism of time has also gradually become thin! The spirit of "studying hard in the window" has gradually become thin under the baptism of time, and it is no longer difficult for people to experience and move. Things are not what they used to be, the destruction of the tangible ancient windows, certainly a pity, but that may also be able to repair, but the spirit of the cold window if once disappeared, then perhaps more heartbreaking, more people feel lost. I do not know in what time the horse pond will be re-developed, but I sincerely hope that no matter what, do not forget the many scattered among the "hard" hard study of the "cold window" spirit, do not forget the crab navel of the "implicit Modesty" character, do not forget the lotus pond "cleanliness" integrity, because the scholar for the official is important, but the gentleman river of the same is the most important, because only then can the fragrance of the meaning of far away, meaningful and deep and worthy of posterity to experience, and wealth and fame, no matter how much, in the process of history, for the individual is always nothing more than a "cold window" spirit. For individuals will always be nothing more than a "walk in the park" feeling only, the material can be inherited, but only the spirit and thought is worth remembering. May the descendants of the horse pond never let down the ancestor's intention, but also wish more people today - especially those who have experienced the cold windows and high ranking once the son of farmers can get some insights and revelations. (Written by Zhang Chunwei in Ningbo, May 6-20, 2005)