Historical Evolution of Cangpo Ancient Village

Cangpo Ancient Village is located at the foot of the mountain in the north of Yantou Town, upstream of nanxi river, Yongjia County, southern Zhejiang Province. Its original name was Cangdun. Ancestor Li Cen moved here from Changxi, Fujian to escape the war. After the Five Dynasties, Zhou Xiande began construction in 955, and it has been 1000 years. In the fifth year of Xichun in the Southern Song Dynasty (1 178), Song Li, the ninth ancestor, invited Li Ritian, a famous Buddhist teacher, to re-plan and build a village pattern with Four Treasures of the Study as the main image. The village covers an area of more than 200 mu and has more than 50 houses. All the villagers are surnamed Li. The village pattern has basically maintained the original planning and architectural style of the Southern Song Dynasty, and its walls, roads, pools and ancient cypresses are still charming. Cangpo is one of the most developed villages in nanxi river Valley with farming and reading culture, and it still retains certain elements of farming and reading culture. Since the early 1980s, it has become a classic of Chinese ancient village tourism products with its unique cultural landscape.

Three trial steps and seven stone steps

What attracts our attention now is the steps made of three layers of stones, which is called the "three-step test". Examining the county (government, academy), having obtained the provincial examination and taking the senior high school entrance examination respectively is the only way for scholars to become officials in feudal times. Only three attempts to pass the customs can be considered as one of the Jinshi, so after the "three steps" is the "Jinshi Tan" which is about 20 meters long. After the "Jinshitan", you will reach the intersection of the car door, where there are seven stone steps. According to the genealogy of Cangpo, the 1 1 sai-jo Jong Li was highly valued by the imperial court because of his clean official position and remarkable achievements, and his official position rose to level seven. The villagers specially built these seven stone steps to commemorate this event. In ancient times, after arriving at Jinshitan, civil servants had to get off the sedan chair and military officers had to dismount and take seven steps.

Cangpo Xi men

The arched door we see now is called the car door, which is the gate of the village. Look at the four words on this plaque: "Cangpo Ximen". These four words were inscribed by the late Wenzhou calligrapher Cai Xingu. Generally speaking, it is an obvious clerical error. However, in Yongjia dialect, "che" is homophonic with "Xi". Cangpo people think they have good feng shui, because the water in front of Ximen is good, so they wrote Ximen. Simon Cangpo is very particular about it. This gate was built in the fifth year of Xichun in the Southern Song Dynasty (1 178). It's all made of wood, with big barrels, small barrels, joists and overhangs. The six-story bucket arch does not use a nail, and the roof is a double-eaves hanging mountain structure, which looks dignified and simple. This gate is exactly the same as the south gate of Japan's "National Treasure House" Nara Dudao Temple, but the construction time of that "National Treasure House" gate is later than the west gate of Cangpo 12 years. This door looks strange. Some people say it looks like a dragon. The big lanterns on both sides are longan, the street behind is dragon body, and the pond in front is dragon ball. Some people say that he is like a tiger, the stone arch bridge is the back of the tiger, the door is the head of the tiger, and the two big lanterns are the eyes of the tiger. What it looks like depends on your imagination. Like "dragon" or "tiger", but the moral is actually the same: Cangpo Village is a place where crouching tiger hides dragon.

This door is a symbol of rank. In the feudal era, this door representing rights and status could not be built casually. Only when there are officials of a certain level can it be built by the emperor. According to the current words, it is very awesome. Below the gatehouse is the "seven stone steps" I just introduced to you. This first-class official hat of the Song Dynasty, Taishi hat, is paved with four bluestones. The purpose is to make people who pass by here always think that "the way of being a teacher should go by themselves" and encourage people to succeed by their own efforts. There is a couplet on the gate above: "Xishan Range Rover Huaixian, the door is bright." This couplet not only depicts the beautiful scenery here, but also shows the brilliant achievements of our predecessors. I hope the younger generation will study hard and be an official. In order to show respect, everyone passing by here should know the rules of the car door. Civil servants must get off the sedan chair and military attache must get off.

Xi dongchichi

Stepping into the west gate, we opened the pages of the history of Cangpo Village. There are two ponds on the left and right, the west pond on the left and the east pond on the right. Since its birth, these two ponds have been more than ordinary ponds to beautify the environment: a page of Naxi pond records the ideal of living by farming and reading; The east page records the praise of noble spirit and good moral character and the worship of gods.

Next, please read these two touching pages of history books with me.

Bai Gu

Now we are walking on the stockade wall at the southern end of Dongchi.

In ancient times, crossing this threshold was also exquisite, and it was necessary to follow the etiquette of male left and female right.

These two ancient cypresses not only witnessed the importance of greening in Cangpo village, but also permeated with the cultural atmosphere of ancient villages. More than 800 years ago, Li Xizhai, the owner of Cangpo Village in Song Dynasty, planted these two trees with his own hands, leaving a story of tree protection, which has been passed down to this day. After he planted the cypress, he made a ban to prevent the cypress from being destroyed, saying, "All cows tied to the cypress will be put to death immediately." One day, his family's long-term worker tied the cow to this cypress tree for convenience, and he killed it on the spot. Since then, these coopers in the village have never been destroyed. It can be seen that with a good "official" style, there will be a good folk custom, so these two cypresses are still full of vitality after more than 800 years.

Just now, the "Ancient Cooper" inscribed by the painter Xia and Vice Premier Wu Bangguo refers to these two Cooper plants.

Dear friends of Wang Xiong Pavilion, this unique pavilion is the famous "Wang Xiong Pavilion", which was built in 1 128. Standing in the pavilion and looking southeast outside the village, the opposite is Fangxiang Village, a "compatriot village" in Cangpo. At the head of Fanggang Village, there is also a pavilion similar to "Wang Xiongting", which is called "seeing my brother off". The two pavilions face each other across a criss-crossing field.

These two pavilions, which are far away from each other, tell people the touching brotherhood for hundreds of years: Li Qiushan, the seventh ancestor of Li, and his younger brother Li moved to Fangxiang Village after separation. His younger brother Li often stood on the earthen wall in the village early in the morning, looking around, waiting for his younger brother to come along the cobblestone path in the field, "to meet Li Zhifang Garden and tell his family happiness". The two brothers have a very good relationship. Every time I talk late into the night, I always want to send it to the village when I leave. It is often when my brother leaves home that he sends his brother to the head of Fanggang Village, and when he comes back, he sends him back. In this way, his brother sent his brother home, his brother sent his brother to the village, his brother sent his brother, and his brother sent his brother. It's really a Wenzhou slang "Zhang Lang sends Li Lang to heaven overnight." So the two brothers agreed to build a pavilion in Cangpo Village and Fangxiang Village, and hang lanterns in the pavilion. After each visit, I saw the lantern in the other party's pavilion on, and I knew that the other party had arrived home safely, so the two brothers took the lantern home safely and rested.

The exquisiteness of Wang Xiongting is rare in the ancient pavilions along the coast of nanxi river, especially the eaves, which are full of curvature and dancing up and down, very gentle. The two pavilions are open on all sides and windy on all sides. They are far apart and full of friendship. Once, Taiwan Province compatriots came here to travel and were moved by the story of "Wang Xiong Pavilion". Looking back at Taiwan Province Province, the mainland across the sea, they couldn't help crying. It is really "two pavilions facing each other across the water, and the two places are brothers of the same origin."

Xia's poem "Who lights the lamp again, the distant mountains make the moon shine" tells the beautiful and moving story of the pavilion.

Renji Temple is an ancient palace-style building surrounded by water on three sides. It is a famous "Renji Temple". Just looking at the environment around this building, I feel particularly comfortable and aura. The pavilion faces the water on the third side, and there is a beautiful woman to lean on in the promenade near the water. It is pleasant to enjoy the cool here in summer.

The eaves of Renji Temple are slightly tilted, the eaves are slightly bent, and the lines of the roof are gentle but full of tension, which seems to spread its wings and take off, generous and particularly beautiful, avoiding the solemnity usually conveyed by ordinary temple buildings. Interestingly, the temple worships a man named Zhou Chu, not a bodhisattva or an ancestor of his own family. According to Shi Shuo Xin Yu, when Zhou was young, he ran amok in the countryside, gnashing his teeth and hating his neighbors. He regards it as one of the "three evils" and compares it with tigers and poisonous snakes. Later, he was ordered to turn over a new leaf, abandon evil and be good, and died in battle. So this week has become a model for people to educate young people to turn over a new leaf. Cangpo people don't worship bodhisattvas or ancestors in temples, but set up shrines with surnames other than their own surnames, which shows that they abandon the prejudice of surnames in order to educate future generations. It is said that Zhou Kai, the sage of Pingshui, is enshrined here. During Jin Yongkang's reign, there was a flood in southern Zhejiang, and Pingyang died of the flood. The villagers respectfully called him Pingshui Shengjun. No matter whether the early Zhou Dynasty or Zhou Kai is enshrined in Renji Temple, they all died for the people, which should be memorable.

Let's cross the bridge and walk into the temple. Look at the patio or pool in this temple. This quadrangle-style building is also rare in nanxi river, because it is dedicated to the King Pingshui, who used to control water and become a god. At the same time, in the farming era, depending on the weather to eat, water has become an important factor of production. King Pingshui is in charge of water here, and the weather here is good.

At present, Renji Temple has been turned into the "nanxi river Folk Museum", displaying the common appliances in nanxi river people's daily life, such as ancient waterwheels, buckets, buckets and so on. There are millstones, looms and spinning machines in the left corridor of the temple. There are a stone, a stone lock, a stone water tank, a stone incense burner, a pear rake and other artifacts in the right corridor. Among them, the stone and stone lock are used by Cangpo people to practice, and the largest one is marked as 320 kg. People in Cangpo ancient village not only cultivated and passed on family heirlooms, but also did not give up the habit of practicing martial arts. As early as the Northern Song Dynasty, they went out with Wu Jinshi Li Bang. Interested friends, might as well try, maybe you are also a Hercules.

Lee's Ancestral Hall Now we have entered the Lee's Ancestral Hall. Li's Grand Ancestral Hall is the center of ethics in Cangpo Village, and it is also a place for clan gatherings and major national celebrations. In the era of traditional agriculture in China, ancestral temples take care of all aspects of villagers' lives, mainly including two things: first, reunion with relatives and family; The second is Kejia Lian Deng. It has been 42 years since the first village of Li Cenjian was established, and there have been more than 100 villages directly moved out of Cangpo, with a population of nearly 200,000. Once upon a time, people who moved out would come here to meet each other every time they went to pay homage to their ancestors. The scene is very spectacular. Through ancestor worship and other clan activities, the harmony and unity of the people have been strengthened. Usually, it is often here to decide clan affairs and solve ethnic disputes. In ancient times, all those who participated in the "No.1 Scholar" three tests had to wear red clothes and flowers, and held a grand ancestor worship ceremony here. Under the guidance of the master of ceremonies, they knelt three times and knocked nine times to pay homage to their ancestors. In history, Cangpo Village has a large number of talented people, and there are many first places in the imperial examination. Today, there are still famous talents, such as Li Dapeng, an academician of China Academy of Sciences, whose ancestral home is Cangpo Village.

This is a big stage, usually a place for villagers' cultural entertainment. Every ancestor worship and major festival is very lively, and it is often played all night, and the audience is crowded. This big drum is called ancestral hall drum, which is an important ritual vessel and cannot be easily sounded. Once knocked, the whole village will gather.

Everyone looked up at the plaque of Lee's ancestral hall, with a little more "surname" on it. Some people questioned that this was a clerical error. In fact, according to the villagers, it is because there are several people in the village who are not surnamed Li, that is, people who accept compatible surnames. This bonus point is especially added. Whether the word "surname" is a slip of the pen or not, the folklore reflected by the villagers' statements is very worthy of appreciation.

Friends of Shuiyuetang, this building built in the center of the pool is called Shuiyuetang, which was built in the Northern Song Dynasty (A.D. 1 124) and is a memorial hall. Li Xiaxi, the eighth ancestor of Cangjie in the Northern Song Dynasty, served as Di Gong Lang, and his brother Li Jinxi served as a middle-ranking official. They are friendly and affectionate. In the second year of Xuanhe, Li Jinxi went to Liao with Tong Guan, but he died in battle and died for his country. Li Xiaxi learned that his brother was heartbroken after his death and could not continue to be an official in Bianjing, so he resigned and returned to Cangpo. He built this Shuiyue Hall in the middle of the north water in Dongchi, lived in it and missed his brother day and night, "to mourn his death."

"Shui Yue Tang" is praised as a classic of nanxi river ancient architecture by ancient architecture experts. You see, it has a beautiful roof, eaves on all sides, and a double-eaves design. Originally, the ordinary sloping roof naturally turned into a rest peak, so it was particularly vivid.

After crossing this stone bridge, you come to the yard of Shuiyuetang. The south wall of this courtyard is a hollow flower wall, which consists of three groups of patterns. It is this unique pattern that makes the south wall look rich and smart, and it is a classic masterpiece in the courtyard wall. This wall is built with the common landscape construction technique "landscape leakage" in landscape architecture, but it is different from the general flower wall in terms of internal and external permeability. Through the hole of the flower wall, you can see the pavilions, ponds and trees outside, but the people outside can't see anything in the yard. Perhaps this is why South Wall became a classic.

Now let's visit the nave building of Shuiyuetang. Above the nave, there is a plaque of "Jizhou Garden". These three words, elegant and elegant, are not vigorous and powerful. Jizhou Garden was named after Cang Po's 11th great-grandfather Li. I once taught in Jizhou, Jiangxi, and I was very prestigious. After retiring to Cangpo in his later years, he did many good things for the village, and everyone praised him. The thirty-third generation of Cangjie commemorated Li, rebuilt nave, and named it Jizhou Garden, which means Jizhou Education Institute.

The courtyard wall to the north of Jizhou Garden is the north wall of Shuiyue Hall. There are two windows on the wall, and the cultural charm of the North Wall lies in these two windows. The pattern on the window is very special, which is composed of "well" and "gossip" alternately.

Layout characteristics

Pen, ink, paper and inkstone. Now let's go this way. As mentioned earlier, the overall layout of Cangpo Ancient Village was designed according to five lines of gossip and Four Treasures of the Study. As we all know, Four Treasures of the Study refers to pen, ink and inkstone. Let's visit Four Treasures of the Study together. Have a look. Have you found it? Let me reveal the secrets one by one.

The straight old street standing at our feet is the main street in the village. It is called Pen Street, facing the three peaks in the west-Bijia Mountain. This large sum is placed on the pen. Pen Street is 360 meters long, symbolizing 360-degree Sunday. It is a materialization of the ancient concept of "harmony between man and nature". Some people go this way and live a perfect life. Look at this good roadside, there are three long stones for no reason, which is suspected of obstructing pedestrians. You must have no such idea. This is the Mo Ding in Four Treasures of the Study, and the one with a slope at one end is the landing Mo Ding. This is 4.5 meters long, 0.5 meters wide and 0.3 meters thick. It is such a big ingot of ink that many people can write, and generations can't finish it. Therefore, Cangpo's literary fortune is enduring and the literati are not poor. Look at this stone next to it. It was originally moved out of a shrine for people to go in and out of the longevity stone. The upper side is chiseled with 6 1 semi-long square eyes, which means 1.5 times the flower armor, which means longevity. It is said that everyone who has stepped on it will live to be 150 years old, so friends might as well go for a walk. This square pool is in the west of the village, called Xichi. It is rectangular, 80 meters long from east to west and 35 meters wide from north to south. It is square and shaped like an inkstone, so it is also an inkstone. I have all the inkstones. Where is the paper? Pen Street is the main street of Cangpo. The north of the street is full of houses with strict and neat layout. There are square walls outside the house, which are connected by vertical and horizontal streets and lanes, with clear distinction and distinct levels. Like a big piece of paper in Fang Gezi. In this way, Four Treasures of the Study will be complete, and the elegant spirit will wander around. As we all know, the so-called farming and reading is the ideal and present situation of people's life in the farming era. Reading is for pride, farming is for getting rich. Cangjie people worked hard and studied hard. Many people realized their dream of becoming Tian Shelang, and many people gained the reputation of being a scholar, a scholar and a scholar. There were the earliest Jinshi and Wujinshi in nanxi river Valley, and one or two Jinshi came out of eleven.

private house

Let's go one step further and look at the ancient houses on both sides of Bijie Street. The layout of these houses is neat and rigorous, and each room is surrounded by a square wall made of pebbles, forming an independent courtyard. We can walk in and have a look. You will find that these old houses are open and friendly. This kind of living environment is not available in our current city suites, and our lifestyle is not like this. what do you think?

Gu Jing: Now we are in the middle of Bijie Street. Let's take a look at an ancient well here. The water is clear, sweet and cool, and the water temperature is constant all the year round. Cangpo people will proudly tell you that this water comes from the peak of Cangshan Mountain behind 1000 meters. This water tastes good, cooking is particularly fragrant, and the wine is more mellow. Look, do you know that there is a small square pool with three eyes outside this well? What is this for? It is used to accumulate the clear spring overflowing from the well. In these three small pools, there are different usages, and the order is: washing vegetables, washing clothes and washing toilets. Don't worry that they will infiltrate each other and will not go back. This is the uniqueness of inkstone. Today, when we talk about cherishing water resources and protecting ecology, we should think deeply about what people in Cangpo ancient village did as early as eight or nine hundred years ago!

The ancient stone bridge, please come back with me. This is the Li Mansion, which we visited just now. There is a solid ancient stone slab bridge in front of it. Do you think it is two bridges or one? Is there a higher arch bridge on the left and a lower flat bridge on the right? Is it too much trouble for the ancestors of this village? Hey hey! This bridge is really full of things. This bridge is called Lilac Bridge. People who have passed by have different identities and different paths. They didn't leave casually, so they would be in trouble. Pingqiao is taken by ordinary people, farmers who carry the burden to sell pulp walk from the bottom, and gentry walk upward; Men are going up, women are going down, and women can only cross the arch bridge if they get married. There are also guests who can cross the arch bridge from the upstream to show courtesy. Everyone present today is a distinguished guest of Cangpo Ancient Village, so please be sure to cross the arch bridge from above! Otherwise, Longtu in the village will accuse me of rudeness when he sees me, and he may not let me enter the Zhaimen again next time.