Ancient story creation of harmonious coexistence

An anecdote happened in Tongcheng County, Anhui Province during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. At that time, Zhang Ying, the prime minister, and Ye Xiucai, his neighbor, went to court for the foundation of the wall. Because Zhang Yingjia wants to build a house, the border is close to Ye Jia. Ye Xiucai suggested that the Zhang family set aside a middle road for access. However, Zhang proposed that the title deed of his family stated "to the wall of Ye surname". Now it's okay to hit the wall according to the deed. Even if we have to leave a way, both families have to retreat a few feet. At this time, Zhang Ying was an official in Beijing, and the specific affairs of his hometown were handled by the old housekeeper. So a new wall was built along the root of the Ye Jia wall. This Ye Xiucai is a stubborn temper. When he saw the Zhang family building a fence, he couldn't swallow this breath. The scholar can write by himself, and a paper-like proclamation reached the county government, and a lawsuit was started.

As soon as the Zhang family's housekeeper saw that things were getting worse, she quickly wrote a letter to tell Zhang Ying in Beijing. Soon, I received a reply from Zhang Ying. There are not many words in the letter, only four poems: "A thousand miles to build a book is just a wall, why not let him be three feet?" The Great Wall of Wan Li is still there today, but there is no Qin Shihuang. "

After reading this poem, the housekeeper understood the master's meaning, so she went to Ye Jia and told Ye Xiucai that the Zhang family would tear down the wall tomorrow and step back three feet to make way. Ye Xiucai thought he was teasing him, but he didn't believe it at all. The housekeeper showed Ye Xiucai Zhang Ying's poems. Ye Xiucai read this poem and was very moved.

The next morning, the Zhang family began to tear down the wall and retreated three feet. Ye Xiucai also tore down his own wall and retreated three feet. So an alley about 100 meters long and about 6 feet wide was formed between Zhang and Ye, which was called "Six-foot Lane".

The story of this ancient neighborhood living in harmony is widely circulated.