The clock pool is not big, but this pond has water on one side and ground on the other, just like Taiji in Jiugong Bagua Map, which is wonderful. With Zhongchi as the center, there are eight alleys extending in all directions, leading directly to eight Gaotu mountains outside the town. Their planes look like eight diagrams. Many narrow alleys are derived from alleys. There are thousands of families in the alleys, dotted with many ancient houses. The alleys near the clock pool are relatively straight, and gradually twists and turns when extending outward, while many alleys are connected vertically and horizontally, like a maze. When an outsider enters an alley, it is often easier to get in than to get out, and even get lost. Interestingly, the descendants of Zhuge Liang, who lived in the town for hundreds of years, did not realize the wonder of the town layout. They don't know the shape of gossip in the "eight-array diagram". It was not until the related records were found in an old book in recent years that this mystery was revealed to the world. Now, as long as you climb the dirt mountain outside the town and look down, carefully distinguish it, the shape of the nine palaces and eight diagrams in the whole village will be fully displayed in front of you, and its wonderful and unique layout is amazing. 1993, Mr. Luo, the leader of the National Cultural Heritage Administration expert group and a famous archaeologist, made a field trip to Zhuge Town, and said that the traditional layout of villages and battlements in China includes irregular layout of mountains and rivers and square molding with symmetry axis. The layout of nine palaces and eight diagrams radiating from a center like Zhuge Town is an isolated case in the history of ancient architecture in China, and its great value is self-evident.
There are different opinions on why Zhuge Town is so laid out. Some people think that this layout is a copy of Zhuge Liang's "Eight Arrays", which was designed by Zhuge Liang's descendants according to the essence of Zhuge Liang's array law. This is not only a special commemoration of ancestors, but also a disguised preservation of Zhuge Liang's "Eight Arrays". Others think that this layout is for fire prevention reasons. The center is the bell pool, which spreads around as the core. No matter which house is on fire, the distance of taking water to put out the fire is a straight line, which is very beneficial to put out the fire. It is also said that Zhuge Town is located in the peripheral traffic arteries of Hangzhou and its strategic position is very important. Although Zhuge's descendants are not addicted to the struggle for power and profit, they have a strong sense of combat readiness. This layout is conducive to dealing with the invading enemy from all directions in the clock pool, which invisibly increases the assurance of winning. Wait, there are different opinions, and so on. Perhaps, with the continuous discovery of new data, this problem can be completely solved in the near future.