Cao Bangyan, the ancestor of Cao Shi, was born in Huata Village, Jinci, Taiyuan. He sells casserole for a living. During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, his family moved to Huang Bei Village in Taigu to farm. In the third generation14th generation, there was a man named Cao Sanxi who went to Kanto to do business alone and made a lot of money. At that time, the so-called "seven halls outside the customs" all had Cao family offices. The Qing soldiers entered the customs, and the business was done inside the customs. First, they set up a number in Taigu, radiating the whole country. Daoguang and Xianfeng years reached their peak. There are more than 640 pavements in Cao Shi, with assets as high as 65,438+202,000 silver and 37,000 employees. Therefore, there is a saying in the village that "the sparrow flies and has all the organs". Later, he went abroad to Japan in the east, Moscow in the north, Paris and London in the west, and exported domestic tea and cloth to foreign countries, introducing Japanese steel, Korean ginseng and Russian metal products. Cao Jia walked out of a "tea road" comparable to the "Silk Road" in history from Jin and Mongolia. Unfortunately, after the Guangxu Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and the Year of Gengzi, due to the war, commercial competition and the arrogance and extravagance of future generations, they failed and finally completed their glorious course.
In its heyday, the Cao Shi family successively built many magnificent houses in Beijuan Village, such as Wugui Hall, Huaiyi Hall, Fushan Hall and Sanduotang, among which the four courtyards of "Fu", "Lu", "Shou" and "Xi" are the most representative. The surviving "Shou" house is the name of a branch of Cao Shi family, which is customarily called "Sanduotang", with the content of "more happiness, more longevity and more men". This house ranks first in the group for its towering elegance, massiness and simplicity. The house faces south and is divided into north and south parts. Three halls and courtyards are side by side, connecting three three-story buildings, with a height of17m and a small courtyard of 15, with 277 existing houses. The whole building is carved with beams and painted with buildings, with rows of dragon buildings and phoenix pavilions, circuitous corridors and high eaves and teeth, which is very huge. There are also three pavilions on the roof, flying in the air, which are the patrol place of Cao's nursing home and the host's toast to invite the moon. The shape of the building is similar to the heads of cattle, sheep and pigs used in ancient sacrifices. When it is foggy in the morning or at dusk, standing in the distance, the three top floors, together with the whole building, look like three huge "cows", "sheep" and "pigs". This feeling of pursuing novelty and novelty adds some luster and mystery to the house. Sanduotang building is a wonderful work of China residential buildings, but the treasures exhibited in Sanduotang are blooming. The contents of the four major projects 12, more than 1,000 pieces of cultural relics and handicrafts, and more than 1,000 photos are displayed, with paintings, calligraphy, models and modern lighting and sound effects, which better reflects the general situation of the Cao Shi family in its heyday. The economic and commercial history of Cao Shi family mainly reflects the historical process of Cao Shi family from hard work to brilliant creation to decline. There is an entrepreneurial stage of "work at sunrise and rest at sunset"; In the glorious period, there were "600 Mongolian and Russian seats" and "Fu Lushou was happy to surround all directions"; In the decline period, there was a scene of "white smoke in an instant, and thousands of tiles fell one after another".
"Ming and Qing Furniture Exhibition" exhibited more than 400 pieces of Ming and Qing furniture, a rare "century-old screen" inlaid with 92 pieces of natural marble, with 50 words "shou" on the back, and the original copy extracted by Qi Zao, the teacher of three generations of emperors, which inspired and warned future generations. One hundred birthday words and articles were engraved on it by intaglio carving, and painted with gold powder. There is a "mother-of-pearl mosaic mirror", and natural shells are used to carve folk auspicious patterns and "Fu Lushou" Samsung. When you choose different angles, it will show different colors. It is said that when you see red, your career will flourish, when you see pink, you will have good luck, while yellow indicates that you will make a fortune. There are also "mahogany semi-round table", three-dimensional "marble mirror" and hundreds of pieces of Ming and Qing furniture. There is a saying that "the royal family looks at the Forbidden City and the people look at the Cao family".
The "Porcelain Museum" displays nearly 2,000 pieces of porcelain, ranging from powder-spraying bottles and jars to dishes, including many treasures of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. What is amazing is the gold locomotive clock, a national treasure of the Qing Dynasty, exhibited in the Treasure Hall. Qiu Ying, a great painter of the Ming Dynasty, copied the Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival by Zhang Zeduan of the Northern Song Dynasty. The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival is 7.74m long and 0.45m wide, with 1.643 characters and 208 livestock. This is vivid and priceless. Feather mirrors, ancient pottery from Shang Bai Yan, broken porcelain from Ge Kiln and other treasures are also on display. In addition, Sanduotang also exhibited more than 40 original calligraphy works by Zhao Tieshan, a great calligrapher in the Qing Dynasty, the development history of Xingyiquan, the art exhibition of root carving, the Taigu Palace Lantern Exhibition and the history of Taigu County. Now we are working to repair Caojiayuan on the west side and open up leisure places.