The forgotten Huoziling Ancient Road

Wu Linsuo

The mountains and ridges of the Taihang Mountains crisscross each other at the junction of Lin and He, forming an east-west Baiyun Mountain, with branches turning sharply south of Fencaoyu Village To the north, it is winding and undulating, stretching across the eastern part of the Dongyao Plain. Looking up from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain, you will see strange peaks standing tall and towering into the clouds, leaving a "U" shaped Huozi, which has become the iconic highland of Dongyao - Huozi Ridge.

Climb to Huozi Ridge and overlook the east of the ridge, where you can see the mountains and green peaks; looking to the west of the ridge, you can see thousands of miles of fertile fields and beautiful fields. Among the nepeta bushes at the foot of the mountain, an ancient road paved with bluestones can be vaguely discerned. It winds through ditches and ridges, crosses Shanggang hills, and climbs to Huozi Ridge where the sky meets the sky. One end is connected to Linzhou, the hinterland of Taihang, and the other end leads to In the south of Hebi, leading directly to Dagong Mountain in Junxian County, this is the Huoziling Ancient Road.

The ancient roads have gone through many vicissitudes over the years. Just how old are the ancient roads? What can be documented is the inscription on the construction of the Earth Temple of the Mountain God in Huoziling. The temple was built in the second year of Yuan Zhizhi (1322 AD), and the road leads to the temple. First, the indisputable facts. At least in the Yuan Dynasty, ancient roads existed.

What is puzzling is that the Mountain God Earth Temple built next to the Huoziling Ancient Road was first built in the Yuan Dynasty. However, most of the surrounding villages with historical records are immigrants from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The villages on the ancient road were inhabited before the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but the remains of their ancestors have disappeared. Could it be that the legendary story of Hu Dahai's bloodbath in Zhangde Mansion is true? What is even more curious is that the original temple site of the Earth Temple of the Mountain God next to the Huoziling Ancient Road was built exactly on the dividing line between Nangou Village, Donggou Village, Chencanggou Village and Fencaoyu Village. One temple is divided into four villages. Who chooses Did the construction of the temple on the site delimit the village territory at that time? What is more valuable as a cultural relic is that the mountain god and earth stone statues in the temple are engraved on the same large bluestone, sitting side by side, lifelike (the original stone statues were stolen), the craftsman's art, and the stone carvings in many temples have been visited, and they are unique.

Time flies, and the Huoziling Ancient Road is gradually forgotten among the weeds, but the shiny paving stones, worn by passers-by and porters, are still shining in the sun, telling the story of the past. The past:

The past is unbearable to look back on, with blood and tears dripping in the stone crevices of the ancient road. Over the hundreds of years of ups and downs, how many people left their hometowns with their wives and children because they were unable to maintain their livelihood due to the poor fields and barren soil in the mountains. They wandered on the Huozi Ridge, looking back at their distant homeland, and reluctantly walked on the ancient road; How many people go out early in the morning and come back late at night, wearing stars and moonlight, carrying, pushing, and carrying donkeys to carry goods out of the mountains and transport daily necessities and daily necessities from outside the mountains. Exhausted physically and mentally, they stagger at the foot of the mountains and sigh in wonder; How many students are thirsty for knowledge and travel dozens of miles every day to study in the town. They travel over mountains and ridges regardless of rain or shine, reciting the poem "The road to Sichuan is difficult, it is difficult to reach the sky" and rush along this ancient road.

The unique geographical environment has nurtured profound humanistic genes. The Huoziling Ancient Road is a shortcut from Dongyao to Hebi. In just fifty miles, you can enjoy the infinite scenery of plains, hills, and mountains, and you can also feel the topographic features of the stepwise descent from west to east. In the era when Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism were prevalent, and influenced by the culture of the three religions, temples were dotted along the ancient roads. Xingguo Temple (Dongyao Village), Yuquan Temple (Baixiangjing Village), Baiyun Temple (Honghe Village), Moushan Temple (Hebi Wushan Temple), Baiyunshan Taoist Temple, Three Churches (Fencaoyu), Honghe Temple Group, etc., The spread of temple culture and the interpenetration of the three religions have deeply influenced generations of people, especially Xingguo Temple, Moushan Temple, and Baiyunshan Taoist Temple, which are large in scale and have many eminent monks and hermits, making Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism ideological systems follow. The Huoziling Ancient Road radiates to all directions. There is a clear record in the "Re-Stele Inscription" at Zhehengqiao in Fencaoyu Village: "Suddenly one day, a monk rode across the bridge with a book in hand to deliver documents..." It can be seen that monks frequently moved along the Huoziling Ancient Road. This is not a myth. Traditional culture took root and flourished on the ancient roads, ushering in the great prosperity of the ancient road culture. A group of young talents came into being in the late Ming Dynasty. Zhao Yin and Zhao Yibin of Hecun were respectively serving as Confucian scholars of the Ministry of Rites and Yazhong doctors. Yuanxun of the Qing Dynasty of Nangou Village was the mentor of the great emperor Qianlong; Zhao Boqian of Donggou Village of the Qing Dynasty was the adopted son of Qianlong and was rich; he was born in the Republic of China. Zhao Jiucheng of Donggou Village, a student of Peking University, participated in the "129" student movement, and later returned to the right wing. He built a cottage next to the ancient road and cultivated his moral character.

The prosperity of the ancient road culture has accelerated. The flower of friendship between the two regions has blossomed. Xingguo Temple, Baiyun Mountain Taoist Temple, Dagong Mountain and Moushan Temple have exchanged and integrated foreign cultures, and learned from each other, promoting the circulation of goods, the conclusion of marriages, and the improvement of productivity in the two regions. . The products from the mountains have continuously enriched the Hebi market, and the coal from Hebi has flowed into the mountains, providing energy for the mountain villages. The rise of the coal mining industry has also provided employment opportunities for the people in the mountains. To this day, the people of Lin and Hebi are still living. Preserving the tradition of making friends with neighbors, communicating closely and being as close as one family

Wu Wenchang of Fencaoyu Village, nicknamed Wu Laotang, was born in the Republic of China and devoted his life to the development of Lin and He. The businessman spent many years traveling on the Huoziling Ancient Road to buy and sell, and was deeply supported by the people of both places. With his humorous language, honest reputation, and the ancient road as a link, he built a bridge of friendship between Lin He and Wu at that time. Everyone knows about the old hall, and it has become a famous business card on the ancient road.

It is gone, and many famous people still look back on it. Today, Huoziling is covered with green grass and pines and cypresses. Lin. The barren mountains of the past have become internet celebrity check-in spots.

Looking at the foot of the mountain, the willows are green and peach red, the grass is growing and warblers are flying. It is a scene full of life and vitality in spring. The wide and flat Hutai Highway is like a ribbon winding around the foot of the mountain, opening the door to the wonderful world outside. Villagers along the ancient road join in With hundreds of thousands of troops fighting in Taihang, leaving Taihang, and Fu Taihang, activities to build beautiful villages and clean homes are in full swing. Huoziling ushered in a colorful spring, and the Huoziling ancient road was moved to its site three times and reborn.