Well, my home is in Nanxun, but Nanxun has been very prosperous since ancient times, so the words used to praise Nanxun have always been well-written throughout the ages. If we must find out when Nanxun was the richest, it should be in modern times.
In modern times, there were nearly a hundred wealthy silk merchants in Nanxun known as "Four Elephants, Eight Oxen and Seventy Golden Dogs", all of whom became rich because of this. Jili Lake Silk Road is a must-have on your trip to Nanxun. Nanxun people have given full play to traditional Jiangnan crafts such as embroidery and knitting, and their works can serve as models for Jiangnan. Nanxun has lush bamboo forests, and the bamboo handicrafts made by the ingenious locals are lifelike and unique.
Nanxun has convenient transportation and is an important goods distribution center at the junction of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai and Anhui provinces. Today's Nanxun has taken advantage of the economic boom of reform and opening up to form the largest furniture and building materials wholesale market in East China. Furniture here is 30% to 50% cheaper than in Shanghai and Hangzhou.
The following is the history of Nanxun:
Chongde Hall (also known as Liu Tihao, commonly known as the Red House) is the third son of Liu Yong, the third son of Liu Yong, the richest man in Nanxun's "Four Images" , the residence of (named Uncle Yuan, nicknamed Tiqing). According to historical records, during the reign of Emperor Zhizheng of the Yuan Dynasty, Hua Honggang, the chief minister, built a garden here named "Xiao Taoyuan". There is an alley next to it, hence the name "Huayuan Lane". In the Ming Dynasty, it was the residence of the wealthy Zhuang Yuncheng, and his son Zhuang Tingyue once built the "Bai Chi Building" as a book collection and reading room. After the "Zhuang Family History Case" in the early Qing Dynasty, Liu Tiqing purchased land from the Qian family to build a house in the 31st year of Guangxu (1905). The ground was broken in the winter of the same year, and the construction was completed in the 34th year of Guangxu (1908).
Liu Tiqing (1876-1950), a gifted student, was an alternate Taoist priest in Zhili Province, and was awarded the title of third rank. Because he persuaded Shanxi to organize relief donations, he petitioned to guarantee the second rank of top hat, and was rewarded with flower feathers and a special head reward. If you wear it on top of the product, it is the seal of the first product. He was not only a collector of cultural relics, but also an industrialist. He owned a lot of real estate in Shanghai, Hangzhou and other places. According to the "Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce Membership" published in April 1928, the 16 largest real estate companies at that time were listed. Among the big ones, he, Liu Chengqian and Liu Huhan are all on the list and among the best. He also raised 280,000 taels with Pang Zanchen and others to establish Chongyu Silk Factory in Tangqi, Yuhang in the 16th year of the Republic of China (1927). At that time, it had 1,340 employees and introduced 492 Italian 5-thread sitting reeling machines and advanced Japanese technology and equipment. With an annual output of more than 40 tons of Baichang silk, the products are sold to Europe, the United States, Southeast Asia and other regions. It was a first-class large-scale silk reeling factory in Zhejiang and even the country at that time (after liberation, the factory was renamed Hangzhou Xinhua Silk Factory and was a large state-owned silk reeling enterprise).
Liu Tiqing’s Guyun Cottage on Beishan Road by the West Lake is an ancient Roman-style villa. Because he lived in Shanghai for a long time, he lent the villa to Zhu Jiahua, a fellow villager in Huzhou, and it became the official residence of the chairman of the Zhejiang Provincial Government for a time. Now well preserved.
The entire building of Chongde Hall is composed of three parts: south, middle and north. The central architecture is based on halls, halls, buildings and chambers based on traditional Confucian cultural ideas; the southern and northern Chinese-style buildings are integrated into Western European Roman-style buildings, among which the northern European-style building facades are particularly spectacular. The mansion is high, spacious and magnificent, with exquisite brick carvings, wood carvings and stone carvings. There was a lawn behind the house that was used as a tennis court, and cows were raised in a corner. There was a huge chiming bell on the bell tower beside the East and West ponds, and its bells could be heard from far and near.
Twenty acres of land was opened on the other side of the Yicang River behind Chongdetang House. Trees and flowers were planted, rocks were stacked to form mountains, whitebark pines were planted on the slopes, water was stored and lotuses were planted, and there were buildings, pavilions, pavilions, and pavilions. European style small bungalow. Because Liu Tiqing "had the ambition to build a garden and cherish the preservation of the past", he inherited the meaning of "little peach garden" three hundred years ago, so he named it "Liuyuan", which happens to have the same pronunciation as "Liu". . In the 1930s, part of Liu Garden was given to his nephew Xu, so it was called "Xu Family Garden". It was destroyed during the Anti-Japanese War, and only the lotus pond still existed.
Ying Garden is a residential garden of Chen Xiong in the Qing Dynasty, one of the "Eight Niu" in Nanxun. It is located on the bank of the Huangyu River and covers an area of ??11.07 acres. It was built in the first year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1862). It was completed in the sixth year of Guangxu (1875) and is now basically well preserved. It is a cultural relic protection unit in Nanxun Town.
There are towering ancient arts in Yingyuan, and there are green shades such as magnolia grandiflora, incense sticks and wisteria that are more than a century old.
Towers and pavilions are built along the pool. Taihu stone rockeries are piled up in an orderly manner. The winding paths lead to secluded areas and can be climbed up the stairs. The "Moon Viewing Tower" protrudes out from the pool. There are long purple-red glass windows beside the building, with painted beams and carved columns, giving it an antique feel.
On the north side of the pool, there is a black-tiled and pink-walled "Heart Clamp", which used to be the place where Chen Xiong recited poems and painted, and Yi Mo played the violin. "Yuxiang Pavilion" was also built in Chixiyang. It is a brick and wood structure building with concise lines and unique originality. If you go upstairs, you can enjoy the view of the garden.
Yingyuan is also famous for various sculptures, including brick carvings, stone carvings, wood carvings, etc. It is almost a small sculpture art museum. For example, on the doors and windows of "Yangxinteng" are boxwood carvings with exquisite knife skills and lifelike shapes, each with calligraphy by famous people. The smaller picture "Farming and Weaving" shows men plowing and women weaving, a combination of coarse minerals and fine details, making the image lifelike. Part of the boxwood sculptures from "The Romance of the West Chamber" are still preserved on the floor-to-ceiling windows of the "Qingfeng Pian" where Chen used to receive guests. There are also stone-carved leaky windows on both sides of the hall embedded in the brick walls, which are both artistic and breathable.
The small pavilion on the rockery is called Meishi Pavilion. There is a plum stone stele in the middle of the pavilion. The stele is 138 centimeters high and 79 centimeters wide. The picture of squatting on the plum stone is the masterpiece of Wang Li (1813-1879), a famous calligrapher in the Qing Dynasty. The inscription on the stone tablet is: "Imitating the writing style of Sun Lei, the prefect of Hanyang, I made it from Jiao on the three days before the beginning of autumn in Yihai and established Wang Li's work."
After liberation, Yingyuan has been repaired several times, and the main scenery is well preserved. Professor Chen Congzhou, a famous ancient garden expert, once praised Yingyuan in his article "Water Town Noisy": "Chenyuan built a pavilion and a first floor around the pond, reflecting the Clear and compact, it has the charm of the Lion Forest in Suzhou."
Nanxun Baijianlou is the most complete ancient residential building complex along the river in the rare Jiangnan water town.
The Baiwen Tower was built in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. In the early days, most of them were built in the southwest. Over the next two hundred years or so, residential houses were built one after another on the northeast coast, presenting a typical Jiangnan water town scenery.
It is difficult to find textual basis for the exact origin of the place name Baijianlou. According to legend, it was a home-ownership house built by Dong Fen, the Minister of the Ming Dynasty, for his female family servants. Because there are about a hundred buildings along both sides of the river, it is called Baijianlou.
Dong Fen’s ancestors were from Meilin (Meilin is 15 kilometers northwest of Nanxun), and they lived in Nanxun in the early Ming Dynasty. In the 41st year of Jiajing's reign in the Ming Dynasty (1562), Dong Fen was appointed Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and was promoted to Minister of Rites and Bachelor of the Imperial Academy. Later, he resigned and returned home. When Mu Zong of the Ming Dynasty came to the throne (1567), he recalled Dong Fen, but he was unwilling to go again and died of illness in the 23rd year of Wanli (1595). According to this calculation, the Baijian Building was built around the time when Dong Fen returned to his hometown, and it has a history of more than 400 years.
The river in front of Baijianlou was originally a canal, also called Baijianlou Harbor, and also called Baijianlou River. Tonghuzhou and Wuzhen, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Jiaxing and other places. Walking along this river, you will see the towering volcano walls, some shaped like cloud heads, some like Guanyin pockets, and some in the shape of three stacks of horse heads, the arched street openings, and the outlines of wooden pillars. The eaves, the stone steps along the river, the water port, and the reflection in the river, together with the faint sound of oars and the faint sound of fishermen's songs, form an ink painting with rich water town characteristics. The residential communities on both sides of the strait are built near the water, facing each other across the river, and connected by stone bridges. There is a long street along the river. The houses along the street are covered with black tiles. The bottom floors have eaves. The colonnades under the eaves stand on the riverside. Some houses are built across the street in the style of arcades, or have side gables with floor-to-ceiling rolling doors. The mansion has three to four entrances. There are generally two-entry houses with only one patio, and most houses have buildings. Visitors are here; with the permission of the owner of the house, they can enter and visit. As soon as you open the door of the stone library wall, you will see a bright view: a small patio, carved wooden windows, unique brickwork, and simple side rooms, all filled with the unique atmosphere of an ancient water town.
Legend has it that Doctor Fan Li took Xi Shi and others across the Qiantang River and headed for Suzhou along the waterway. When passing through Nanxun Town, she stayed in a small village to the east of Baijianlou. At night, Xishi thought about entering the Palace of Wu State tomorrow. Even if she could return to her hometown alive, how would she see her parents and fellow villagers again? Thinking about it, she Quietly go out to Baijianlou River.
That night, with the cold wind blowing and the river sparkling, Xishi thought about it and decided to die calmly as a village girl, rather than endure humiliation and live an ignoble life in the enemy's country. So she squatted down by the river, took the river water with both hands to wash off the makeup on her face, and then took off the plant on her head and threw it on the ground. At this time, the maid woke up and did not see Xi Shi, so she told Doctor Fan. They hurriedly found Xi Shi by the river and saw Xi Shi crying. Fan Li asked the maid to go away, and he and Xi Shi talked for a long time by the river. Xi Shi finally gave up her personal plan. At dawn, I washed my face again by the river. After re-dressing with the help of the maid, I entered Gusu City that day. Later, when people learned about Xi Shi's story, they named this place Xifendou, and this place name is still used today.
Walking along the river, we saw this picturesque river corridor, which not only makes full use of space, but also is full of romantic imagination and looks very layered. There are no reliefs or murals, but from any angle you look at it, it is an exquisite masterpiece.
Baijianlou is indeed one of the most well-preserved riverside dwellings in the south of the Yangtze River.