My relationship with Wangcheng is very deep. It’s not just that Wangcheng belongs to Changsha City, and it’s not just that Wangcheng is next door to Ningxiang.
Mainly because I have a die-hard Wangcheng friend. His name is Xie Wuheng. He is a poet and a calligrapher.
A few days ago, I called Xie Wuheng and wanted to see some major ancient towns in Wangcheng. The tentacles of "Changsha Poetry Map" have already reached Wangcheng. I've already written "Qiao Mou" and "Black Elk Peak". There are four famous ancient towns in Wangcheng, Tongguan, Jinggang, Qiaokou and Xinkang. A few years ago, I went to Jinggang and Qiaokou, and wrote two essays "Crossing Jinggang" and "Brother, I am going to Qiaokou", both of which were published in the "Xiangjiang" supplement of "Hunan Daily".
Xie Wuheng got in touch quickly. The Wangcheng District Party Committee Propaganda Department sent Xiao Yao to be in charge of reception.
On the morning of November 23, Xie Wuheng drove to pick me up at Derun Garden in Hexi. Xiao Yao sat in the car. The smog in Changsha is still prevalent, but it cannot stop our "poetry journey".
Familiar roads. We arrived at Xinkang first. Next to the Wei River, the first thing that attracted me was the tall signboard of "Honglan Guidajiu". This is a "two-faced man", with red and blue sides.
Xinkang is a veritable theater den. Various dramatic characters are painted on the walls on both sides of the clean, wide streets. We watched a shadow puppet show. This is the show we loved as kids. We seem to be back in childhood.
Tan Xiaoping, secretary of the Wangcheng District Party Committee, is a calligrapher. Xinkang's "play" was written by him. In front of the huge "drama", we are all small figures. Life is like a play. We all have our roles.
I told Xie Wuheng: "It would definitely be meaningful to find an opportunity to stay in Wangcheng for a week and write a group of "Looking for Folk Artists" like "Song Yucun Diary"." Xie Wuheng strongly agreed. .
At noon, we found a restaurant in Xinkang and ate some local dishes. We then headed to Jinggang.
Jinggang is the place where Zeng Guofan committed suicide by drowning. At that time, Zeng Guofan was forced into despair by the Taiping Army. Zeng Guofan, who threw himself into the water, was rescued by his generals, and the precarious Qing Dynasty was temporarily saved. Zeng Guofan was thus called the "famous minister of ZTE" in the Qing Dynasty.
Zeng Guofan is a big business card of Jinggang. Another big business card is the brothel.
Wherever water transportation is developed, brothels must be developed. This brothel in Jinggang is called "Hongtaifang". This is like a memorial place, crowded with tourists. I heard bursts of laughter coming from the second floor, which seemed a bit "unintentional". Xie Wuheng and I also went to the second floor. It turns out that there are some pottery on display on the second floor. Or the pottery is a "coital model", or the pottery is painted with "erotic palace pictures". There is also a "comparison" of male genitalia. We laughed too. Because there is a "tip" on the wooden wall - "Do not imitate without practice." Is it superfluous? Laughing dumbly.
Leave Jinggang and arrive at Tongguan. Tongguan Kiln, also called Changsha Kiln, is a private kiln. The value of the official kiln is much higher than here. It is said that every fragment of an official kiln is worth a lot of money. And the fragments of Tongguan kiln are everywhere. Of course, we can’t just take it for granted. Tongguan kiln condenses the blood and tears of the kiln workers.
Traveling in a hurry. It gets dark early in early winter, and the fog is heavy. When we arrived at Shutang Mountain, our vision was already poor.
The Shutangshan Cultural Park has been planned and construction is under way. We followed the newly built bluestone road and reached halfway up the mountain. Ouyang Xun, the great calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty, practiced in Shutang Mountain. The legendary "Bi Washing Spring" is unclear. The spring water is quite clear.
We had dinner at "Shigenyuan", which was also an authentic local dish. Xie Wuheng sent me back to Derun Garden, and then crossed the river.
From east to west, we are all friends.