When we arrived at Xidi Village, a "Hu Pailou", commonly known as "Xidi Pailou", which was built in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty (1578), stood high in front of us. Hu (152 1- 1593), a native of Xidi, was a scholar of Jiajing Yimaoke. He was first the magistrate of Wanzai County, Jiangxi Province, then the secretariat of Jiaozhou, and then moved to Jing, where he was appointed as a court doctor for four times. Because of his outstanding achievements, the emperor is willing to build this stone workshop.
Historically, Xidi Village has 13 archways, most of which are used to show filial piety and chastity. The only remaining Hu memorial archway is the most magnificent and exquisite, which can be called the representative work of Huizhou Stone Square in Ming Dynasty.
Zoumalou, also known as Lingyun Pavilion, was built in the light years of Qing Dynasty, and is located on the west side of Hupailou. It is said that it was built by Hu Guan, the richest man in Xidi, in order to welcome her in-laws and the current prime minister Cao Zhenyong. Today's Zoumalou was rebuilt according to the layout of that year, and became a scenic spot with the adjacent ruins of the Seven Philosophers Temple. Zoumalou is divided into two floors, with white walls and white tiles cornices. Now, Huangmei Opera, ball throwing, tea ceremony and other programs are performed in Zoumalou. There is a single-hole stone arch bridge downstairs, called Wugui Ancient Bridge. Xixi flowing water, passing around Zoumalou, where you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of Wuqiao jathyapple, one of the "Eight Western Scenes". Walking along the Qingshiban Road into the village tail street, the first thing you see is "Gu Kuang Village". The name "KuangGuzhai" was coined by modern people, which implied the profound ancient emblem culture and was written by Liu Bingsen, a famous contemporary calligrapher.
A few steps before Ruiyuting is the "Peach and Plum Garden". Li Tao Garden was also built in Xianfeng period of Qing Dynasty, which consisted of a main house and a courtyard. It is the former residence and private school of Hu Yuanxi, a Hui merchant in Xidi. The main room is a structure with three rooms and three entrances on the second floor. The first two entrances are two small sets, and the three rooms are facing back. There is a unique "upstairs well" on the second floor, which fills the whole house with light and smooth air. Moreover, the wooden balustrade upstairs is a blind date hole used by ladies to secretly watch young men come and go home to see if they can choose the right man. The second and third entrances are separated by a white wall with a door in the middle. There is a stone carving banner of the official script "Peach Blossom Spring Man" on the door. On the small door leading to the street, there is the word "Peach and Plum Garden" in the small seal script, which means "peaches and plums are all over the world".
When you left Li Tao Garden, you entered the West Garden. The Sanweitang, which is adjacent to the West Garden and connected to the East Garden, has a five-room structure on the second floor. The word "three flavors" and its postscript hung high in the hall, meaning "fear of fate, fear of imperial edict and fear of adults" The front hall is spacious and the patio is spacious. Most of Xidi ancient dwellings have "patios", which is a major feature of Huizhou architecture. The patio usually has three rooms in front of the hall and four rooms in the hall, which has the function of lighting and ventilation. In the past, in order to hide money and guard against theft, Huizhou merchants mostly built tall and closed walls and rarely opened windows to the outside. Set up a patio, let nature blend into the house, achieve "harmony between man and nature", and you can see the sun without leaving home. There is also a saying that businessmen are always afraid of the outflow of financial resources and build a patio, but "four waters return to the hall", that is, the wealth of the four parties, such as the rain on the roof, gathers in the patio and will not flow out of his home, commonly known as "fat water does not flow out of the field."
Xiulou, the owner of Dafu, used the space next to the main house to build a street attic, commonly known as "Miss Xiulou". The embroidered building with upturned cornices is unique, exquisite and elegant. Loue woodcut is the calligraphy of Zhu Shilu, a scholar in Qing Dynasty, and the calligraphy of Wang Endao, a calligrapher in this city in Qing Dynasty, in which the word "source" is intentionally moved to the head of "factory" to show the beauty of the whole; In particular, the word "person" is vivid like a young man bending over and stretching out his arms to meet the miss's colored ball. The small portal downstairs is a big step back from the main wall, which shows that the owner "wants to take a step back" from the stone gate of the book. Intriguing, it is really "romantic to enter, chic to retreat".