Dai Jiandong
He went to Chencun at the invitation of Sheng Xiurong, a cultural expert in the village.
After passing the ancient city of Tangxi, drive south along the Tangsu Line. In the Houda section, a stone bridge spans the Houda River. After crossing the stone bridge and heading east is Chencun. This small village nestled between mountains and rivers is somewhat looming at night. Like most small mountain villages in the south of the Yangtze River, the village entrance is lined with rows of newly built three-story buildings, and the alleys in the village are relatively narrow. Because it was raining lightly and there was still some water in the alleys, we walked carefully through the alleys and came to a small farmyard.
This is Sheng Xiurong’s home, a unique village house.
On the white wall in the courtyard, there is a wall painting "The Color of Fish in the Lotus Pond" created by Sheng Xiurong. Two large carp swim among the green lotus leaves. The exquisiteness of the painting is amazing. Sheng Xiurong's home is also different from other farmhouses. There are many calligraphy and paintings hanging in the interior. When you open the back door, there is a rockery and a pool. The entire farmhouse courtyard is reflected in elegance and tranquility.
The host is very hospitable and uses simple tea sets to brew fragrant black tea. In an elegant environment, listen to Sheng Xiurong's description of the history and culture of Chencun. Sheng Xiurong, who has rich historical materials on Chinese studies, talks about the history and humanities of Chencun very well, which makes people marvel at the erudition and versatility of this master figure.
Chencun is located at the foot of Jiufeng Mountain, a provincial scenic spot, and at the foot of Baishi Mountain on the bank of Houda River. The environment is quiet and the village style is simple. Jiufeng Mountain is a famous mountain, and Taosi and Hudi at the foot of the mountain are villages where famous people in history were born. In my image, Chencun, I thought it was a village with the surname Chen. When I arrived at the village, I realized that this small mountain village originally had the surname Fan as the main surname, and it was in the same line as Fan Zhongyan, a famous official in the Northern Song Dynasty. This made people look at Chencun with admiration. .
Listening to your words is worth ten years of reading. Sheng Xiurong allowed us to understand Chencun and the cultural heritage of the place where Fan Zhongyan’s descendants lived.
More than a thousand years ago, the ancestors of Chencun cultivated and lived on this land. In the early Northern Song Dynasty, a family named Chen established a family here, so it was named Chencun. Later, another family surnamed Zhang moved here and thrived here until the Zhengtong period of the Ming Dynasty. Fan Chunren, the second son of Fan Zhongyan, and the direct descendant of Bo Ronggong, moved from Lanyi to Shankou Hall, and then to Xidong (today's Chencun). The population is prosperous, the branches are luxuriant, and the melons are stretching, gradually forming the appearance of Chencun today. In the past, there was a Prince Consort Hall in Chencun, and there is a saying that civil servants dismounted their sedan chairs and military attachés dismounted their horses. Unfortunately, around the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, a huge flood in Houda River destroyed the Prince Consort Hall. At the end of the Republic of China, there were still flag stone and foundation ruins in Chencun.
After the people of the Fan family settled in Chencun, the family gradually became prosperous and gradually became a popular surname in the village. Because the descendants surnamed Fan are the direct descendants of Fan Zhongyan and Fan Chunren, the famous ministers of the Northern Song Dynasty, Fan Zhongyan's thoughts of loyalty to the emperor and love for the people deeply influenced the Fan family, thus creating a profound cultural heritage in Chencun. The Fan family in Chencun became a famous local family. . According to rumors among the elders in the village, there was once a precious treasure hanging in Fan's ancestral hall: the imperial edict given to Fan Chunren by Song Zhezong Zhao Xiyu in the fourth year of Yuanyou of the Song Dynasty. This became the pride of several generations of Chen Village. What is sad is that this treasure was lost during the Cultural Revolution and became a permanent regret in the hearts of the descendants of the Fan family in Chencun.
Fan Zhongyan, the ancestor of the Fan family, was very concerned about the sufferings of the people, worried about their lives, and had a close relationship with the people. He regarded "taking the people as his concern" and "rescuing the people's sufferings" as his maxims and practiced them personally. In "Encouraging Farmers", he wrote: "It was a good year to cook sunflowers and peel jujubes, and the prefect advised the farmers to listen. Don't worry about the different customs of the times. From now on, I am willing to adjust the customs of Bin."
The famous story "Yueyang Tower" is even more famous in the world. The idea of ??"worrying before the world's worries, and rejoicing after the world's happiness" inspired the high-spirited moral sentiments of Fan's descendants. The descendants of the Fan family thrived on this fertile soil and created brilliance generation after generation.
Fan Chunren only became an official after Fan Zhongyan's death. He successively served as the observation judge of Xuzhou and the magistrate of Xiangyi County. Fan Chunren has an easy-going and kind-hearted character, and does not treat others with harsh words or harsh words. However, he is upright and independent wherever he thinks it is morally right, and does not submit at all. From the commoner to the prime minister, he has always been honest, diligent and thrifty. He once said: "What I have learned in my life, I can use the words "Yi, Zhongshu" and "Yizhongshu" forever.
So much so that when serving the king in the court, making friends with colleagues, and harmonizing the clan, there is never a moment without these two words. ”
Later, Fan Chunren’s direct descendants moved several times, and finally chose to live in the fertile soil at the foot of Jiufeng Mountain and the bank of Houda River, and gradually grew the Fan family. The imperial edict given to Fan Chunren was once brought along with the family’s migration. To Chencun, it is enshrined in the Fan Clan Ancestral Hall. Every year on the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, this sacred imperial edict will be hung in the central hall behind the Fan Clan Ancestral Hall, and grand sacrifices and other important events will be held in the solemn and mysterious atmosphere filled with smoke. The clan activities were held until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month of the following year. Unfortunately, the once glorious Fan ancestral hall gradually fell into disrepair over the years, and eventually collapsed and was destroyed.
In the prosperous times, the construction of beautiful countryside has made Chencun prosperous again. In today's new rural construction, the two committees of Chencun Village assessed the situation and built a new Chencun Cultural Auditorium on the original foundation of Fan's Ancestral Hall. , sorting out Fan Zhongyan’s life story and cultural origins. The spacious venue and magnificent gatehouse give Fan’s ancestral temple a new connotation.
It is worth mentioning that Sheng Xiurong, a cultural expert in Chencun, used it as a memorial. With his superb cultural skills, he has made unremitting efforts to restore and improve the culture of the Fan family in Chencun. Although Sheng Xiurong is not a descendant of the Fan family, as a citizen of Chencun, he has never returned to the prosperity and rejuvenation of the village culture. The hometown is committed to the cultural construction of the village. From the vast cultural and historical materials, we searched for bits and pieces of historical materials about the ancestors of the Fan family in Chencun, sorted them out, and drew them in the cultural auditorium and on the cultural corridor to leave a legacy to future generations.
The day we went to Chencun happened to be the tenth day of the first lunar month, and it was still drizzling. We sat at Sheng Xiurong’s house, sipping tea and listening to the sounds coming from the window. There was a burst of drumming. This was the colorful cloth dragon in the village preparing to dance and parade. We were all excited when we heard that there was a colorful cloth dragon. At the suggestion of the owner, we followed the sound of the drumming and looked for the flying colorful cloth dragon. Location.
When we arrived at the courtyard of the village cultural hall, we saw colorful flags and two red and yellow cloth dragons lingering in the cultural hall. Male and female team members wearing red and yellow dragon robes, Holding the dexterous colorful dragons, they walked around in the auditorium. Following a burst of impetuous drum music, the two colorful dragons swam out of the auditorium and walked through the village lanes. Wherever they went, people lined the streets to greet them.
Chencun has always had a traditional lantern night custom. On the day of welcoming the dragon lantern, every household in Chencun will decorate with lanterns and entertain guests and friends. The whole village, men, women and children, are brightly dressed and glowing, creating a festive atmosphere. Filling every corner. Wherever the dragon lantern goes, people burn incense, light candles, and kneel down to worship. In front of the dragon's true form, everyone's face is full of piety, without any pretense or hypocrisy. At that time, it was more about praying for good weather, peace and harmony. This may be the reverence of the Chinese nation for the dragon.
The dragon is the totem of the Chinese nation and has always had the status of "the supreme one in the Nine-Five Years", and so does the dragon-welcoming lantern. One of the local folk customs in the ancient Yue area in the south of the Yangtze River is that the local folk custom of Tangxi usually welcomes the dragon on the bench to pray for good weather. Only in Chencun, the dragon is danced on the bench. Lighting incense candles can easily cause fires and pose a high safety risk. Later, under the guidance of "experts", it was changed to a colorful cloth dragon, which continues to this day and eventually became an entertainment project for the people of Chen Village to celebrate the festival in a civilized way.
The typical Jiangnan rice culture has given birth to the simple lifestyle of the descendants of Chencun, and has also been integrated into the local ancient Yue culture. Village customs and customs follow the customs of Tangxi Ancient County. Welcoming dragon lanterns in the first month is one of the important celebration customs in the village. On every first day of the first lunar month, the ancestors of Chencun would use red and yellow pieces of cloth to tie up two long colorful dragons, which would be lifted and danced by more than 10 men and women respectively. Wherever the lanterns are placed, the villagers worship and welcome them with great ceremony. On the day of the dragon dance, every house is brightly lit and full of guests and friends, making it very lively.
In addition to the many customs of Guyue Tangxi in Chencun, for example, on the first day of the first lunar month, the whole family will go to the ancestor's grave to pay New Year's greetings and worship, and return to the ancestral hall to receive steamed buns. There will also be some calligraphy performances in the ancestral hall. Activities such as the couplet association, the old and the young competing together to demonstrate eighteen kinds of martial arts...
It is said that the descendants of the Fan family in Chencun are so outstanding in martial arts that people from all over the country admire them very much. , however, Fan Chunren’s wise words clearly stated that “only frugality can help integrity, but forgiveness can achieve virtue”, which was highly praised by the descendants of the Fan family in Chencun, thus creating the diligent, thrifty and courteous character of the descendants of Chencun, which continues to this day. .
Back at Sheng Xiurong’s house, it was already dinner time. The sumptuous dishes, harmonious atmosphere, and the host’s talkative words made everyone enjoy the meal together. At this time, the sound of outdoor drumming is still heard, and the cheerful dragon dance music spreads throughout the village alleys and into thousands of households, bringing auspicious signs to the people of Chencun.
At night, thousands of houses are lit with lights. After dinner, people flocked to the entrance of the village to catch a glimpse of the colorful dragon at night. Chencun Bulong emerges from the alleys of the village. The red and yellow dragons go hand in hand, sometimes attaching their heads to each other, sometimes twisting and rising. The Bulongs are brightly lit, and from a distance, they look like two golden dragons passing through the surroundings of the village. , bringing a year of auspiciousness and joy to Chencun.
If Benchlong is compared to a majestic general, then Bulong is like a gentle and frail scholar. The graceful, light and flexible dragon body also attracted the astonishing attention of the villagers. Wherever the colorful cloth dragon goes, the lights are overflowing with lights. The villagers follow the footsteps of the dancing dragon and move forward slowly, while the children crawl through the colorful cloth dragon, laughing and playing, having fun. Return.
"There is Furong Peak in the north and Baishi Mountain in the south." The descendants of the Fan family who have always been stationed by the Houda River follow the example of their ancestors and illuminate the words and deeds of the descendants of the Fan family. Chencun people inherit the noble integrity of their ancestors and live endlessly on the banks of the Yuexi River. The virtues of "loyalty to the emperor and loving the people" of Fan's ancestors have always inspired Chencun people to move forward.