On May 4th, the day before Chang Xia played tennis in Wuxiang, a neighboring county, we were warmly invited by Mr. Li, a golfer from Wuxiang, to take a nap in Guxian Village, Fengzhou Town, his former residence. While sipping the excellent fragrant tea before tomorrow, we talked about tennis life with a smile, and the host suddenly seemed to think of something.
It's only a few minutes' drive Qian 'gou is also called "Five Villages" because five natural villages moved from different places in order to get rid of poverty and synthesized the name of a new village. No permanent residents. Relying on five natural villages, a nostalgic folk culture village was built on the basis of retaining the original style and adding modern elements appropriately. It is said that a cadre surnamed Zhang, who was then the propaganda department of Shanxi Provincial Party Committee, cooperated sincerely with a boss of Wuxiang Universal Travel Company when he was the first secretary in Fengzhou Town, and planned a tourism project in advance.
This small village is only a few kilometers away from the county seat, which is not much different from the rural areas in the tens of millions of Taihang Mountains. The village leans lazily on the mountainside, and a stream flows carelessly in front of the village. The roadside is stepping up infrastructure construction. Turning right after crossing a small bridge is a sharp turn, and an eye-catching village sign "Love in the front ditch" enters our field of vision. Park the car and walk on the stone road. A slender tower stands on the top of the mountain ahead. In early summer, if there are thin clouds floating in the blue sky, the trees are lush and the wild flowers are fragrant. On a boulder on the right front, four red characters "Love in the front ditch" stand out, and on the left front is an old-fashioned city gate hole. Walking along the path paved with red bricks, "Look, welcome pine" everyone shouted in unison. A leafy pine tree in Ye Sheng stands proudly on the hillside, with vigorous branches stretching around, as if welcoming guests from all corners of the country. In addition, mulberry trees, jujube trees and hawthorn trees are everywhere behind the kiln in front of the house, and purple wildflowers in early summer cover the hillside and decorate the courtyard. Birds are singing in the blue sky, and the village is full of fragrance. "
First, we came to the modern living room, which is made of steel and glass. This modern building is built on the mountain, and the cave made of slate is wrapped in it. The stratigraphic structure of the rock is clearly visible. The host warmly invited us to drink the local specialty-fragrant millet tea. While drinking tea, we enjoy the beautiful integration of countryside and city, nostalgia and modernity. This feeling is "this scene was once in the sky, how many times can we smell it on earth"? There is a core scenic spot in the middle of the village, which is the mud storehouse, with five main rooms on two floors. The adobe on the wall is riddled with holes and still retains its original flavor. There are old desk-top square mirrors, clocks, baby carriages, cameras, etc. on the first floor. There are more than 3000 books on the second floor, which is said to have a history of 200 years.
On the first floor of the library, there is a log. On the forehead of the log, the word "polite hospitality" is highlighted, which literally means respected guests. This plaque was awarded to the meritorious teachers at that time, which is equivalent to the fact that our current rural school teachers have won national awards. At the top right of the plaque, it says "Send Confucian Orthodox Church in Wuxiang County, add three-level Wei Song", at the bottom left, it says "Zhao Chun, the village drinking agent, keeps the ceremony", and the last line should say "Gu Erdan on a certain day, a certain month, a certain year". Accordingly, it is inferred that the plaque should be a Confucian orthodox plaque in Wuxiang County, where Song once held a ceremony for Zhao Chun, the drinking agent of the village. Ru 'ao, also known as Oracle Bone Inscriptions, was a local county-level official in charge of education in the late Qing Dynasty, about equivalent to today's director of the Education Commission. Adding three levels is an official's merit record. What is a rural guest? Rural drinking guests are the guests of rural drinking ceremony, which are divided into: big guests, small guests, medium guests and many guests. Candidates are examined by local academic officials and issue "letters of recommendation" for review by local judges, states and governments. Finally, the official department submitted it to the emperor for approval. Those who were approved by the emperor as "rural drinkers" were awarded "certificates" by the court. If we use today's situation as an analogy, the drinkers in my hometown in those days were like village-level model principals who won national prizes today, and then held a meeting on Teachers' Day to praise them, and finally had dinner among distinguished guests. The memorable Mr. Zhao can be seen in this small ditch, which shows that he has made a lot of contributions in teaching and educating people, and future generations can still remember him. If you are interested, you can also consult the local county records and trace the past lives of Song people.
The small front ditch, more than a dozen families, jagged houses and stone kilns, and the integration of modern architectural elements are very suitable for young people to take a nap here, which has both the interest of "quiet grass in early summer" and the feeling of "trees everywhere in the afternoon, dreaming of children". The scenery in this small village is very pleasant. Thanks to the cadres in the province, the decadent mountain village has the best home. Instead of disappearing with the reform, it has played its due role.
In my spare time, I come to Qiangou to talk about love, reminisce about my past life, experience the local customs and customs of Taihang Mountain Village, feel the rural culture, have a sip of millet tea, drink a cup of millet coffee, live in a cave, and watch bloom flowers fall in front of the court. Why not? Especially when you stare at the plaque of the "ceremony banquet", penetrate the century-old history and get a glimpse of the achievements of Confucianism in the late Qing Dynasty, your happiness will be more lasting.
? Tuesday, May 2022 10