Among the lofty mountains at the junction of Wanzhou and Yunyang in Chongqing lies a magnificent and eccentric ancestral hall. In any way, it does not look like a clan ancestral hall with strict regulations, but more like a fortress that is easily defended and difficult to attack. The first family in eastern Wanzhou who built the ancestral hall is also full of confusing legends. What kind of secrets are hidden behind this?
foggy building pattern
As the family temple of a village or a clan, the ancestral hall plays an important role in worshiping ancestors, praying for blessings, and inheriting family traditions. It is also a place for clans to hold important activities and gatherings. ordinary status. Therefore, in ancient times, there were very strict regulations on the location of ancestral halls.
First of all, the ancients believed that the location of the ancestral hall is related to the rise and fall of the clan, and it is important to be backed by the mountains and facing the water, and lean on firmly; the front is low and the back is high, and the world produces heroes; Next to the east. Secondly, the ancestral hall is often located in the center of the entire settlement, and the clan dwellings are surrounded by the surrounding, which not only has the symbolic meaning of the family as the core, but also has the same distance from each family, indicating that each family has an equal status within the clan. Finally, the ancestral hall should generally be located in a place with convenient transportation, and the surrounding space is open to avoid congestion when the whole family gathers. However, the Sinan Temple in Wanzhou completely violated these common sense.
Sinan Temple is located on the top of a steep mountain in Jiuli Mountain. It is not backed by the mountain. Although there is a pond, it is hidden behind the building and does not look at the water in front of it. Sitting east to west completely subverts common sense. There are three cliffs and one steep slope around the ancestral hall. There is only one narrow and steep step for walking. If you are not careful, you will fall under the cliff. There is no transportation. Such a dangerous location makes it difficult to imagine the gathering of its clansmen. In addition, family courtyards are also scattered on the cliffs of various hilltops, and the ancestral hall is in the same position. Such a site selection was completely unimaginable in ancient times.
If that’s not weird enough, the architectural form of the Sinan Temple is even more confusing.
Ancient ancestral halls in my country have strict definitions of regulations. Folk family ancestral halls are built in the style of hard mountains and hanging mountains. Although the scales are different, the overall shape is a square in front of the door, a stage, a gate, a wall, a patio, a hall for enjoying, a hall for worship, The layout of buildings such as dormitories and auxiliary rooms. According to the family’s economic strength, the small one is the “four points gold” of the three-sided courtyard or the courtyard, the most common is the “Bajiantou” with eight closed bays, and the hard mountain courtyard with the layout of “three vertical and three horizontal”. And what about Sinan Temple? Looking around the periphery of the ancestral hall, there are oval walls clinging to the cliffs, with an average wall thickness of 1.5 meters. Stepping into it, there are not many entrances to the courtyard, but 4 gates are set up from the bottom up.
The first pass is a village gate with a height of 1.6 meters and a width of 1.66 meters. The second gate is also a village gate, 1.88 meters high and 0.95 meters wide, forming a narrow pass with a depth of 2.4 meters between the first gate and the gate. Inside the seemingly thick stone walls on both sides of the gate, there are actually two secret and spacious darkrooms, which are difficult to find even in the stockade. There are shooting holes in the dark room, and the range of firepower can cover the entire stairs. Passing through the two gates, there is a 5.6-meter deep Tiaoshiyuan dam in front of the mountain gate, surrounded by bamboo and pine trees that block the sky and the sun. The beam of light made the whole ancestral hall look a little gloomy.
The main building of Sinan Temple is hidden in this dense forest. The arrow tower made of huge strips of stone is directly inserted into the Xiaohan, and there are few windows on the wall. Instead, there are shooting holes and lookout holes, just like a heavily guarded fortress. Only the “Si Nan Temple” plaque decorated with hollow carvings on the front reveals a hint of the charm of the ancestral hall, but behind the plaque, the circular pool with a diameter of about 3 meters, in addition to being used for the living and fire prevention of the ancestral hall, also has the function of defense. What is the reason for such a shape? This has to do with a local mysterious family surnamed Ding, who is the one who built the ancestral hall.
The mysterious family that descends from the sky
The place names in Tai’an Town, Wanzhou District, where the Sinan Temple is located, are mostly named after surnames, such as Duanjia Village, Majiaping, Jiangjiachong, etc., but there is no place named after the Ding family who once dominated the place, which seems a bit unreasonable.
According to the old man in the town, there are two main reasons: First, the Ding family is not a native of the local people, but a non-local ethnic group who moved here in the early Qing Dynasty. At that time, this place was originally the site of the Duan and Jiang families. After the Ding family with a strong economy moved here, they continued to acquire land and properties from the two families, and gradually became the only big family in this area. Instead, the family gradually disappeared; second, the family has always been very mysterious. Unlike other immigrant families who like to highlight the characteristics of family origins and inheritance, the Ding family has always been tight-lipped about their origins. The only clue is only two large stone tablets embedded in the wall on both sides of the courtyard of Sinan Temple. The two steles were engraved in Dingwei year of Daoguang (1847) and Gengshen year of Xianfeng (1860). According to the inscriptions, the construction of Sinan Temple started in July 1847 and was completed in the summer of the following year. The expansion was completed in May 1860. The clan rules are engraved. The only content involving the family situation is the division of the family during the Jiaqing period, but that was also after the move to Tai’an. In addition, nothing is mentioned about the origin of the family, the reasons for migration, ancestors and ancestors, which should have been recorded in detail in the ancestral hall. breath.
What is even more surprising is that even the name of Sinan Temple is also full of mystery. Descendants of the Ding family once introduced that Sinan Temple was first named Jie Gong Temple, and the builder was the ancestor Ding Jie—the earliest ancestor that the Ding family can trace back today. Later, Ding Jie’s seventh son Ding Guoquan presided over the expansion of the ancestral hall. Because of the word Zhennan and the name of Sinan, later generations changed its name to Sinan Temple in memory of him. However, many people think this statement is dubious, because the Sichuan-Chongqing area was once a region where a large number of immigrants migrated, so the ancestral halls in the area have obvious features that make future generations remember the family origin or the name of the ancestors. The name of the family ancestral hall is rather unreasonable, so there are two kinds of sayings that are also widely circulated among the descendants of the family: some people believe that the ancestor of the Ding family was once named Sinanbo (an ancient title), so the its name. Although Sinan is ranked as an earl and is a high-ranking member, it is actually a phantom title that is only used to express noble status; some people think that Sinan is a compass, and the name Sinan is intended to symbolize that the ancestral hall is a family. The cohesion of the family, the clan rules in the ancestral hall are the code of conduct for all members of the family.
As for the castle-like shape of the ancestral hall, it is generally considered to be inseparable from the mystery of the origin that this mysterious family abides by, which makes the Ding family extremely vigilant and vigilant. Not only the ancestral hall, but the entire family’s buildings have strong defensive features, or cottages, or arrow towers, some are built in the same place, some are built separately, but they all occupy the surrounding hills and passes, and they are built according to the topography and living needs. , does not follow fixed rules.
The most well-preserved one today is the Dingjia Arrow Tower on the top of the mountain not far away. The arrow tower faces south and is roughly in the shape of a slightly smaller upper part, with a side length of 7 meters, a height of 4 floors, and a total height of about 12 meters. There is a defensive stand. In order to enhance the defense capability, the gate of the arrow tower is 3.5 meters above the ground, and a ladder is required to enter. The interior space of the arrow tower is small and can only be sheltered for a small number of people. It is mainly used to defend against bandits. In addition, because it is located on the top of the mountain and has an excellent view, it is like a watchtower overlooking the alarm, and the clansmen can be notified by horns or fireworks in time to escape and evacuate.
The Diverse History of Ding
How did the rich Ding family make their fortune? What caused them to leave their homes and migrate to such a remote mountainous area? Why are they keeping a secret about their family background? Numerous mysteries remain shrouded in unanswered questions.
A descendant of the Ding family once said that when the family passed down to Ding Jie and Ding Yu, there were four people in total. Once, there was a family tree in the main ancestral hall, but the history of the family’s prosperity was only briefly described. Later, his grandson Ding Yingmao served as the deputy general of Baoning House. During the period, the Ding family set up grain fields, blessed the neighbors, and had a high reputation in the local area. However, a search of historical records could not find any relevant records.
There is also a local saying that the Ding family is actually a descendant of the Ding Kuichu family, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi in the late Ming Dynasty, which is consistent with the family tree’s narrative of guarding Guangdong and Guangxi. Since they are descendants of Ding Kuichu, it seems that it is not difficult to explain why the Ding family kept their names incognito, migrated in large numbers, and even did everything possible to obscure the origin of the family.
Ding Kuichu, an important minister in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, took the imperial examinations as an official, and successively served as the governor of Baoding, the minister of households, the governor of Hebei and other important positions. He was reinstated as the governor of Henan, Huguang, and the Ministry of War. In general, Ding Kuichu during this period was regarded as an outstanding talent.
After the establishment of the Hongguang court in the Southern Ming Dynasty, Ding Kuichu was widely used and was promoted to the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi as the Minister of the Ministry of Military Affairs. At that time, the pace of the Qing army’s southward movement was accelerated, and the current situation was very tense. Originally, Guangdong and Guangxi were located in the southernmost part of the mainland, with abundant products and other geographical advantages, and they were properly managed to build a rear base to fight against the Qing Dynasty. However, at this time, Ding Kuichu’s mentality has undergone a major change. He believes that the Ming Dynasty has been unable to return to the sky, so it is better to leave some way for himself, and make a good profit before the Qing army arrives. Therefore, he not only sent the navy that was originally used to fight the Qing army to Antelope Canyon in Zhaoqing, and drained the river water to dig out the old pits and inkstones for sale, but also sold officials and lords in the court to make a lot of money.
Ding Kuichu’s luck was good, not only did the Qing army arrive late, but he also led his troops to pacify the rebellion of King Jingjiang, so he was even more important. Later, Emperor Longwu was killed by the Qing army, and Ding Kuichu supported Zhu Youlang, the King of Gui, to become the emperor, and became the chief minister of Emperor Yongli, the last emperor of the Southern Ming Dynasty. However, all these powers vanished when the Qing army pressed the border. Naturally, Ding Kuichu would not give his life to fight against the Qing, but instead hurried away with the wealth he had collected over the years. In desperation, he could only secretly send his cronies to bring gold and silver treasures to bribe Li Chengdong, but Li Chengdong took it all into account. Xu used his position as the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi to trap and kill Ding Kuichu, and took all his wealth into his pocket. More than 800,000, and countless other treasures. It is said that almost all the clansmen who fled with Ding Kuichu were beheaded, and only one young grandson was adopted by Li Chengdong’s general Luo Chengyao, thus leaving a single line.
Maybe even Li Chengdong didn’t think that Ding Kuichu’s property was far more than that. Many of the things he couldn’t take were hidden along the way. They were found by his grandson when he grew up. No one knew their whereabouts. If the Ding family living in Tai’an Town is this clan, then all the problems will be revealed, but is this really the case? It can only be left to the world with infinite reverie.
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