There are so many towns called Zhonghe in China, including those in Sichuan, Inner Mongolia, Yunnan, and Chongqing. They all take the meaning of “harmony and compromise” in “The Doctrine of the Mean”, which contains the simple philosophical thinking of ancient Chinese ancestors. From another perspective, a town with such a name must have many stories. The word “Zhonghe” is not only a place name, but also a motto that the ancestors living here wanted to tell the future generations.
Encounter between Qinba Ancient Road and Yingyang River
Yingyang River originates from Sanhuikou and dances back and forth among the mountains in the west of Kaizhou. Sometimes it is thick and colorful, cutting out deep canyons and waterfalls on both sides of the river; A strand of brocade dancing with the waves. Here is Zhonghe Old Street.
The prosperity of Kaizhou in ancient times originated from a famous passage in Chinese history—the Qinba Ancient Road. It was this ancient road connecting the north and the south that became the main artery for the spread and exchange of civilizations between Chongqing and Shaanxi, and drove the development of a large number of towns along the way. Commerce and trade prospered and culture prospered. Kaizhou Zhonghe was conceived in such a pulsation.
Strictly speaking, the Qinba Ancient Road is not the name of a certain ancient road, but the collective name of several ancient road systems developed by the ancestors of ancient Shaanxi and Chongqing to overcome the barriers of the Qinling Mountains and Daba Mountains. The ancient road was opened as early as the Western Jin Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, it was expanded into Yangwanfu Road, Yangqun Road and Lizhi Road, which are traditionally called Yangba Road. During the Song-Mongolian War, the Kaizhou section of the Qinba Ancient Road was a battleground between the two sides. It changed hands several times and became a military passage that affected the overall situation. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the ancient Qinba road in Kaizhou was reduced to a commercial road, and commerce and trade reached unprecedented prosperity. The reason why Kaizhou occupies an important strategic position in this ancient road is that it occupies the throat of Ba Kui and the lips and teeth of Xiangxia. Therefore, the ancient road eventually formed a transportation network in all directions at this junction, consisting of the Xiaochuan North Road, the east-west “three-fork” passage, and the north-south “three vertical and one horizontal” trails.
The east-west “three-fork” channel divides in Linjiang, and one of the “fork” passes through Sanhechang and Zhonghechang, crosses Yangliuguan to Dongxiang boundary and exits Chongqing. This western branch is a relatively developed one in the ancient road system. On the one hand, this road is the closest one from Kaizhou to the main line of the Qinba Ancient Road, Yangwanfu Main Road. On the other hand, it is because of the cutting and erosion of Yingyang River. A relatively gentle passage has been formed in the mountain, which is convenient for merchants to pass through. The two relatively open tidal flats along the river naturally became places where businessmen gathered and traded, but in this way, conflicts caused by competition were inevitable. Later, everyone also figured it out. Those who can come here are those who have gone through a lot of hardships and climbed over the two natural dangers of Qinling and Daba Mountains, but in the end they were beaten because of some trivial things. It is really not worth it. As a result, business travelers from all walks of life began to form an agreement, taking “peace is the most precious” as the rule for doing business here.In the mid-Qing Dynasty, when the trade boom broke out, one of these two places took the lead in forming a market town, and it was named Zhonghechang. Later, at the end of the Qing Dynasty, another place also became a market town, but because the name “Zhonghe” had already been preempted, it was named Sanhechang after the confluence of three streams and rivers. Since the distance between these two places is only 5 kilometers, they are too close, and with the prosperity of the ancient roads, they continue to expand, so the two places started a protracted competition for the title of a “town”, constantly “combining” and “dividing”, “dividing” and and”. It was not until 2005 that these two “entangled” “sisters” finally merged together in the spirit of the word “he” and became the current Zhonghe Town. This “harmony” is indeed “expensive”, and Zhonghe has become one of the few big towns in Kaizhou in one fell swoop.
the tree is in the house the house is in the tree
Walking in the ancient town, Yuhong and other hundred-year-old streets are still imprinted with the bumpy bluestone roads of the past. There are many exquisite animal sculptures hidden in the damp atmosphere, especially cats and dogs. It complements the walking or lying cats and dogs that can be seen everywhere on the old street. According to the old people, these cats and dogs were carved because there are many mountains and the river beach is not big. The old street can only be built along the river valley, which is long and narrow. The mountain looks like a centipede. , In order not to let the “rooster eat the centipede”, cats and dogs were carved for protection.Today’s Zhonghe Old Street, the former prosperity has long faded, leaving only these imprints, looking up, and feeling a new atmosphere of harmonious coexistence between man and nature. Walking on the old street, you can see the river flowing quietly through the gaps between the houses, and the old man carrying the clothes to be washed chatters and disappears into the gaps. After a while, these gaps were filled with green again, and the old yellow kudzu trees opened their giant umbrellas, holding hands and embracing every old house in the old street. When you walk into some old houses, you will be surprised to find that the thick trunks of these yellow kudzu trees actually grow in the corners, and some branches stick out from the balcony, and even drill directly from the roof, forming a “tree in the house, a house on the tree”. “The unique landscape.
The people living here regard every ancient tree in the ancient town as their partners and guardians of the ancient town. In the hot summer, these partners cover the entire old street, and in the rainy season, they use their well-developed root system to firmly grasp the embankment. People in the ancient town have formed a custom to build a house next to an ancient tree. Over time, the branches will grow into the house, forming a harmonious scene where people and trees live together in the houses in the ancient town.
In addition to historical origins and unique scenes, there are also many rumors and stories about Zhonghe. Friends who like to walk the ancient roads know that every ancient town that is prosperous because of the ancient roads is surrounded by famous family compounds bred by the ancient towns, and Zhonghe is no exception. As the center of famous archery clusters, related buildings are widely distributed from Zhonghe Old Street to the mountainside and then to the top of the mountain. The Yu Family Courtyard Archery Tower, Fengding Archery Tower, Yuanjiaping Archery Tower… are all top boutiques in Chongqing, among which the Yu Family Courtyard Archery Tower is the most legendary.
There are many mysteries in Yu’s compound
The Yu Family Courtyard was first built in the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty and rebuilt in the 23rd year of Guangxu. According to the local villagers, in fact, the original owner of the compound was not Yu, but Wang. There are different opinions about the life experience of the Wang family. Some people say that he is a foreign businessman who made a lot of money doing business on the ancient road. Some people say that he is an official who took refuge… In short, he spent a lot of money to buy land and build a compound here. When everyone thought he was proud of himself, he sold the compound to a man named Chen Qiyang for some unknown reason, and then the Wang family disappeared strangely. After the Chen family bought it, they sold the compound to a local family surnamed Yu, and then, for reasons unknown, the Chen family also disappeared. It stands to reason that the Wang family and the Chen family must be rich enough to be able to build or buy such a compound, and they can definitely be regarded as a famous family in Zhonghe, but they just disappeared into the long river of memory without leaving a trace. Very incredible. The Yu family disagreed with this statement. They recalled that the compound was built for their ancestors Yu Tianshi and grandfather Yu Xilin, and there was no change of hands in between. The Yu family has lived here for more than 100 years. The two statements contradict each other and are still confusing.
Regardless of one’s background, there is no doubt that the architecture of the Yu Family Courtyard is truly exquisite. The compound sits west and faces east, backed by a gentle slope, facing Yingyang River in the east, and looking at Zhonghe Old Street in the distance, there is a large fertile field in front of it. The entire compound is surrounded by square walls ranging in height from 2.5 meters to 3 meters, covering an area of 3237 square meters. In front of the main entrance, there is a semicircular platform with a radius of about 4 meters and a very chic design, connected to an old stone road leading to the courtyard. to the distance. Inside the platform, there are two horoscope walls with a height of 3 meters and a width of 4 meters. Although the inscriptions on them are covered by plaster, the plaster patterns, carved stone pillars, checkered bricks with swastika patterns, tiles and porcelain ornaments are still exquisite. On the back of the eight-character wall, there are four big characters of “Phoenix Rising and Flood Dragon”, and the other wall is inaccessible. Entering the Chaomen is a theater building, with ear rooms on both sides. The houses in the courtyard are “one main house, six horizontal corridors and eight courtyards”, that is, 1 main house, 6 horizontal corridors, and 8 courtyards. There are more than 80 original houses, which are connected to each other through corridors and courtyards. The main house of the courtyard is two courtyards with hanging gable roofs in the east and west. The gables under the eaves are symmetrically opened with two circular and rectangular flower windows, and there are also independent turning corridors. There are two stone gates in the east and west sides of the quadrangle. On the west side of the stone gate, “Love in Spring” is engraved on the forehead.
In addition, the colorful painting on the eaves of the Yu Family Courtyard is also worth admiring. The most outstanding feature of the Yu Family Courtyard is the painted mountain flowers. There are colorful paintings on several gables and lintels of the compound, with patterns of figures (images of ancient officials), flowers and birds (twigs, chrysanthemums, green pines, etc.), legends (pig Bajie soaring clouds, bone spirit flying into the sky) and utensils (vases, teapots, The four treasures of the study, the faucet, the mountain courtyard), etc., are colorfully painted and beautiful. Although many manors in the Bayu Courtyard have plain or painted mountain flowers on the gable walls, it is rare to see such well-preserved paintings with rich themes, colorful colors, and superb artistry. Especially after nearly 200 years, the colors can still be so bright, which is a miracle.
Mansion Records
The most graceful place in the Yu Family Courtyard is a square archery tower located in the northwest corner. The two semi-circular “Guanyindou” wind volcanic walls on the top of the watchtower have beautiful arcs, and its figure is like a graceful girl, which attracts people who come to the compound every time. This “Guanyindou” style volcanic wall shows that the ancestors of the compound came from the Huguang area. The watchtower has 4 floors. The ground floor is closely connected with the courtyard on the west side of the compound. The double wooden doors in the stone door frame are wrapped with iron sheets. There is an attic on the top. There are two windows on each floor on the front and back, but no shooting holes are seen. Villagers joked that the lack of firing holes might be because such a wonderful young girl doesn’t like violence. In addition to the beautiful Fenghuo walls on the two walls, the decorative shapes and decoration techniques of the top of the watchtower are also very exquisite. , auspicious clouds, patterns and opera story painting.
When people counted these rural houses in the early days, facing such a beautiful mansion compound, no one expected that only a widow and a single old man lived in this huge compound. Some people say that this is because of the fall of the Yu family’s family fortune, but why it fell is a mystery; The wild cats ate up all of them, and “Yu” and “Fish” were homophonic, so the Yu family could no longer revive. Of course, these are just some legends. In the turbulent years of the Republic of China, no matter how rich the big family was in the countryside, they were extremely vulnerable. Destroyed the ancestral property overnight, leaving everything impoverished. In such an environment, no one cared about the life and death of the people around them, so naturally the truth about the decline of such a big family was unknown.
Of course, the legends and treasures of Zhonghe are far more than that. In Helin Village, there is an inscription on Bamao Mountain that reads “loyalty to the country”. On Zhongfeng Mountain, there are ancient temples Shuanglong Temple and Wenchang Pavilion. There are legends about Baishui that it originated from Baishui Temple built in the Eastern Han Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty… These treasures, together with Zhonghe Town, Immersed in history, quietly guarding one side of the world, waiting for people to explore.
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