Cangpo ancient village

Cangpo village has a history of more than 800 years. Despite the vicissitudes of nearly a thousand years, the old appearance has not changed. There are still village walls, roads, residences, pavilions, temples, pools and ancient cypresses of Song Dynasty architecture, showing a strong ancient flavor everywhere.

The streets and lanes in Cangpo village are in the shape of eight trigrams, with the square ring Gupan lane as the center, opening eight roads to the southeast, northwest and four directions, and leading to the outside of the village through the eight gates of the village. The eastern and Western pools and garden dykes were built successively.

At the same time, the layout is guided by the "four treasures of the study". The straight street is called "Bi Street", which is opposite to Bijia mountain in the west of the village. The two square pools are used as "inkstones"; the stones with slanted ends on both sides of the inkstones are used as "ink"; the flat areas around the village are used as paper. It is intended to encourage future generations to study and become officials.

Cangpo ancient village

There is an ancient village named Cangpo in Yongjia of Wenzhou in Song Dynasty.

summary

Cangpo is backed by Bijia mountain and faces Nanxi River. Cangpo's architecture is the concentration of ancient Chinese culture, and its architectural concept comes from the four treasures of the study. The gate of the village with wooden structure is a straight stone road running through the whole village, which is a pen; the stone road passes a bridge in the middle, which is made up of five stone strips of uniform size, which is ink; the lotus pond on both sides of the stone road is the largest area of the whole village, which is ink stone; and the rectangular village is paper. The village was designed by Li Shiri, the national teacher of the Southern Song Dynasty. After thousands of years of wind and rain, it still retains the village walls, roads, houses, pavilions, temples and ancient cypresses built in the Song Dynasty, as well as the cobblestone walls built around the village, the old banyan trees in the walls, the pavilions under the trees and the dragons on the eaves, showing a strong ancient flavor everywhere.

Historical evolution

Cangpo ancient village, formerly known as cangdun, is located at the foot of the mountain to the north of Yantou town on the upper reaches of Nanxi River in Yongjia County, southern Zhejiang Province. In order to avoid the war, Li Cen moved here from Changxi, Fujian Province. After five dynasties, construction began in the second year of Zhou Xiande (955). In 1178, Li Song, the ninth patriarch of the Southern Song Dynasty, invited Li Shiri, the national teacher, to make a new plan to build a village with four treasures of study as its main image. The village covers an area of more than 200 mu and has more than 50 houses. All the villagers are surnamed Li. The village pattern basically maintains the original planning and architectural style of the Southern Song Dynasty, and the village walls, roads, pools and ancient cypresses still have the charm of that year. Cangpo is one of the most developed villages in Nanxi River Valley, which still retains the specific elements of farming culture. Since the early 1980s, it has become a classic of Chinese ancient village tourism products with its unique cultural scenery.

[three test steps, seven stone steps]

What we see now is the steps made of three stones, which are called "three test steps". Taking the Yi county (government, hospital) test, the township test, and the joint test as the test for scholar, Juren, and Jinshi respectively, this is the only way for scholars to become officials in feudal times. After passing the three tests, it is considered to be one of the Jinshi ranks. Therefore, the "three test steps" are followed by the "Jinshitan", which is about 20 meters long. After passing the "Jinshitan", you will arrive at the passing place of the car door. There are seven stone steps here. According to Cangpo's genealogy, Li Zhong, the 11th ancestor, was highly regarded by the imperial court for his incorruptness and outstanding achievements. His official position was upgraded seven levels in succession. To commemorate this event, villagers specially built these seven level stone steps. In ancient times, when we arrived at Jinshitan, civil servants had to get off the sedan chair and military officers had to get off the horse and walk through seven steps.

[Cangpo Ximen]

Now the archway style door we see is called the door, which is the gate of the village. Look at the four words on this plaque: "Cangpo Ximen". These four words were written by the late Wenzhou calligrapher Cai Xingu. Generally speaking, they are obvious clerical errors. But in Yongjia dialect, "Che" and "Xi" are homonymous. Cangpo people still think that their Fengshui is good because of the good water of the Ximen in front of them, so they write it as Ximen. Cangpo stream gate is very particular. The door was built in 1178, the fifth year of Chunxi reign of the Southern Song Dynasty. It is made of wood, and is made of Big Dipper, small dipper, joist and overhanging eaves. There is no nail in the six story bucket arch. The roof is of double eaves and overhanging mountain structure, which is dignified and simple. This gate is the same as the South Gate of Japan's "national treasure" Dongda temple, but the construction time of that "national treasure" gate is 12 years later than that of cangpoxi gate. This door looks very strange. Some people say that it looks like a dragon. The big lanterns on both sides are longan, the street behind is Longshen, and the pond in front is Longzhu. Others say that it looks like a tiger. The stone arch bridge is the back of the tiger, the door is the head of the tiger, and the two big lanterns are the eyes of the tiger. What it looks like depends on your imagination. Like "dragon" or "tiger", but the moral is the same: Cangpo village is a place of Crouching Tiger, hidden dragon.

This door is a symbol of "grade". In feudal times, this kind of gate, which represents the right and status, could not be built at will. Only when a certain level of officials appeared here, could it be built by the imperial edict. At present, it is very good. Below the gate is the "seven stone steps" just introduced to you. On the ground, this first-class official hat of the Song Dynasty, the Taishi hat, is made of four bluestones. Its purpose is to make people passing by think that "the road of Taishi should go by themselves" and encourage people to achieve success by their own efforts. There is a couplet on the upper gate: "Xishan Range Rover, cherishing the sages, adding brilliance to the family and looking forward to houkun." This couplet not only describes the beautiful scenery here, but also shows the brilliant achievements of our ancestors. We also hope that our descendants will work hard to study and become officials and shine on our family. To show respect, those who pass here should know the rules of the car door. Civil servants must get off the sedan chair, and military officers must get off the horse.

[West pool, East Pool]

Stepping into the gate of the stream, we opened the history page of Cangpo village. This page is the two ponds on both sides. The left page is the west pond, and the right page is the east pond. From the very beginning, these two ponds are not just ordinary ponds that beautify the environment and life: the page of Naxi pond records the life ideal of half ploughing and half reading; the page of East Pond records the praise of noble spirit and good morality and the worship of gods.

Next, please turn over these two pages of moving history books with me.

Ancient cypress

Now we are walking on the wall at the south end of Dongchi.

In ancient times, there was also a need to pay attention to this threshold. We should follow the etiquette of male left and female right.

These two ancient cypresses are not only the historical witness of Cangpo village's emphasis on greening, but also the cultural atmosphere of the ancient village. More than 800 years ago, Li Xizhai, the leader of Cangpo village in Song Dynasty, personally planted these two trees and left a good story about tree protection, which has been praised to this day. After he planted the cypress, in order that the old cypress would not be damaged, he made a forbidden treaty, saying, "every ox tied to the cypress will be killed." One day, the long-term worker of his family was greedy for convenience and tied the ox to the cypress tree. He killed the ox on the spot. Since then, there has been no more damage to these ancient cypresses in the village. It can be seen that only when there is a good "official" style can there be a good folk custom. Therefore, although the two cypresses have gone through more than 800 years, they are still full of vitality.

The two ancient cypresses in the poem written by calligrapher Xia Huiying and inscribed by Vice Premier Wu Bangguo are engraved on the monument beside the parking lot just now.

[brother Wang Pavilion] Dear friends, this unique Pavilion is the famous "brother Wang Pavilion". It was first built in 1128. Standing in the pavilion, looking southeast outside the village, the opposite is Fangxiang village, Cangpo's "compatriots village". At the head of Fanggang village, there is also a pavilion with the same shape as "wangxiong Pavilion", called "songdi Pavilion". The two pavilions face each other across the fields.

For hundreds of years, these two pavilions, facing each other from afar, tell a touching story of brotherhood: Li Qiushan, the seventh ancestor of Li family, and Li Jiamu, his younger brother, moved to Fangxiang village after they separated. Li Jiamu, his younger brother, often stood on the wall of the village early in the morning and looked southeast, waiting for his elder brother to walk along the cobblestone path in the field, to "meet the fragrant garden of peach and plum, and enjoy the happiness of Tianlun". The two brothers have a very good relationship. They often have a long talk late into the night. When they leave, they always want to be sent to the village. Often when the elder brother leaves for home, the younger brother will send the elder brother to Fanggang village. When the younger brother comes back, the elder brother will send the younger brother back. In this way, the younger brother will send the elder brother home, the elder brother will send the younger brother to the village, the younger brother will send the elder brother, and the elder brother will send the younger brother. It's really a Wenzhou slang saying that "Zhang Lang will send Li Lang, and one night will send Da Tianguang." So the brothers agreed to build a pavilion in Cangpo village and Fangxiang village, and hang lanterns in the pavilion. When we see the lantern in each other's Pavilion is on, we know that each other has arrived home safely. Only then can the two brothers safely take the lantern and go home to have a rest.

Wangxiong pavilion's delicacy is rare in the ancient pavilions along the Nanxi River, especially the draped eaves, which are full of curved radians and very gentle. The two pavilions are open on all sides, with wind coming from eight sides. They are far away from each other and have a long friendship. Once upon a time, some Taiwan compatriots came here to travel. They were moved by the story of "brother Wang Pavilion". When they recalled that Taiwan mainland was facing each other across the sea, they could not help but burst into tears. It's really "two pavilions are facing each other across the water, and the two places are brothers of the same origin.".

The two sentences in Xia Huiying's poem "who lights the lamp again, the moon rises in the distant mountain" tell the beautiful and touching story of wangxiong Pavilion.

[Renji Temple] this ancient palace style building surrounded by water on three sides is the famous "Renji Temple". Just look at the surrounding environment of the building, you already feel very comfortable and smart. The pavilion faces the water on three sides, and the corridor near the water is built with a beauty's seat. It's very pleasant to enjoy the cool here in summer.

Chinese PinYin : Cang Po Gu Cun