Hui Zhou Ancient Archway

Author: Luo Gang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-09-01
Features: This is a magical land, the cradle of Confucianism and rituals; it has produced the influential Huizhou officials for hundreds of years, nurtured the dazzling Huizhou opera troupes, and contributed spectacular highlights to Chinese culture. It has created magnificent, timeless musical notes. It is precisely because of these past glories and brilliance that Huizhou's historical and cultural heritage has become world-renowned and unique. Every time I step into Huizhou, I feel a sense of reverence and wonder. As the famous Ming Dynasty dramatist Tang Xianzu poetically wrote, "A life spent in obsession, never dreaming of Huizhou." There are countless "obsessive" places that make one linger and dream of. Wandering under the ancient and mysterious sky of Huizhou's historical and cultural heritage, one is sometimes paused in thought, sometimes amazed, sometimes expresses emotions, and sometimes feels the charm of antiquity. Walking through Huizhou brings a surge of delightful surprises, and as one looks along the way, a profound inspiration and admiration fill one's heart.
In the villages, the white-walled and black-tiled Ming and Qing residential buildings clearly convey the essence of Huizhou's historical and cultural heritage. The ancient bridges crisscrossing the Xianshan water system seem to show the paths once walked by countless Huizhou merchants, leading to the world. The imposing memorial archways stand as if narrating the chapters of history's rise and fall—here stand glorious achievements, but also traces of blood and tears. The solemn ancestral halls and branch shrines preserve the power symbols of the noble families who migrated from southern Jin. On and around the mountains are academies and book halls, where the sound of reading can be heard—Huizhou, the "capital of culture," the "Jiangnan Mecca," where "in every village of ten households, there is no lack of reading."
Stepping into Huizhou means entering the grand scroll of its historical and cultural heritage, where scenes and images flicker vividly in one's mind: In the autumn wind, the young red-capped merchant Hu Xuyan, carrying a bundle and an umbrella, walks out of the mountains with the determination of a brave warrior, creating miracles; Inside the stern and solemn Qingyi Hall, generations of young and middle-aged women, some expressionless, some full of hope, some calm as water, gradually turn from black hair to white, from youth to old age; At the entrances, ancient roads, and streets of Tangye, Xongcun, Choushu, and Zhengcun, the memorial arches—some magnificent, some uniquely graceful, some soaked in blood and tears, some astonishing—stand for centuries, telling their joys and sorrows and enacting scenes of joy and sorrow; In the academies of Ziyang, Zhushan, and Nanhu, the figure of Zhu Xi lecturing on Confucian classics and promoting his philosophy of "Li" appears, revealing that it was during such a flourishing era of literary prosperity that the Huizhou officials achieved their cherished dreams of "father and son as high officials" and "brothers as Hanlin scholars," protecting and preserving commerce; Wandering through the village dwellings of Xidi, Hongcun, and Tangmo, the Chengzhi Hall, Dafu Hall, and Lufu Hall, as well as the small West Lake in Xiaohu, display the former glory, wealth, and splendor. The architectural layouts and styles of Shuikou, Niuxing, and the "four waters converging at the hall" showcase the wisdom of the ancient Huizhou people. Carved beams, painted rafters, and the "three carvings" of wood, brick, and stone resemble a folk symphony, lingering in the forests and lanes.
This series will use the style of cultural essays to provide a panoramic cultural scan of ancient villages (including ancient residential buildings), memorial archways, ancient bridges, ancient academies, and ancient ancestral halls in Huizhou's historical and cultural heritage. Accompanied by images of panoramic, individual, or detailed landscapes, it aims to be intimate, beautifully written, and accessible to both refined and popular audiences, achieving the goal of pleasing all readers.