Xidi

Author: Chen Ansheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: Xidi Village is located 8 kilometers east of the city of Yi. It is known as the "Museum of Ming and Qing Dynasty Folk Architecture in China" and the "Hua Xia Village." According to the explanation by the Qing Dynasty scholar Yu Zhengxie, "Xidi is located in the west of the prefecture and was originally a violation post, hence its name." According to the "New Anhui Clan Records," it is recorded: "The place is surrounded by Lu Peak in the front, Yangjian Ridge in the back, Shishi Mountain in the north, and Tianma Mountain in the south. There are two rivers winding around it, flowing not eastward but westward, hence the name Xidi." The two explanations differ, but each has its own logic. Perhaps both origins are valid. Xidi has been the ancestral home of the Hu family. In the years of Shengfeng during the Song Dynasty (1078–1085), their ancestors moved here from Wuyuan and settled down. By the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, a local Hu Wenquan rose to the position of Magistrate of Jiaozhou and Chief Historian of the Jing Royal Family, and the Hu clan in this area flourished. In the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, Hu Guansan, one of the six major wealthy families in Jiangnan, brought it to its peak. The entire village has nearly 600 magnificent courtyards, two main streets, and 99 alleys, crisscrossing and winding like a vast maze. There are 800 households with smokestacks, over 90 wells, and 3,000 daily male laborers, with a population of nearly 10,000. The land is blessed and the people are talented, not only producing wealthy merchants but also nurturing outstanding scholars. Examples include the famous Qing Dynasty calligrapher and painter collector Hu Jitang, the three scholars Hu Dianyuan, Hu Jiakai, and Hu Tengkui who signed the "Petition on the Imperial Carriage" by Kang Youwei, and Huang Xinxian who founded the Chongde Women's Vocational School in the 32nd year of the Guangxu reign. Xidi Village still retains many unique characteristics of ancient China in the Middle Ages. At the village entrance stands the magnificent and exquisitely carved Ming Dynasty stone archway of Hu Wenquan, the Magistrate of Jiaozhou. There are 122 magnificent Qing Dynasty residential buildings still preserved in the village, including the Lufutang, built during the Kangxi reign, with elegant furnishings and a scholarly atmosphere; the Taoli Garden, built during the Xianfeng reign, with unique designs and exquisite carvings; and the Colorful Pavilion, built in the 10th year of the Daoguang reign, where young ladies threw colorful balls. Additionally, there are the Jing'ai Hall, Ruiyu Court, Xi Garden, Duren Hall, Duojing Hall, and Zhenshi Studio, among others. They feature magnificent courtyards, elegant halls, exquisite gardens, marble doorframes, and beautifully carved stone door hoods. Most of these residences are rectangular courtyard complexes, some with two or three courtyards, with skywells in front and side wings. The interiors are adorned with intricately carved beams, painted gold and colorful, with finely crafted wooden carvings on railings, brackets, windows, and lotus doors. This dazzling series of images fully showcases the characteristics of folk architecture during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Xidi is a long, narrow village built along the Jiaxi River. The flowing water weaves through the streets and alleys, with bridges connecting the buildings, creating an excellent overall coherence of the architectural complex, giving a sense of compact elegance. The Qing Dynasty poet Cao Wenchun wrote in his poem "Ode to Xidi": "Green mountains extend beyond the clouds, white houses rise in the mist. Twin streams encircle left and right, dense trees stand high and low. Curving paths connect the walls like rows of combs. Since entering the Peach Blossom Spring, this village is the ." The Xidi Folk Architecture Complex is now a key cultural relic protection unit of the province.