Rushui Longyou

Author: Ding Junqing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Approaching these ancient villages, you are greeted by rows of dark tiles, gray-white walls, and undulating horse-head walls that rise towards the sky. Walking into the village, narrow lanes paved with pebbles or flagstones lead to houses arranged sequentially along the lanes. The exterior of the houses is very simple, with few windows opening onto the exterior walls of the lanes. If windows are needed, only small ones are installed. Better-off families have door canopies, door towers, door steps, and door drums. Iron door rings are embedded on the chest-high door frames, giving a sense of stability and tranquility. The door rings of wealthy families are shaped like taotie or tiger-leopard beasts, intended to serve as a deterrent, to calm, and to protect. Every rural home is adorned with red paper couplets pasted on the doors, which are replaced with new ones during the Spring Festival. The tradition of pasting spring couplets originated in the Jin Dynasty and became a popular folk activity in rural areas after it was vigorously promoted by Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty, adding much atmosphere and joy to the countryside. "The Beggar Emperor" (Note: In Longyou dialect, "beggar" means homeless person) Zhu Yuanzhang suffered hardships in the rural areas of Jiangnan in his youth and deeply understood the plight of farmers. Later, he used Jiangnan as his base to rebel and establish his empire. Promoting the pasting of spring couplets can be seen as a gift of blessing from this emperor to his impoverished compatriots. The selection and overall layout of ancient villages are not subject to strict planning like modern cities or residential areas, but are carried out by farmers according to their needs, appearing natural (free) yet orderly. For a single village, the evolution of its houses and streets also developed without strict regulations. By reviewing many family genealogies, no records have been found of these ancient villages being planned first or roads and lanes being built before houses were constructed on designated plots. However, there must have been a certain constraint guiding the village's selection, layout, and growth—this force is agricultural awareness, rational order, and feng shui concepts. In other words, everything is carried out based on the needs of agricultural production, guided by the subconscious collective pursuit of beautiful villages and houses. This phenomenon fully reflects the creativity, collective spirit, and strong sense of social responsibility of farmers. If time permits to investigate the founding dates, origins, scales, and evolutions of each village, a pattern can be discovered: the development of Longyou region underwent a process from the water's edge to the interior, from river valleys to mountainous areas. The production methods evolved from fishing to agriculture, forestry, agricultural product processing, and a combination of farming and commerce. From a land perspective, the distribution of Longyou's ancient villages is dense in plain areas and along water bodies but sparse in mountainous regions. However, from the perspective of cultivated land (productive resources), the distribution is balanced, meaning that on equal land, roughly equal villages and populations are distributed. Du Mountain, originally named Qian Mountain, was renamed after Du Ruhi, who retreated here during the late Sui Dynasty. Du Ruhi, styled Ke Ming, was a poet and statesman during the transition between the Sui and Tang dynasties. In the late Sui Dynasty, he served as the county magistrate of Zangyang. Seeing Emperor Yang's extravagant construction projects, distant campaigns, and luxurious lifestyle, which depleted the treasury and caused suffering among the people, he repeatedly submitted memorials to the emperor, urging him to end wars, reduce corvée, and allow the people to rest and recuperate. However, the foolish emperor ignored his advice, and in 614 AD, he resigned from his post and wandered far and wide. One day, passing by Qian Mountain in Longbei, he saw the vibrant red blossoms of azaleas in front of the mountain, the sky ablaze with hues of red, and the green bamboo towering thousands of feet high, with countless trees in full bloom. He climbed the mountain and gazed into the distance: to the north, the mountains rose in layers, and to the south, the hills stretched in winding curves, with vast plains dotted with fields and village houses nestled among them.