After this article and related pictures were published in the third issue of 199 1 Jiangxi Pictorial, this forgotten classical village was made public. 199 1 winter, under the coordination of Mr. Zhou, Zhan Kaixun, director of the research office of Jiangxi Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, led a five-member expert group to Liukeng Village for more than 20 days. 1spring of 1993 and1winter of 1994, Mr. Zhou asked his students-Professor Liang Hongsheng, the director of the Department of History of Nanchang University and the director of the Local History Research Office of the Department of History of Jiangxi Normal University-to visit Liukeng Village for more than 60 days and collected a lot of information. On this basis, at the end of 1996, the book Historical and Cultural Investigation of Liukeng Village was published, which was the first monograph to systematically study Liukeng ancient village. Since then, "a village through the ages" has become the iconic brand of Liukeng Village. In July, 1997, Zhang Wenbin, director of National Cultural Heritage Administration, made a special trip to Liukeng. While speaking highly of Liukeng, he also wrote the book "The First Village through the Ages". Since then, "the first village through the ages" has become another new and higher iconic brand in Liukeng Village. As we all know, Liukeng Village was built in the first year of the Southern Tang Dynasty in the Five Dynasties (937-942), and it has been 1000 years, so it is called "eternal". However, where does Liukeng Village claim to be the first ancient village in China? For more than ten years, no scholars have given an explanation. After visiting Liukeng, many tourists only think that Liukeng is big, ancient and good, and it is worthy of the title of "the first village in the ages". But which aspect is the first in the ancient villages in China, they can't say clearly, and the tour guide has not explained it. This is very regrettable. For this reason, I read some materials in my spare time. After I accepted the "first" rule, please ask the experts to correct me.
First, we should pay attention to the choice of "Feng Shui Treasure Land" when building a village. Before Sui and Tang Dynasties, Liukeng Village was a deserted place. When Dong's family came here in the Southern Tang Dynasty, Buji in the corner of Wujiang River, also known as Bainitang, was the resident, and the inheritance of Liukeng Dong Shi began. Bai Yutang is surrounded by water on three sides, facing the sun, which meets the basic requirements of the place where you usually live. The Wujiang River turns from south to west here, which belongs to the "anti-bow position" in geomantic omen and violates the taboo of choosing the house base. According to legend, Tang Xizong Buddhist Yang Chan Song Jun, the founder of "Situational School", and Zeng Wen, the eldest son of the "Situational School" master, visited Liukeng for two years. In order to repay Dong Jia's hospitality, they specially won four points for Dong He and Dong Zhen (the eldest son) and pointed out the terrain for Liukeng Village. As Yang Hezeng predicted, he moved his family from Zhongzhou, the south bank of Wujiang River, which is now the main area of Liukeng Village. Backed by Jingu Peak at the northwest foot of the mountain range, surrounded by green hills on all sides, the so-called "Tianma gallops south, Xuefeng rises in the north, Yuping lies in the east and Jinjiang stands in the west." The water of Wujiang River comes from the mountain in the southeast of the village, like a green belt, and turns west at the edge of the village, so that the flowing pit is surrounded by water on three sides, forming a unique feng shui pattern, which is vividly called "flowing water row" by the locals. Yang Junsong also predicted: "As long as the water is still boiling, it will still be a good pit." "Yang xing Riyue Gorge, Wu Wen scholar. Correct the flying goose head, Jin Gong Yu Jie. From generation to generation, rich families have officials, and their children are not poor or cold. At the top of the sea, the bright moon is in the sky, and the descendants of Dongshi are famous in the world. " These are all recorded in the Liukeng genealogy.
Liukeng Village paid attention to geomantic omen at the beginning of the construction of the village, and invited the first-class surveying and mapping masters in the country to choose the site, which can be called the first relative of the ancient village in China.
Second: pay attention to planning after building the village and build it according to the plan. In the forty-second year of Jiajing in Ming Dynasty (1563), Sun Dong Sui resigned and returned to his village. In the next 20 years, he advocated gathering people to plan the renovation of Liukeng Village. In the west of the village, Longhu Lake was artificially expanded and transformed, connecting the lake with the river, making Liukeng Village a scenic spot close to mountains and rivers. Eight lanes with seven horizontal (east-west direction) and one vertical (north-south direction) dominate the layout of the village, and members of the Dong Shi clan live in different lanes according to the branches of the house school. The corners of the seven horizontal lanes all face the Wujiang River, and there are watchtowers at the corners of each lane, which are connected by city walls, making the whole village a castle. After going out, the seven gatehouses on the Wujiang River are facing the seven docks, which brings convenience to the villagers' life and travel. There is a sewer on one side of the eight hutongs. Up to now, no matter how hard it rains, there has never been water in the village. Now there is a saying that whether a city is modern depends not on how tall its buildings are, but on whether there is water when it rains. Because a city without water is a modern and civilized city with complete planning facilities. The rainwater in the village is discharged into Longhu through the sewer, and the sewage is discharged into Wujiang River after precipitation in Longhu. Not only environmental protection, but also the river wind can enter the village along the alley and go straight to Longhu, which plays a role in refreshing the air and regulating the temperature. All the houses in the village are built with horse head walls, which not only embodies the characteristics of Jiangnan folk houses, but also plays a role in fire prevention between houses. Our current county planning began at the end of last century, and the village planning began with the "new rural construction" in recent years. The planning of Liukeng Village was implemented in the Ming Dynasty 450 years ago, so that the village was surrounded by Wujiang River and Longhu Lake, and guarded by the village wall gatehouse. The roadway is regular and the roads are accessible. Like the ideal city, but also like one side. This should be the first in ancient Chinese villages.
Thirdly, the ancient buildings in Ming and Qing dynasties are basically well preserved, which are not only numerous, diverse and beautifully built, but also have accurate dates to test. Liukeng Village began with 65,438+08 houses built by Dong Gui when he was in charge of the village in the 42 nd year of Jiajing in Ming Dynasty (65,438+0563). After years of efforts and management by later generations, it has now reached the scale of covering an area of about 36 1 square kilometer and a permanent population of more than 5,000. After hundreds of years of wind, frost, rain and snow, these buildings have reached more than 260 well-preserved ancient buildings in Ming and Qing dynasties, which is rare in rainy and humid Jiangnan. Among them, there are more than 30 dwellings in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, more than 60 ancestral halls, 8 temples, and a museum and stage 1 seat. In addition, there are memorial and meritorious archways such as Zhuangyuan Building, Turtle Square, Yuan Kui Square, Sance Liu Xin and Jingbiao Xiao Jie Square, as well as bunker-style gatehouses such as Hanlin Gate, Mainstay Gate, Liren Gate and Chen Gongmen. The shapes and structures of these ancient buildings are typical examples of modern China: blue bricks and gray tiles, simple and elegant; The high horse head wall is tilted upward to prevent wind and fire; Occasionally, there are several mansions with high walls, such as miniature castles; The wall is generally a wooden frame structure, mostly with two floors, the upper floor is hidden and the lower floor is inhabited; The hall is located in the center, the bedrooms are separated around, the hall is big and the room is small, and the hall is bright and dark. This is because the patio lighting in the front and rear halls is reliable, while the wing room is only ventilated by ink windows or doors and windows; The hall is large, suitable for family activities, and the room is small, suitable for keeping warm in cold winter. There are many carvings and paintings on the lintel and eaves, some of which have Nuo statues; There are many wood carvings, colorful decorations, flowers and birds, fish, insects, landscapes, ghosts and legends on walls, doorposts, windowsills, column bases, casters, sparrows and even ceilings. The carvings are all exquisite and delicate, which can be called top grade. The ancient buildings of Ming and Qing Dynasties in Liukeng Village became the specimens of the residences and ancestral temples of wealthy businessmen in the south of the Yangtze River. The most rare thing is that most ancient buildings have plaques and couplets beside the doors. These couplets are closely related to the master's life experience and the family's glory. They are rich in connotation and profound in artistic conception, and they are often written by famous artists, which makes the house have an accurate date to test. Xu Xiake, a famous great traveler and geographer in the late Ming Dynasty, called Liukeng "the city of ten thousand families" in his travel notes. This should be regarded as the first for the ancient villages in China.
Fourthly, the prosperity of many academies and imperial examinations lasted for a long time, which is rare in ancient Chinese villages. The family background of Dong Shi in Liukeng can be traced back to Dong Zhongshu, a famous Confucian scholar in the Western Han Dynasty. However, the real reason why Liukeng Dongshi flourished with the imperial examination in the Song Dynasty was that Dong Wenguang, the grandson of Dong He, the founder of Liukeng, benefited from it. After the unification of China in the Northern Song Dynasty, in order to strengthen centralization, write an article and open the imperial examination, Dong Yu tried to take a leave of absence in the second year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1009). Because of his advanced age, the court asked him to be an official three times, but he refused to go to his post. With his family's wealth, he founded Guilin Academy, and worship in the village became a common practice. Dong's efforts soon bore fruit. In the seventh year of Song Zhenzong Dazhong Xiangfu (10 14), the eldest brother's four sons Zi, Zi, Xiang, Yuan and Chun all won the lottery. The following year, Dong Chun joined Jinshi and became the first Jinshi in Liukeng Dong Shi. From then on, Dong Shi Kejia's prosperity was no longer accepted. "Confucianism, which graduated from the class, has continued." In the first year of Jingyou (1034), Dong Shi, Zhu, Ting, Yi, Teacher's Morality and Uncle in Liukeng were all the same subjects, collectively known as "Five Guis", and the Stone Forest was passed down as a much-told story. There is a saying in Wen Tianxiang's "Xie En Biao" in the Southern Song Dynasty: "Fame and fame flash gold, one door has five directors", that is to say, this code is used. This is the saying that "five sons join the company", which is unique in China. Yungai Township, where Liukeng Village is located, was renamed as "Wugui Township" by Taishou. In order to highlight this event, Liukeng Dongshi built the "Turtle Square", which was recorded in the travel notes of Xu Xiake, a famous traveler and geographer in the late Ming Dynasty. From the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, Liukeng learned from his family and there were many academies. 19 academies and bookstores were built in Wanli period of Ming dynasty, and 23 academies and bookstores were built in light years of Qing dynasty. It can be said that "the collation is opposite, and the strings are heard." The prosperity of the style of study can be seen. In the first year of Jingkang in the Northern Song Dynasty, Liukeng Dongzao was named the No.1 scholar of Wu in the imperial court. In the eighteenth year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty, Dong Kao was the champion, and he was called the "champion" (at present, the inscription on the forehead of the main entrance of Liukeng Village Museum reads: "Shi Changzao." This "algae" is Dong Zao's "algae", because Dong Zao is a martial arts champion strategically selected in the Confucian forest. Based on this, I guess the museum may be a building built by Liukeng to commemorate Dongzao, the champion of Dongwu. Otherwise: first, it is difficult to explain the word "scholar blossoms"; Secondly, there is a "Zhuangyuan Building" in Liukeng to commemorate Dong, the literary champion, but there is no building to commemorate Dong Zao, the champion of Wu, which is unreasonable. ) In the imperial examination system of nearly a thousand years in Liukeng Village, * * * passed the examination of 34 Jinshi and 78 judges. From prime ministers, envoys and assistant ministers to master books and fatwas, 100 people. Today, flagpoles erected in front of houses and ancestral halls to show their glory are still all over the village. The abolition of the imperial examination has arrived at 105, and the good news of winning the imperial examination is still posted in class. In Song Dynasty, there were more than 5,000 Jinshi in Jiangxi, including Ceng Gong, Wang Anshi, Liu Shu and other aristocratic families, or three Jinshi, or four Jinshi, while Dongshi was a high school with five Jinshi, which was a rare honor in Jiangxi and even the whole country. The ancients said: "Jiang said that a literator must take the heroic Dong Shi as the most important." Liukeng Village ranks first among ancient Chinese villages in terms of imperial examinations, numerous officials and titles. In fact, Liukeng Village still ranks first among ancient Chinese villages in many aspects. For example, walking into Liukeng is like walking into the ocean of calligraphy. Liukeng Village has 65,438 square tablets, 362 square inscriptions and 7 1 couplets. For example, in the Song Dynasty, Zhu Weidong inscribed the plaque "Zhuangyuan Building" and the couplet "Nangong counselor's article is expensive, and Beique's surname comes first"; Yang Shiqi, a great scholar in the Ming Dynasty and Zaifu in the three dynasties, wrote couplets for the plaques of Little Teacher Cheng Di and Several Imperial Letters, Contemporary Imperial Teachers compiled by imperial academy, which were inscribed by Dong Yan, a respected country. Luo Hongxian, a top scholar, philosopher and geographer in the Ming Dynasty, wrote a couplet for Dong Kui, a doctor of punishments, which is "brilliant and broad" and "all articles are listed, and the crown is more important than the south"; In the Ming Dynasty, the official minister Zeng Tongheng wrote an inscription "Master of Neo-Confucianism" to Dong Gui, which is still well preserved. Their calligraphy skills are superb, and they are all long. Although it has experienced hundreds of years of vicissitudes, it still has high ornamental value. Four hundred years ago, the Genealogy of Dong Shi in the Wanli Period of the Ming Dynasty, edited by Dong Gui, a doctor of punishments, and Dong Yu, a minister of punishments, was a rare edition handed down from generation to generation in the Ming Dynasty, which was excellent in writing, lettering, paper use and printing, and was rare in China. Nie Bao, Tan Lun, Luo Hongxian, Zou Shouyi and other famous ministers in Ming Dynasty carved by him have strong, fluent and elegant handwriting, which makes people fondle it. Experts unanimously praised it as a "rare treasure". As Zhang Wenbin, director of National Cultural Heritage Administration, said: Liukeng "has a long history, high historical value, academic value and artistic value, beautiful architectural art, well-preserved and rich cultural connotation, which is probably incomparable to ancient villages in other parts of China." This is also the true confession that Zhang Wenbin praised Liukeng as "the first village in the ages".