Xingtai - The Legend of Wuniu City

Xingtai City is located in the southern part of Hebei Province, bordering Shijiazhuang, Hengshui, Handan, Shandong and Shanxi Provinces. It is 396 kilometers away from Beijing and 396 kilometers away from Shijiazhuang. 120 kilometers, with jurisdiction over 3 districts, 15 counties and 2 cities, with a total area of ??12,500 square kilometers and a population of 6.7 million.

Xingtai has a history of more than 3,500 years. It has been the founding of the People's Republic of China four times and its capital twice. It is the oldest city in North China. King Zu Yi of the Shang Dynasty (approximately 17th century BC - 11th century BC) moved his capital here. The Zhou Dynasty (approximately 11th century BC - 256 BC) was granted the title of the Kingdom of Marquis of Xing, and it got its name from then on. Shi Le, a Jie native of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420 BC), lived here. Build a capital. It was called Xingzhou during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and was changed to Shunde Prefecture from the Yuan Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. After the Revolution of 1911, it was changed to Xingtai County and established as a city in 1953.

Xingzhou City was historically called Xingyi - Xindu City - Xiangguo City (Jianping City) - Xingzhou City - Shunde Fucheng, also known as "Wanniu City", "Wanniu City" It is the earliest city called Woniu City in Chinese historical records. Although it is not as good as the ancient cities of Beijing and Xi'an, it is much more spectacular than the current Zhengding Ancient City, Shanhaiguan City, Pingyao Ancient City, and Yongnian Ancient City in terms of scale, construction history, etc. . Taking the period from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China as an example, the city layout of Xingtai

is: the inner city is 13 miles and 20 feet in circumference, 3 feet and 6 feet high, and 6 feet thick. There are four major gates in the east, west, north, and south. There are 3 Niudou gates, each gate has two urns, the city walls and gates are intact, the arrow towers, turrets, city ultimatums, and urns are intact, the Fu Opera Tower, the County Opera Tower, the Qingfeng Tower, the Shunde Fu Yamen, the Xingtai County Yamen, and " Xingxiang Jiudi" Archway, Wangbengu Archway, Tianning Temple, Kaiyuan Temple, Wan'an Pagoda, Pure Land Temple, Fuwen Temple, Fuwu Temple, City God Temple, Huoshen Temple, Xinghou Xingtai, Kuixing Pavilion, Longgang Academy, Yuying Academy (Guoshi Academy) Academy), Wang Bengu's former residence, Longxing Temple and other buildings are intact. The three archways of Wangbengufang, Mengguo Zuofang and Yangzhenfang are well preserved. Outside the city wall are two moats, which are more than ten meters wide.

The city was still intact until the eve of liberation. The liberation of Xingtai was the only battle in the War of Liberation that used ancient ladder siege tactics. At that time, the northern boss of the Taiping Army would rather take a long way to bypass Shunde Prefecture, which shows that its city defense The function is strong. After the Eighth Route Army liberated Xingtai, they dug civil air defense projects into the Xingtai city wall (the Seven Immortals Cave at the Huoshen Temple today is one of them). The strength and width of the Xingtai city wall can be seen.

In 1945, Xingtai City was the first to be liberated. Xingtai began to support the liberation of all parts of the country. The leather boots of the People's Liberation Army's troops entering Tibet and the leather jackets of the Volunteer Air Force were all produced in Xingtai's fur industry. After liberation, Xingtai City They were soon demolished and destroyed for the sake of war preparation, but Zhengding and other ancient cities withstood the pressure and refused to demolish it. It was not until the floods in Hebei in 1963 that Chairman Mao realized that this kind of demolition of cities was wrong. , thus stopping the demolition of the ancient city, but Xingtai City has disappeared, and related ancillary buildings such as Shunde Mansion Office and Tianning Temple have disappeared. A thousand-year-old city was completely destroyed.

From the perspective of spatial shape, ancient Xingtai looks like a giant lying cow, with its head south and feet north, 4.5 kilometers long and 1.5 kilometers wide. The whole body is composed of a city wall and a moat.

The parts of this "crouching cow" are irregularly distributed inside and outside the ancient city of Xingtai. Due to urban transformation and changes after liberation, some relics have disappeared, while some are still preserved to this day. The specific name and location are:

Left horn: commonly known as East horn. Located in what is now Dongniujiao Community, Qiaodong District. There used to be a temple near the Dongniujiao Gas Station on Xingzhou South Road, called Dongniujiao Temple, and the nearby village named it Dongniujiao Temple Village. After liberation, the temple was demolished and the word "temple" was removed from the village, which remains today.

The right horn: commonly known as the west horn. Located in what is now Xiniujiao Community, Qiaodong District. There used to be a temple in the south of Daoqiao, Nanyang City, called Xiniujiao Temple, and the nearby village named it Xiniujiao Temple Village. After liberation, the temple was demolished and the word "Tiao" was removed from the village and remains there today.

Niutouqiao: located near the current Xingtai Cinema. After liberation, the city was renovated and demolished.

Shanniu Zhu: located near the current Xingtai Cinema. According to the records of Shunde Prefecture in the 15th year of Qianlong's reign, the Shuan Niu Stone was three feet out of the ground. The former county governor sent people to dig out more than ten feet, but no roots were found. It no longer exists due to urban renewal.

Yinniu Well: located at the southeast corner of the current Xingtai Cinema. No longer exists.

Oar Stone: Located to the east of the current No. 15 Middle School, behind the former East Prison Temple.

The left front hoof of the cow: located between Niushi Street and East Street. Formerly known as Bull Market Puddle. Now known as the Bull Market Water Platform, it has been reduced and still exists.

The cow’s right front hoof: located on the north side of Dongtou Road, now Yangshi Street. The old name is Yangshi Waterhole. It is now called Yangshi Shuitai. Tai Hang has long been converted into a residential area.

The left hind hoof of the cow: located between East Street and Indigo Street. The old name was Indigo Waterhole, and now it is called Indigo Water Terrace. Although it has been reduced in size, it still exists.

The cow’s right hind hoof: Huo’s puddle. It has long been lost due to urban reconstruction.

Ow Belly: It is located southwest of the intersection of Shunde Road and Hongxing West Street. The area is wide in the middle and narrow at both ends, which is irregular, so it is called Belly Alley.

Beef Intestines: It is now Nanchang Street and Beichang Street. The Hongxing East Street built in recent years has cut the intestines into two parts.

Yinmendong: It is the only gender characteristic of the word NiuCheng. The lower part of the city wall on the east side of the original north gate is located east of the current Beichang Street Beikou Road.

Niuwei River: located in the lower reaches of the present Xiaoyang River east of Shunde Road. There was originally a tributary in the southeast of Beiguan and one in the north

For thousands of years, urban construction has been expanded based on the framework of Wo Niu. The road framework of the ancient city is its skeleton, and the ancient city wall, Walled River, Niuwei River, etc. are the elements that make up the "ox-shaped" outline. The streets, roads, villages, etc. in Xingtai are also mostly named after "ox", such as "East Niujiao Village", "Xi Niujiao Village", etc.

On the map, connecting these place names in a certain order shows a picture of a cow with a body length of 4.5 kilometers, a body width of 1.5 kilometers, and the head is in the south and the tail is in the north. . The head of the cow is Nantou Village, the horns are Dongniujiao and Xiniujiao villages, and the tail is Niuwei River. The body of the cow is composed of a city wall and a moat. Interestingly, there were originally four waterholes in the city, namely the Niushi Waterhole, the Sheepshi Waterhole, the Mashi Waterhole, and the Indigo Waterhole. Legend has it that they were the four hoof prints of a lying cow. The site of the cow's stomach is two connected water pools (Hanjiakeng and Wangmaokeng), one large and one small; the intestinal veins are Changjie Street (today changed to Nanchang Street and Beichang Street).

Viewed vertically from the ground, the entire city looks like the back of a giant bull. Fuqian South Street, Beichang Street, Nanchang Street and Shunde Road are the backbones. Qingfeng Tower, known as the County Tower's distant view (one of the eight scenic spots in Xingtai), is just like the ridge of Niucheng and is the commanding height of the ancient city. The ground in the urban area is 2-8 meters higher than the surrounding area. Even during the once-in-a-century flood in 1963, the ancient city remained safe and sound, clearly reflecting the landscape style and construction characteristics of the ancient city's ancient buildings.

In 1983, the Xingtai Municipal People's Government erected a statue of the sacred cow and a monument to call on the people of the city to encourage themselves and work hard to revitalize Xingtai with the spirit of the sacred cow's perseverance and self-improvement. .

On January 5, 1997, when the Xingtai Stamp Company issued the second round of zodiac ox stamps, this statue was the main image and a commemorative postmark was engraved.

In recent years, several new cow statues have been added, but they are far from the legendary "crouching cow" and are too modern. Cow in front of the Information Building