On July 9, 2003, it was announced by Jiangxi Provincial People's Government as one of the first historical and cultural towns. "Lead mountain only benefits the world with paper." [Introduction to the History of the Ming Dynasty] "Five handicraft areas in the south of the Yangtze River in the Ming Dynasty, namely, the cotton textile industry in Songjiang, the silk weaving industry in Suzhou and Hangzhou, the pulp and dyeing industry in Wuhu, the paper industry in Lead Mountain and the porcelain industry in Jingdezhen. In the paper industry of Shitang Town in the Ming Dynasty, there were no fewer than 30 paper mills with more than 10 or 20 people per trough, which was the earliest cradle of capitalism in China. " [Outline of China History-edited by Jane Bozan] "Papermaking has papermaking centers in the north and south. There are 50,000 to 60,000 paper workers in Shitang Town, Jiangxi Province. " 【 《 History of China 》 textbook-published by People's Education Press 】
On June 2, 2006, Qian Shan Shishang Lianshi papermaking technology was published as the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. (a) water system planning
Shitang ancient village is planned around the natural river (Huaixi River) and artificial river (Guan Zhen) flowing from south to north. "In the thirty-sixth year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1557), a dike was built in the magistrate's county. The cornerstone is 2 feet wide, 1 foot high and 1 foot long. " [Lead Mountain County Records] The artificial river is one to three meters wide and nearly two kilometers long. It took more than three years to complete, and its sides and bottom were made of pebbles mixed with concrete (lime, yellow mud and clay). The artificial river takes water from the upper reaches of the Huaihe River at the southern end of the village, part of which flows into two branch water systems and then into the lower reaches of the Huaihe River. Artificial rivers make use of the abundant local water resources and the terrain difference in mountainous areas to form a circulating water system.
There is a natural black boulder like a turtle shell at the inlet of the artificial river, and the designer chisels a waterway at the bottom of the boulder. This ingenious idea has two functions: one is to control the sudden flood peak in the upstream by using the design similar to sluice; The second is to stop the pollution of floating objects in the upstream. On one side of the artificial river, a pier is set up every few houses to wash clothes and fetch water; Even introducing water into the garden can not only keep the tradition of ancient women avoiding people at home, but also get water in time in case of fire.
(2) Overall planning
The building community of Shitang is organized in a spindle-shaped north-south direction along the mountain and accompanied by water, and many groups form a huge building community; Each group consists of several houses, and the houses are composed of several courtyards organized by patios.
The village is linked by the North-South River, which forms a building pattern with three verticals and ten horizontals. It is divided into fifty-two streets by many branches, and the water system and road network form a three-vertical area. Relying on the artificial river, there are groups of Chajiaxiang, Pit Back and Broad Banqiao in the East District. In the central district, the main commercial street in the village is the core, and all the streets paved with bluestone slabs are1200m long and 4-5m wide; On the west side of the western district, the commercial street along the natural river is the main line to arrange the code lane group, the lower harbor lane group and the Tianhou Palace lane group. There are 2 19 ancient buildings in Shitang.
(1) residential buildings
Dongkengbei Formation was a big family area at that time, and it was an isolated courtyard with masonry structure. The streets in the regiment are only more than 300 meters, and some buildings cover an area of more than 200,000 square meters. Each courtyard here has its own system, and the alleys formed between courtyards lead directly to the artificial river. The courtyard of "Huafeng Jiuli" organized by Yuanda Banqiao Group in the East District is a beautifully carved gate with three bays. Carefully polished blue bricks are laid under the roof tiles, which not only plays the role of heating in winter, but also becomes the decoration inside the building. Some buildings in the eastern district use stone arches laid on the river in advance as load-bearing, and some buildings span the artificial river. Buildings built on the west side of the river are diaojiao-style houses in front of and behind the shops. There is a corridor on the diaojiao building for rest and drying.
(2) Commercial buildings (shops, paper numbers, paper shops)
There are many commercial street shops in the central and western regions, with arcade-style wooden frame brick wall buildings in the front shop and back hall. The Chinese fir door in the store can be closed and removed, and the vast forests in the territory provide rich building materials for the building.
"In August of the tenth year of Daoguang, the lead mountain stone pond caught fire and burned more than 500 families; The next year, it was hot again 161February 19, clouds and fire destroyed more than 80 houses. " [Sixteen disasters and two difficulties in clearing the manuscript] Therefore, Shitang paper number not only pays attention to appearance, but also pays attention to fire prevention.
The Wang Jia paper number of Dongkengbei Group was built more than 300 years ago, covering an area of 260,000 square meters. The five courtyards are independent and connected into a whole. What is particularly amazing is that the lightning rod was designed on the roof of Wang Jia Paper No.,which fully showed the owner's prominent position at that time.
The Tianhe Gate of the Central Street Group is made of bluestone from the base to the arch. The architect creatively designed the pillars under the arch coupon into a pair of vases, and carved figures and flower patterns in various parts of the vases. Arch coupons are treated with thick lines, which perfectly combines Roman style and traditional Chinese style.
(3) Public buildings (ancestral halls, ancestral halls and temples)
Guild Hall was a feudal organization in China in Ming and Qing Dynasties, which was composed of fellow villagers or peers. Fuzhou Club held by Kengbei Group in the East District was built in the 15th year of Qing Qianlong, with an original construction area of 2,500 square meters. The whole building complex of Fuzhou Guild Hall is very large, with distinct primary and secondary along the east-west main axis, and the courtyard is raised layer by layer according to the terrain.
Ancestral temples are places where people worship their ancestors or sages. "Shitang Zhujiajian moved from Yanzhou to Ququ and lived in Jiangshan. Since Jiangshan moved back to Shitang, the tribe has multiplied. " [Xin Qiji's Preface to the Genealogy of Zhu Shi in Shitang] There are three Zhu Shi ancestral halls in Shitang, among which the Zhu Shi ancestral hall arranged by Kuanbanqiao in the east area is an Amin dynasty building with simple and elegant shape and a long history. In ancient times, there has always been a saying that "there are four rooms in front of the door". The doors are all arranged in the east of the building, and even if they are restricted by the terrain, they are as far as possible to the left. Gables are mainly horse-headed stacked walls, with carved doorposts and bluestone plaques above the threshold. There are inscriptions, stone carvings and brick carvings on the gate, which are rich in content and exquisite in craftsmanship. Entering the hall from the gate is generally blocked by the screen or shadow wall in front of the hall. The beams of the hall are generally carved with auspicious patterns of dragons and phoenixes, and the hall is generally separated by movable wallboard.
Local building materials are generally made from local materials, such as bluestone, granite, pebbles and wood. The geographical position at the junction of the four northeastern Jiangxi provinces and the culture of Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Anhui brought about by the prosperity of Shitang paper industry are branded on the building. Shitang architecture is mostly Huizhou architecture, which combines the characteristics of Fujian residential architecture with the garden-style architecture of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. (Author Jane Dara)