Yaozhan village, Liaoning: The villagers are all descendants of the royal family.

19 12 The Qing Dynasty perished, and it has been 1 10 years now. However, there is a special village in Liaoning, China-yaozhan village. Every year in March, June and September, men here will wear robes and mandarin jackets, and some will tie a braid that only men in the Qing Dynasty have. They claim to be descendants of the royal family in Aisingiorro and follow the customs and habits of Manchu nobles. So far, they have not married the outside world, just to ensure the purity of their Essien Joro bloodline.

Speaking of Manchu aristocrats, we must first understand Ai Xinjue Roche, known as the aristocratic surname of Manchu royal family.

Ai Xinjue Roche originated from the Nuzhen nationality in northeast China 1583. After Nurhachi came to power, he gradually expanded his power and actively annexed various ministries of Nuzhen. Nurhachi was influenced by his grandfather and father since childhood. He loves China culture and is brave and good at fighting. He was both civil and military, and soon recovered the tribes in the northeast. 16 16 years, the jurchen state-Houjin was established. He started his own business with his capital in Xingjing, Xinbin Manchu Autonomous County, Fushun, Liaoning.

16 18, Nurhachi rose to the surface. Therefore, Xingjing is not only the birthplace of Nurhachi, but also the capital of the late Jin regime, and it is also the starting point for his later rebellion against the Ming Dynasty. This place is an important and special place for the people of Aisinggioro. Nurhachi regards this place as Long Mai, which loves Xinjue Roche, and the initial place of the dynasty's fate. Therefore, the location of Yongling at the foot of Yun Qi Mountain in Xinjiang can be seen from this.

Yaozhan village was developed to protect Yongling.

In order to ensure the peace of Yongling, the stability of Long Mai, and also to protect the safety of the treasures buried with Yongling, guarding the imperial tomb is something that emperors of all dynasties should attach importance to. Most of the guardians sent are people connected with the emperor's blood, because only people of the same clan know that if they have honor and loss, they will protect their ancestral graves more carefully. Not only that, there are heavy guards around the mausoleum. In history, there were as many as 3,000 guards guarding Yongling.

The tomb guards serve the royal family, and all expenses are borne by the court. Shouling people are passed down from generation to generation, and the father dies and the son follows, and it is endless.

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi sent Aisin Qiaoluo Atta, a branch of the royal family, to guard the Yongling Mausoleum. Aisingjiro Atta is the fifth grandson of Nurhachi's third grandfather. Atta was originally a big shot in Shanxi, and he has been an official to the second grade. Later, after Kangxi killed Ao Bai, the minister, Atta was found to be a henchman of Ao Bai and was executed for his crimes.

But in the end, Ata, a man from Aisin Giro, was only reduced to four grades by Emperor Kangxi and was given to the court. Later, in the twenty-fifth year of Kangxi, he was sent to Xingjing Shouling, and his official position was the vice captain of Yongling garrison. At that time, Atta wanted to stay away from right and wrong because her career was not smooth, and she was happy to take her youngest son to Yongjing and Xingjing.

1686, Atta came to Xingjing with people and stopped at Shangjiahe Town, 36 kilometers away from Yongming Mausoleum. He found this place beautiful and rich, but he thought it was suitable for living. Atta suggested setting the new home here. The family felt very good and everyone agreed.

So Atta stationed his youngest son at the foot of Yongling to guard the imperial tomb, and other family members settled here. Therefore, this place is the only place for the imperial clan to visit Yongling, so they named it Yao Station, which means a stopover station. Yaozhan village also got its name.

Emperor Qianlong, Emperor Jiaqing, and Daoguang all went to Yongling to worship their ancestors, and they all rested in yaozhan village, a total of 13 times. This shows the importance of yaozhan village's local position.

Atta came to Yaozhan in those days because she was far away from court disputes and was at peace with the rest of the world in this paradise. She feels lucky, not to mention taking a wife and concubinage. Yaozhan village is developing rapidly. Atta was loyal to his duties during his tenure in Yongling, and was later promoted to Chief Commander. It was not until she retired from her post in her 60s that Atta was able to live in yaozhan village for another 20 years until she died at the age of 85.

In the Qing Dynasty, all imperial clothes and auspicious clothes were required to be equipped with belts. In order to distinguish the aristocratic lineage of Aisin Giraud, the Qing Dynasty stipulated that all relatives of the royal family should wear yellow belts, and later generations used "yellow belts" to refer to relatives of the royal family, and the royal side branches wore red belts, which were called "red belts". Officials wear blue or cyan belts. Because of the strict hierarchy, it is forbidden to use belts indiscriminately, so in the Qing Dynasty, belts can be used to distinguish grades.

The Ata family belongs to the "red belt" class because it is a branch of the royal family. This kind of red ribbon not only represents noble status, but also enjoys the treatment of "red ribbon". As royalty, because of their special status, many people are ignorant. In order to prevent these relatives from wandering the streets because of idleness and losing face to the royal family, the royal family regularly gives them benefits.

According to the regulations, every boy born in a "red belt" family in Aisinggio can go to court to get a "red belt". With the "red belt ID card", you can get a subsidy of 22 taels of silver in the court every month with this "red belt", which is 24 taels of silver a year, and you can also get 2520 Jin of rice every year. A man with a "red belt" can also receive 20 taels of gift money for marriage and 30 taels of silver for funeral.

Atta and his people, as a "red belt" class, naturally enjoy this kind of welfare treatment. Old people in yaozhan village said that their "Red Ribbon" welfare has been received in the Republic of China.

Therefore, in order to ensure the continuity of the red ribbon, the family's demand for men is particularly important. In addition, the ancients paid attention to the needs of family prosperity. Therefore, the population of yaozhan village has developed rapidly. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were as many as 600 members of the Aisingjiluoluo family in yaozhan village. At present, yaozhan village has a total area of about 18 square kilometers, 3 natural villages and 4 villagers' groups, with more than 300 villagers, with a total population of about 1300, including 97% Manchu and 40% royal descendants, with about 500 people.

It turns out that after death, the "red ribbon" as a status symbol must be buried together as a funerary object. However, after the death of the family, the red ribbon was preserved because it was not buried in time, giving future generations a chance to see the original appearance of the "red ribbon". This is a silk thread about 2 meters long, which is made up of four round or square carved boards inlaid with precious stones and jade, and its appearance is very beautiful.

Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, foreigners were not allowed to live in yaozhan village. Until the founding of New China, there were fewer and fewer old people in the village. The Qing Dynasty has long been history, and the task of guarding the mausoleum has gradually faded, and the village has slowly moved to Manchu outside Aisin Choro.

Nevertheless, the 300-year-old deep-rooted tradition still fills this village with the royal atmosphere of the Qing Dynasty.

We know that the costumes of Manchu nobles originated from the Jurchen nationality. In order to resist the cold climate and facilitate riding and shooting, Jurchen people like to make the cuffs of their clothes into arrow sleeves, also called "horseshoe sleeves", which are just long enough to cover the back of their hands, keeping warm and preventing archery. The same is true of men's robes and vests.

After the Qing army entered the customs, the official's outer cell was slit on both sides, while the emperor's was slit on all sides. Although in the later period, costumes were also marked with China characteristics, but the Qing Dynasty always advocated that "clothes should not be changed easily", so the change was not obvious. The clothes of the nobles in the Qing Dynasty are still nomadic in appearance, and the patterns on the clothes are the marks of the Han nationality. Up to now, there are still some men in the village with braids and a sense of crossing.

Manchu women wear "flag dress", also known as "cheongsam", round neck, narrow sleeves, sleeves are also horseshoe sleeves, and the hem is inlaid with decorative piping, which is rectangular as a whole.

97% of the people in yaozhan village are Manchu, so every household has the traditional costumes of Manchu nobles, which are worn on traditional festivals every year. If you happen to walk into yaozhan village on this day, you will see that some men wear aristocratic robes and hats, some men wear yellow jackets, satin robes and booties, and women walk around in all kinds of cheongsam.

As can be seen from their costumes, there are princes, guards, concubines and maids ... really crossed to the Qing Dynasty.

In yaozhan village, on the one hand, we are all relatives and friends; On the other hand, they pay attention to "benevolence, friendship, courtesy, wisdom and faith" in traditional Confucian culture, so the security in the village is very good, and it really reaches a good state of not closing the door at night. Here, the villagers live and work in peace and contentment, and there have been no major cases.

Manchu people attach great importance to "respecting the elderly". To this day, yaozhan village still abides by the traditional etiquette of respecting the elderly in Qing Dynasty. If a young man meets an old man on the road, he needs to stand aside and let the old man go first. If there are guests at home, the younger generation should stand beside the elders and don't sit down privately. The elders don't let the younger generation speak, and the younger generation can't speak out first, let alone say irony. When you eat, you must also let your elders sit down first, and wait until your elders start to pick up food.

Of course, the feudal dross in Cheng Zhu's neo-Confucianism tradition has also been continued here. For example, the concept that men are superior to women is still deeply rooted in the hearts of villagers. For example, if there are elders in the family, the daughter-in-law can't go to the table to eat with the elders. In some families, some good dishes are specially prepared for the elderly for them to enjoy alone. New wives sometimes have to stand aside and listen to their mother-in-law's "teachings" with an open mind.

In some families, the daughter-in-law needs to prepare face washing water and foot washing water for her mother-in-law every day. Only men are eligible to participate in activities involving sacrifices, and women are not allowed to participate, and women are not allowed to enter the ancestral temple. Women can't wear short clothes in front of their in-laws or yell at their children in front of their elders. When guests come, they must go into the kitchen to prepare food for them.

Manchu politeness also has its national characteristics. Different from the handshake ceremony of Han people, their gifts are different in different occasions, different objects and different ways. Generally, people will bow or shake hands when they meet, and people who haven't seen each other for a long time will give hugs. The heaviest gift is "three knocks and nine kneels". Manchu women also use the ritual of "rubbing their temples", that is, we often see the squatting ceremony in film and television dramas, that is, women squat down with their hands on their legs, then kowtow and wipe their temples with their right hands three times.

Manchu people usually hold a table for four people, eight bowls and eight dishes, and the more drinks, the better, to show the enthusiasm of the host family. Manchu families have their own rules and regulations. They are very strict with young people and forbid them to have bad hobbies such as fighting and drinking.

In yaozhan village, the crime rate is very low, and there are few divorced couples in the village. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, there have been no more than 10 couples.

The most severe and exaggerated custom in yaozhan village is that marriage with the outside world is not allowed so far. They think: as a descendant of the royal family, once married to a foreigner, it is a mixed blood. It is disrespectful to our ancestors not to guarantee the purity of Aisingiorro's official blood. In former yaozhan village, many close relatives got married.

Today, people in the annual ring also know the disadvantages of consanguineous marriage and avoid marriage with too close blood relationship, but they still insist on finding the other half of life in the same family. If you don't take a fancy to someone in yaozhan village, it is estimated that the success rate will be very low.

On the back hill of yaozhan village, there is a Lotus Mountain, named after it looks like a lotus flower. Atta, the founder of Yaozhan Village, is buried there. The annual sacrificial activities in the village will be held here. Every Spring Festival and Tomb-Sweeping Day, all the villagers gather here to worship heaven and earth and their ancestors, and pray for good weather, peace and prosperity in the coming year.

Every year in March, June and September, the women in the village will make breakfast for the men early, and then let the men wear the traditional costumes of Manchu nobles, worship their ancestors in the ancestral hall in the village first, and then dance the dragon in the square in the center of the village, or take part in riding and shooting activities around with bows and arrows on their backs. The children of Manchu nobles are descendants of the Jurchen nationality, and they are the people on horseback. The tradition of riding and shooting has always been preserved.

In the customs of the Han nationality, family rights and obligations are generally passed on to the eldest son, while in the Manchu nationality, on the contrary, the youngest son inherits the family business and supports the elderly. The Manchu system continued from the Jurchen era. In yaozhan village, this tradition has been preserved.

If you enter yaozhan village, you will find the ruins of the palace where the emperor lived and the northern part of the village. They call it the East-West Entertainment Hall. In the ruins of the East-West Recreation Hall, there are some articles left by the emperor and his entourage. These items are common daily necessities, not expensive, but they are precious historical materials.

The main road in the village is called "Hanwang Road", which is an ancient road that originated in the Western Han Dynasty. The buildings in the village are still Xiaoqing brick houses popular in the Qing Dynasty. In the quadrangle house, there is a Chinese character Kang. In front of the villagers' yard in Aisingji Olluojia, there are some stones to mount, dismount and tie horses.

Great changes have taken place in Manchu surnames since the demise of the Qing Dynasty. In order to keep up with the development of the times, Manchu surnames have gradually been sinicized, and the aristocratic "Aisingiorro" surname has been changed to the top ten surnames in China: Zhao, Jin, Luo, De, Hong, Yi, Hai, Ai, Tie and Pu. In yaozhan village, the Manchu surname was changed to "Zhao". When the Qing army entered Shanhaiguan, timur, the ancestor of Nurhachi, was named "Emperor Zhaozu", and Ata clan was also a member of Mongolian timur.

After the demise of the Qing Dynasty, yaozhan village's descendants of Atta changed their surname to "Zhao". Now Aisin Gioro in the village is named after Zhao. If you meet a villager named Zhao in the village, there is no doubt that he must be a descendant of Essien Joro.

In yaozhan village, there is a cultural relic protection unit, which is the ancestral home of the old man Hua in the village. This house has a history of 300 years. This old house, full of Qing dynasty flavor, still retains the traditional craft of carving beams and painting buildings, which has high cultural relics value.

The wheel of history keeps advancing with the rise and fall of the moon, and society is developing. In the face of traditional culture and customs, we should also take its essence and discard its dross. It is obviously wrong to stand still and think that the habits handed down by our ancestors should be unchangeable. Of course, existence has its rationality. As the only existing Manchu aristocratic settlement village, yaozhan village has its unique historical and cultural value. As villagers in yaozhan village, perhaps they feel that the existing environment is their ideal paradise.