The prose of Chaijia Huangtang on Shiba Ancient Road

On Gushiba Avenue, there is a small place called Chaijia Huangtang. The site of Xuntang has long been annihilated, but the place name has been preserved to this day.

Chaijia Huangtang is roughly located on the high mountain northwest of Yaoyingping today. Before 1958, it belonged to Gaofeng Township, Jianshi County, and was the border between Badong County and Jianshi County. According to the Records of Jianshi County, Tongzhi County of Qing Dynasty, "The Southern Association of Qing Dynasty * * * has 13 ponds in eighteen flood seasons, and 916 soldiers in flood seasons are stationed in Jianshi County, with one in total, and five soldiers in each pond. There are Liansanpo Pond, Chaijiahuang Pond and Yangliu Huangtang on the post road to Badong County during Shimen flood season.

It can be seen that Chaijia Huangtang is the most basic flood pond under the Shinan Association of green camp of the Qing army, which is equivalent to a public security checkpoint on the official road from Shinan Prefecture to Badong, Yichang Prefecture. Continuing eastward from Chaijia Waste Pond is the famous "45-mile Willow Waste". Qing Daoguang's "annals of Shinan Prefecture" recorded in an article: "In the twenty years after Qianlong, Yichang Prefecture was moved to Badong County. According to the report of the groom and others, there were many errands, and there were few grooms, so it was difficult to take care of both sides. Moreover, Ma handed Shinan's official documents on a bumpy road, with a willow shortage of more than 3 miles and no residential shops. Every snow congealed and the spring and summer rain sent mud to a depth of feet. When an official document is handed over to the shop, it can be quickly served in detail with a torch ... "The Qingkou and Yangliu famine mentioned in this official announcement are the high mountain areas from Chaijia famine to Lushongpo today, with ice and snow in winter and rugged mountain roads, and it is also a famous place on Shiba Avenue where" the back foot dares not beat the pestle and the peddler dares not shake the drum ".

The names of Chai Jia Huang, Xian Jia Huang, Yuan Jia Huang, which were preserved along Shiba Avenue, were all deserted places in the past. The word "barren" shows us the picture of the ancestors' immigrants in this wild and wild mountain, slash and burn, and reclaim land. The Sunjiabao at the top of Chaijia barren mountain is a clear proof. Today, the grandparent of Sunjiabao, Yao Yingping, first left his job and then prospered. Sun Shi's ancestors went through a long journey from Jiangling, Jingzhou Prefecture, and "cut down the rafters, covered them with thatch, sheltered the wind and rain, and cultivated land" at the top of Chaijia barren mountain. According to historical records, the ancient Shiba Road is an important path for the ancients to abandon their boats from Badong in the Three Gorges and then turn to Sichuan by land. In the early 199s, a group of exquisite bronze chimes unearthed near the ancient Chaijia Road were hoarded here when the nobles of Chu fled to Shu. They tried to wait until they returned to Chu from Shu, but they never came back, leaving a rare treasure for the world and witnessing the long history of the ancient road. During the Qing, Kang and Gan Dynasties, a large number of refugees continued to travel to Sichuan by this way, and as a result, they learned that Sichuan was already overcrowded halfway. These refugees had to take up the occupation and cultivate the wilderness on the spot, which made a densely populated village between the high mountains on both sides of the Shiba ancient road.

In Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty, when Zhang Zhidong was in charge of Huguang, Zhang widened the old Shibagu Post Road into Qingshiban Avenue for the convenience of disaster relief. Zhang Zhidong authorized Cai Guozhen to be the road construction committee member of Shiyi Avenue and Shiba Avenue, and came to Badong to supervise the project. Cai made some adjustments to the route. After Shiyi Avenue passed, Shiyi Avenue arrived at Jiebeiya, so it was much more economical to go to Badong County by this way than to go through Shimen River before. Therefore, the newly built stone road completely abandoned the post road from Shimen River and Chaijiahuang to the ancestral temple, but only after Majiaping did it rejoin the former post road. Like Shiyi Avenue, Shiba Avenue is paved with bluestone strips. The whole journey from Jiebeiya to Badong Chenjia Wharf is 16 Li. It cost 45, strings to rebuild this road, and it took more than a year to finally complete it. After the completion and acceptance, Zhang Zhidong ordered a road monument to be set up at the boundary monument at the branch of Shiba Avenue and Shiyi Avenue, so that the group gentry, shops, residents and others along the way "occasionally damaged the road and carefully repaired it, with a view to lasting forever."

With the cancellation of the flood season in the Qing Dynasty, the ancient road gradually disappeared, and the Chaijiahuang pond was abandoned with it, leaving only the name Chaijiahuang, which is so small that only the neighboring people know it. The villagers who used to live along the post road have gradually moved out of here, bringing many small villages on the ancient Shiba road back to the former wilderness. In order to pursue the convenience of travel, people often live by the main roads. Imagine that many ancient towns can be preserved now, which is inseparable from many ancient roads being barren and finding another way. Therefore, it is fair to say that God is also fair. Those things that have changed because of repeated reconstruction in convenient and prosperous hub places are neither people nor people, but some remote and secluded ancient towns and villages are easy to be preserved.