Who is the founder of Hengmei Village in Zhongshan? I am a constant beauty, but I don't know!

Hengmei Village is located in the southern district office of 1km, 6.7km southwest of Zhongshan Municipal Government. The village is dominated by Li, and there are other surnames. At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the brothers Li Songgang moved to Hengmei Village from HengMiri, Malaysia, a lotus pond in Xinhui, Malaysia, to commemorate their hometown. "Hengzongyan's gold book contains history, outstanding people, beautiful scenery and magnificent momentum, and the jade belt around the village is remarkable", which is a true portrayal of the village. The river originating from Qijiang runs through the whole village and plays an important role in the historical development of Hengmei Village.

Look for (someone whose whereabouts are unknown)

When you take a bus from Shi Qi to Nanqu and walk to Nansan Road, if you pay attention to the roadside scenery, two stone bridges will jump into your eyes within a distance of one or two hundred meters on the left. On the busy cement road, between the ordinary green belts on both sides of the road, two stone bridges appear one after another, which is a different kind of surprise for unfamiliar people. Where there is a bridge, there is a river, and the river is not big. The place between these two bridges is Hengmei Village.

Branches of the Qijiang River surround the village.

If you don't reach Hengmei Village, you can say that you have never seen its village, but you have heard of its river first. From downtown to Chengnan Second Road, I never expected that there would be a concept of river in this section, but by Chengnan Third Road, the river suddenly appeared. After careful observation, it was discovered that this river came quietly from the third road in the south of the city. From the map, it is found that this small river originated from Qijiang River, the mother river of Zhongshan. When going down the South Third Road, it made a 180 degree turn and flowed into Hengmei Village.

"This river is a branch of the Wadou Sea, which has existed since the village was built. In the past, the riverbed was much wider and the boat could sail. " Li Dehong, the head of Hengmei Village, recalled that in the 1920s and 1930s, villagers still relied on this river to drink water and wash clothes. What impressed Li Dehong was that the production team at that time, the river was full of swaying boats. "According to the size of the ship, we called it nine or seven ships at that time. When the production team took part in the work and harvested rice, we all went in and out by this boat. " After harvesting the rice, we transported it by boat. This small river has become an important artery of villagers' production and life, and witnessed the development and changes of Hengmei Village.

After the reform and opening up, the number of villagers working in agriculture has decreased day by day, and with the change of time, the role of rivers has gradually changed. Later, the river bed narrowed and the water became shallow. A new road has been built on the river, and ships can no longer pass on it.

In the early summer sunshine, the water in the river is very clear. There is an arched stone bridge dozens of meters downstream of the river. The semicircular stone arch is reflected in the water, and a complete circle can be seen in the distance. Down the river, the green plants on both sides of the river have become greener after being moistened by the rain some time ago.

Approaching the stone bridge, it turns out that this is the "walking bridge" with a history of 100 years. The bridge is engraved with the blue characters of "Zhongshan Historical Building" announced by the Zhongshan Municipal People's Government last year. Across the river from a bridge stands a hexagonal pavilion with green glazed tiles and red columns. Walking on the Moon Pavilion, with the name corresponding to the bridge, is written with a couplet: "No one walks on the moon on the ancient bridge, but there are guests on the pavilion."

This river is destined to be closely connected with Hengmei Village, like a green extension link. Further downstream, there is a stone bridge-Hengmeien Middle Bridge, which was donated by Mr. Li Enzhong, an Australian villager in Hengmei Village. 1983. Next to it is a pavilion "Enzhong Pavilion", where villagers and tourists rest.

The "multifunctional" ancestral hall can be used for setting wine and watching plays.

Not far from Enzhong Pavilion is the tall archway of Hengmei Village, and a couplet is the best interpretation of the village. "The golden book of Hengzong's performance contains outstanding figures in history, with beautiful scenery and magnificent momentum, and the jade belt around the village is remarkable."

Pass through the archway and formally enter Hengmei Village. The entrance to the village is a canteen with a tin roof. At noon in early summer, the sunshine is no longer so soft, and the road surface that has rained in the early stage also heats up rapidly. Under the green trees on both sides of the street, the villagers have a leisurely rest.

"Dangdang-"A tattered tricycle slowly entered the village, with a little girl of about four or five years old sitting behind the frame. Because of the sun, her eyes narrowed into a line, but she still talked happily with her father and gave a hearty laugh. Nowadays, there are many such foreigners living in the village.

The ancestral temple is a very common building in the village, and the big ancestral temple in Hengmei Village is definitely different. The three-story structure shows its momentum, which is not only a place for family members to worship sacrifices and burn incense, but also a multi-functional building integrating traditional ancestral halls, stage performances, auditoriums and entertainment for the elderly. "In the early years, the villagers also liked to put wine here, get married, marry their daughters, celebrate their birthdays, etc." Li Dehong, an old man from the village, came with a reporter. The indoor stage on the first floor has brought rich opera culture to the elderly for many years.

Li Dehong introduced that this ancestral hall was built in 2000. When it was built, it was considered as a place to commemorate ancestors, but it was also practical and closely related to villagers' lives. When the ancestral temple was completed, it had 300 seats, all of which were hometown of overseas Chinese at home and abroad and distant ancestors of the Li family, such as Hengmei, Geling, Yongbian.

Hengmei is a famous hometown of overseas Chinese. According to the report of Zhongshan Overseas Chinese, in the early 20th century, 50 or 60 villagers from Hengmei came to Vancouver to make a living, and registered the Hengmei Hostel there. At that time, Hengmei was a temporary residence, and the villagers jointly bought * * * residences overseas to facilitate mutual care. Later, the villagers who stayed in Hengmei made a lot of contributions to the construction of their hometown, including donating money to build Hengmei School, repairing roads and bridges, and rebuilding Li Shaomei Memorial Hall.

70-year-old vase "ancient wood meets spring"

When looking for Hengmei Village, at the corner of the alley, innocent cheers broke the silence of the alley. Looking inside, it is a school. Across the wall less than head height, more than 20 primary school students wearing red scarves are having fun. It is eleven o'clock in the morning. Maybe they are in physical education class, but there is no teacher present. In the open space in front of a teaching building that says "Hengmei School", children are playing their own games in groups of three or five. It's really exciting.

This building has a unique structure, three floors, and is not high. Many old people in the village call it the "airplane building". "From the bird's eye view, you can clearly see its plane, with a plane head in the middle and wings on both sides," said a village cadre in his fifties, who studied here when he was a child and was told by his teacher that it was the shape of the plane.

The shape of this building is really unique. There are more than ten steps in front of the middle gate, which are semicircular and protrude forward. There are also two semicircles on the left and right sides that also protrude forward. The building is divided into three parts, which are closely connected, with gaps on both sides and in the middle. Seen from the air, it looks like an airplane flying from north to south. The semicircle at the front of the building is based on the shape of the airplane.

This school is now rented by Hengmei Village as a school for migrant children, and most of the students are migrant children. This school is located 2 kilometers away from the Southern District Office, northwest of Hengmei Village. It was founded in 1935 and was donated by overseas Chinese gentry at that time. The school building was magnificent and large-scale, and it was a famous rural primary school in Zhongshan at that time.

Approaching this ancient building, there is a line on the wall of the main entrance "The foundation stone was laid on June 6, 2004 to commemorate the Republic of China". There is a big dark blue vase on the left and right, waist-high, and the words "Hengmei School Memorial" are clearly visible. "These two vases have existed since the school was founded, and the flowers in the vases have not been changed," said a local security guard in his fifties.

What is planted in the vase is a plant thicker than the arm. The one on the left has been separated by two trees, and the bifurcation has shown a dry color. More than 70 years of vicissitudes are in this bottle of flowers, but the leaves are still so green, dotted with several white flowers, telling the vicissitudes of history and adding a bit of pleasant color. A feeling of "dead wood meets spring" arises spontaneously.

The security guard said that this is a kind of plant called "White Zen Flower", which has not been replaced since the school was founded, showing strong vitality. There were often many weeds in the vase, so the security guard pulled them out.

Patriarchal clan

90% of the villagers are surnamed Li

Li comes from Xuanyuan family of Huangdi in primitive tribal times, with a history of more than 4,000 years. At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Li Songgang brothers moved from their new owner Heng Miri, Malaysia and named them after their hometown.

According to historical records, Li Songgang was engaged in wool business at that time, married Ma Guangsheng's daughter in Shayong and moved to the foot of the high pit that belonged to Shayong at that time. At that time, the mountains were secluded and the people were sparse. Once he was caught in the rain when he went out and couldn't go back. He happened to pass by here, knocking at the door to avoid the rain. Ma expressed his welcome and warm hospitality.

The descendants are prosperous and the land appreciates. They are the ancestors of Hengmei Village. Later, many descendants of Li Songgang went out to make a living and were homesick, so villagers at home and abroad raised funds to build the ancestral temple in the sixth year of the Republic of China, and built the great ancestral temple of Li. Today, Hengmei Village has a registered population of more than 2,800 people, more than 90% of whom are surnamed Li, followed by Du et al.