Where is Huizhou?

Where is "Huizhou"?

This question is not difficult to answer

After all, every Chinese has its shadow in their heart

The beautiful Huangshan Mountain

Famous for its strange pines, strange rocks, sea of ??clouds and hot springs

The meandering Xin'an River

connects ancient villages from west to east

Its downstream is formed by damming and impounding water

Qiandao Lake

Wuyuan is surrounded by mountains and rivers

White walls, black tiles, and rapeseed Terraces

A poetic and picturesque scene

That’s right

They are all part of “Huizhou”

Not only that

The "Hui" of Anhui Province

The "Hui" of Huizhou architecture

The "Hui" of Huizhou merchants who were in great demand

The eight major cuisines of Anhui cuisine "Hui"

are all taken from the name of Huizhou

Even though today's "Huizhou"

only exists in one district of Huangshan City

The area is only 0.3 of the province's

But people still can't ignore it

They even have to mention it

How does Huizhou do it? of?

The junction of Anhui, Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces

Mountains and rugged valleys

It has been called "a place separated by mountains and soil" since ancient times

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Ancient Huizhou was born here

North

The Huangshan Mountains stretch from east to west

The famous 72 Peaks are either majestic or beautiful

Lianhua Peak, Guangmingding Peak and Tiandu Peak

The three main peaks are famous for their fame

Among them, Lianhua Peak has an altitude of 1864.8 meters

It ranks among the highest in Anhui Province. The highest peak in the province

South

Wulong Mountain, Baiji Mountain, and Tianmu Mountain are spread out continuously

They became a natural barrier from the southwest to the east of ancient Huizhou

The mountains are sandwiched between the north and south and the east and west.

Surrounding ancient Huizhou

The cold current from the north is blocked by Huangshan Mountain

The moist air from the south is Accumulated in the mountains

Creates a fairyland world shrouded in clouds

Warm and moist air climbs along the mountain

As the altitude rises, the temperature drops

The water vapor continues to condense

Forming a sea of ??surging clouds in the sky

The condensed water droplets form rainfall and fall

The rainwater gathers in the mountains

When encountering cliffs, they cascade down

Waterfalls and deep pools dot the mountains

However, in the long geological history period

Due to the repeated fractures of the strata

, part of the crust rose up into mountains

forming multiple mountains

The other part sank relatively

forming mountains Flat rift basins in between

Streams originating from mountainous areas

continuously converge into these basins

When rivers rush out of valleys

It lost the constraints of the mountains on both sides

The width changed from tens of meters to more than a hundred meters

The flow speed also slowed down rapidly

So the water carried in the water Gravel and sediment settled one after another

Over time

large and small washouts were formed.

Ji Plain

The largest one

is the Xiutun Basin along the Xin'an River

Its area is about 660 square kilometers

Close to the size of Singapore

In addition

there are also tributaries along the banks

Yixian Basin, Huayang Basin, Lianjiang Basin, Lukunchang Basin, etc.

These basins are connected in series along the river

The terrain is often flat and the soil is deep

Coupled with the warm and humid climate conditions all year round

They are extremely suitable for human habitation and Farming

There are high mountains outside

There are fertile soil and fertile fields inside

This land separated by mountains and soil

already has the standard features to become a paradise.

So since the Han Dynasty

In order to avoid the wars and disasters in the Central Plains

a large number of nobles and common people have migrated here

In the mountain basin Live and work happily in Zhongan

Even the beach on the convex bank of the river

also became a secret home

By the end of the Northern Song Dynasty

In the midst of heavy school work Under the tax and corvee

Fang La, a servant in She County, led the crowd to rise up

For a time, there were tens of thousands of followers

However, after a short period of glory

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The "Fang La Uprising" quickly collapsed

And the Northern Song Dynasty court that successfully suppressed the uprising

named the word "Hui" which means "rope"

Change the area from "Shezhou" to "Huizhou"

And retain the layout of "one prefecture and six counties" since the Tang Dynasty

So far

" "Huizhou" has officially entered the stage of history

And a 790-year legend has just begun

However

Life in this paradise is not easy

While people enjoy stability and calmness

they are also facing two severe tests

The first problem

is floods

Due to the steep slopes and short rivers in the mountainous areas

The rainfall increases every summer

The water pours from the mountainous areas into the valley basins

The people who live here People were deeply troubled by floods

So

people dug ponds to store water and built dams to block floods

and then diverted water into fields and villages through ditches

Not only solves the problems of irrigation, flood control and boating

but also creates the unique scene of "small bridges and flowing water with people living in it"

Among the many dams

The most famous one is undoubtedly the "Yuliang Dam" in She County

The dam is about 143 meters long and 5 meters high

It is all made of hard granite boulders.

It can not only store water upstream

but also slow down the flow below the dam

It is very conducive to the development of agriculture and the construction of docks

The second problem that bothers people

is the lack of land

Take Jixi County as an example

The proportion of mountains and hills in the entire territory can reach 92%

There are only 8 basins suitable for large-scale living and farming

And with the increasing population

Mountain basins are becoming more and more crowded

Once popular in the Central Plains The courtyard-style building

occupied too much space and the density was too low

It was too luxurious in ancient Huizhou where there were many people and a small area

People urgently needed

Looking for a new way of living

So

In the integration of northern immigrants and indigenous Shanyue

a unique "patio-style building" architecture

Born on the land of ancient Huizhou

This is "Hui Style Architecture"

Hui Style Architecture continues the courtyard structure of the north

However, in order to increase the "floor area ratio" of the building

the characteristics of the Shanyue people's nest dwellings were also learned

They often have two or even three floors

In order to minimize the occupation of land

the courtyard area was also greatly reduced

Eventually a long and narrow patio was formed

The patio is not only used for ventilation and lighting

It can also make rainwater gather and flow down along the surrounding eaves

It is regarded as a symbol of wealth gathering

It is also known as "Four Waters Return to the Hall"

Courtyards and Courtyards

Only narrow and deep alleys remain

The land utilization rate is almost close to the limit

The main body of Huizhou architecture is made of wood

And they are arranged so densely

It must be "if a family catches fire, the whole village suffers"

Therefore, on the basis of the traditional "herringbone" roof

Ancient Huizhou people creatively invented the stepped gables

The gables are higher than the roof and are layered in layers

to prevent the spread of fire

Because they are paved with ink The tiles are like high horse heads

So it is called "horse head wall"

In addition, in order to absorb moisture and prevent moisture

Huizhou buildings often use chalk (è) coating High-rise wall

Under the erosion of rain

The white wall gradually became mottled with watermarks

It looked like an ink painting of a mountain village

So the "pink wall, black tiles and horse head wall"

has become the most classic symbol of Huizhou architecture

The housing problem has been solved

People are still facing severe problems Food problem

According to statistics

During the Southern Song Dynasty, the per capita cultivated land in Huizhou was 15 acres

By the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, it was only 2.2 acres

Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty It was even reduced to 1.5 acres during the year

The local grain reserves could not make ends meet

People had to buy grain from other places to make ends meet

▼Quoted from "Xiuning County Chronicle" during the Kangxi period

If the rice boat does not arrive in one day, the people will be hungry; if it does not arrive in three days, there will be people dying of hunger; in five days, there will be no daylight

In desperation

People will look at Looking at the vast mountains and forests

Unexpectedly, it opened the door to a new world

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, when cultivated land was most in short supply

it became the most important place in ancient Huizhou. The glorious age

Pine trees in the high mountains, tea in the low mountains

Tung trees, Camellia oleifera, lacquer trees, bamboo forests, mulberries in the mountains

Even minerals in the mountains , stones

have become important sources of income

Especially in low mountains and hills with an altitude of 400-800 meters

red and yellow soil suitable for the growth of tea trees is widely distributed

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In addition, the climate is warm and humid all year round

Huangshan Maofeng, Qimen black tea, and Tunxi green tea

A number of famous teas have become famous and are sold everywhere

And the production skills brought from the Central Plains

made the ancient Huizhou people even more powerful

In addition to the famous Chengxintang paper

The main trunk of pine wood, oil Tung seeds, etc.

are used to make emblems

Ink

The dragon tail stone produced in Longwei Mountain in Wuyuan

is rich in minerals such as sericite

and has become a high-quality stone for polishing She inkstones

In addition, there are Huizhou pens

Oil-paper umbrellas

Many unique ancient Huizhou handicrafts were born

The four treasures of the study are all available

Its reputation It spread far and wide and has been spread to this day

And in order to get out of the mountains

people have opened up ancient Huizhou roads among the mountains

that extend in all directions

Through these ancient roads and developed water systems

people carried them on their shoulders and carried them on boats

Huizhou specialties were sold to all parts of the country

In addition, grain, rice and oil were Salt and other materials were transported back to their hometown

This started the Huizhou model of “relying on business”

▼Quoted from Wang Shizhen, a historian in the Ming Dynasty, which means that only 3 out of 10 Huizhou people stayed in In the hometown, 7 people make a living outside

Mostly Huizhou customs, thirteen people are in the city, seventeen people are in the world

Until the Ming and Qing Dynasties

Huizhou merchants were all-powerful, Rich in the world

Named "Hui merchants"

Huizhou was also pushed to its heyday

The Southern Song Dynasty more than 800 years ago

The 52-year-old Zhu Xi spent many years

Finally based on the work of his predecessors

"The Great Learning", "The Doctrine of the Mean", "The Analects" and "Mencius"

Four Confucian classics were annotated and published together

Originally known as the "Four Books"

It became a model for the imperial examinations in later generations

In ancient times, Huizhou was the ancestral home of Zhu Xi

The influence of his theories is even more profound

People advocate loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness

"Three cardinal principles and five constant principles" and "propriety, justice and human ethics" are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Completely changed the concepts and lives of ancient Huizhou people

The gentry who immigrated here from the north

mostly chose to live in groups

The admiration for patriarchal hierarchy in Zhu Xi's theory

has pushed the status of clan to the extreme

A clan society that is closely united and passed down from generation to generation

Born on the land of ancient Huizhou

▼Quoted from Zhao Jishi's "Jiyuan Jiasuo" of the Qing Dynasty

A thousand-year-old tomb cannot be moved; a clan of thousands of people has never tasted it. Scattered; thousands of years of history, no trace

Anything related to the rise and fall of a family

Ancient Huizhou people paid special attention to it

One of them is Feng Shui Study

Therefore, ancient Huizhou people often used the efforts of the whole clan to select, plan and build villages

It was praised by Zhu Xi as "the first village in the south of the Yangtze River" "Chengkan Village

is the most typical Feng Shui village

surrounded by 8 peaks

corresponding to the 8 directions of the Bagua

The "S" shaped river passing through the village

is like the boundary between the Bagua Yin and Yang fish

The three streets and ninety-nine lanes in the village are staggered

Chessboard

Even if there is no ideal environment surrounded by mountains and rivers

Ancient Huizhou people can also use man-made engineering

to change the local "feng shui" conditions

One of the important ways is to divert water

Hongcun, which has become famous in recent years

The shape of the village is like a cow lying on a green hill

Among them, the moon The marsh is the stomach and the south lake is the belly

The winding water town is shaped like a cow's intestines

and forms an artificial water system that runs through the whole village

And in villages where people of the same surname live together

it is very important The most important buildings are often ancestral halls

As the saying goes, "the most important thing for a clan is the ancestral hall"

As a place for ancestor worship, banquets, and formal customs

All clan members Investing money and effort to carry out large-scale construction projects

The ancestral hall building is solemn and solemn, with an unprecedented scale

Of course, under the influence of Confucianism

The best way to honor one's ancestors is to serve as an official

Xu Guo, a native of Shexian County who served as an important minister in three dynasties of the Ming Dynasty

built a magnificent eight-pillar archway in his hometown

It is surrounded on all sides and carefully carved

The inscriptions include "learn first and then serve", "senator in power", "big scholar" etc.

To express his merits and virtues

He has appeared. The dream of becoming an official

Ancient Huizhou people particularly respected education

and encouraged students to participate in the imperial examination to obtain scholars

Huizhou merchants who accumulated wealth outside their home country

They did not hesitate to spend a lot of gold and silver to build education

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties

In ancient Huizhou, the emperor built about 93 academies of various sizes

Schools, There are hundreds of private schools

The scene of "a village of ten households does not abandon reading"

is everywhere here

and received a good education Huizhou students

continue to stand out in the imperial examinations

In the Qing Dynasty, there were 114 top scholars in the country

And Huizhou was the only one in the country 17 seats

Xiuning is well-deserved as the "Number One County"

Ancient Huizhou was also known as the "Southeast Zou Lu"

Huizhou who successfully entered the officialdom Officials hold power

providing a good political soil for local business development

And Huizhou businessmen who have been influenced by the classics of etiquette and justice since childhood

are "also Jia Yiru"

Well versed in how to get along with all kinds of officials

By relying on the national government

Coupled with the geographical conditions of "near water and buildings"

In addition to operating the traditional agricultural and forestry trade

they also once obtained the privilege of monopolizing the Jianghuai salt industry

In a few years, they could "accumulate huge amounts of money"

▼Introduction Since the Ming Dynasty writer Wang Daokun

A big businessman in Xin'an, he is the most prosperous salt planner

Another world of Huizhou merchants is the pawn industry

With huge capital and the power of the clan

They cut interest rates, offer profits, and operate with integrity

Seize the market with "righteousness"

This concept of "profit from justice" Very effective

In the economically developed Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas

the pawn industry has been monopolized by Hui merchants

Use business to nourish literature, use literature to become officials, and use officials to promote Business

This unique Huizhou model

is like a wheel rolling forward

It has pushed ancient Huizhou to the pinnacle of business, education and politics

Huizhou people who came out of a land separated by mountains and rivers

have even entered the stage of Chinese business history

Their financial resources are comparable to those of Shanxi in the north. Business comparison

Known as "Southern Huizhou and Northern Jin Dynasty"

Huizhou businessmen who are deeply influenced by Confucianism

mostly choose to invest their wealth in fixed assets

To feed back the hometown and build the hometown

Their homes are "rich and noble"

Although there are only small window openings in the high wall to prevent fire and theft

but the door tower and door cover are carefully crafted

Plaque gates, arched gates, hanging flower gates, and eight-character gates

Not only are there various forms

The brick carving craftsmanship is also superb

Highlighting the owner of the courtyard Wealth, status and aesthetics

The wood carvings in the inner courtyard are also at their peak

Beams, brackets, railings, doors and windows are all carved

Flowers, birds, fish, insects, All opera and folk customs can be included in the painting

It can be called the finishing touch of Huizhou architecture

Villages and towns have developed water transportation and prosperous commerce

Many commercial streets have risen from the ground

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Banks, pawn shops, salt shops, paper shops

Porcelain, silk cloth, medicinal materials, yellow smoke

Numerous industries and shops

Ming and Qing Dynasties Wan'an Old Street in those days

Tunxi Old Street in the late Qing Dynasty

Both were densely populated and lively

Residential houses, ancestral halls, and memorial archways

Colleges, shops, water towns, streets

Under the management of generations of ancient Huizhou people

The scale of the village is as high as the sky, like a city wall

18 to 19 The century-old Xidi Village

already has about 600 residential buildings, 99 streets and lanes

34 ancestral halls, 13 archways and a population of nearly 10,000 people

With " "Three Thousand Smoked Stoves and Nine Thousand Ding" is famous all over the world

As Huizhou's reputation spreads far and wide

Huizhou merchants have their footprints all over the country

Huizhou culture has also emerged from the mountains

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It took root all over the country

During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty

Four major Hui opera troupes came to Beijing to celebrate the emperor's birthday

Nearly a hundred years later

Huizhou opera draws on the strengths of others and integrates sounds from all over the world

It gave birth to the national quintessence "Peking Opera" that is now well-known to every household

Some students who have not had a smooth career but are full of knowledge

Known as "Confucian doctors" in the world

Some people travel around the mountains and rivers and express their love for forests and springs

They created the "Xin'an School" of painting with the scenery of wild mountains and rivers

Xin'an painters are particularly famous for the charm of Huangshan

It can be said to be a classic image in Chinese ink painting

Until the end of the Qing Dynasty

With the invasion of Western powers and the Taiping Rebellion The movement broke out

War and smoke continued in various places

The policy advantages that Huizhou merchants relied on were gone

They even had to face more serious taxes

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The new trend of thought from across the ocean

is violently impacting the traditional thinking of thousands of years

The foundation that promoted the rise of ancient Huizhou is gradually shaken

In addition The fierce competition from foreign goods

This land that has been glorious for hundreds of years

finally failed to withstand the great changes of the times

and declined helplessly. and Shenhe

Today

The ancient Huizhou is scattered in two provinces and three places

Including Huangshan City, Anhui Province

Xuancheng City, Anhui Province Jixi County

and Wuyuan County, Shangrao City, Jiangxi Province

However, even so

it is still the promised land for many people

In 2017, Wuyuan County alone

attracted more than 20 million tourists

Equivalent to the population of the entire city of Beijing

Huangshan City, where famous mountains and ancient villages coexist,

The annual number of visitors exceeds 57 million

Many celebrities came out of here

Former National Leader Hu Jintao

New Culture Movement leader Hu Shi

People's educator Tao Xingzhi

"Red-top businessman" Hu Xueyan and others

all It has had an important impact on Chinese history or the present

And with the discovery of hundreds of thousands of ancient Huizhou documents

people have been able to transcend nearly a thousand years

Get a glimpse of the original appearance of society at that time

It also made the discipline of "Huixue" stand on three pillars with "Dunhuang Studies" and "Tibetan Studies"

A great treasure in regional culture

So

Huizhou has not disappeared

You will find out when you set foot on this land

It’s right there

In the mountains and rivers

Also in the stories of old friends

Creative team

Written by: Mulan minus words

Picture Editor: Liu Bai, Ren Bingxu

Cartography: Zhang Jing

Map: Gong Xiangjie

Reviewer: Ji Qiumei, GeGe

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P.S. The main references for this article are: Chinese Geographic Encyclopedia "Huizhou Land", "Encyclopedia of Huizhou Culture", He Jingwu "Brief Records of Huizhou Region", Zhu Yongchun "Huizhou Architecture", Lu Lin "Huizhou Villages", Li Chuanxi "Ancient Villages in Huizhou", etc.

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