Miscellaneous Talks on Proverbs in the Ancient City of Gaizhou

Miscellaneous talks on proverbs in the ancient city of Gaizhou

Text/Yu Xuezhong (Gaizhou, Liaoning)

Proverbs are the most widely circulated sayings in ancient my country. The crystallization of the wisdom of working people. In a short sentence, it contains various philosophies in life, but it is very simple and easy to understand and makes people remember it deeply. Most proverbs are widely circulated in folk spoken language. They use simple and popular words to reflect profound truths, express people's rich social life experience, and shine with the light of people's wisdom.

An ancient city in Gaizhou, a story of thousand-year civilization. "The pagoda was built in the Tang Dynasty, the circle was built in the Ming Dynasty, and the good temples were built in the Qing Dynasty. There was the God's Temple first, and then Gaizhou City. Three mountains are not visible, five bridges are not visible, two wells per step, and the moat goes around Gaizhou." Since Gaizhou is a thousand-year-old city, many ancient stories have been left behind along with the ancient buildings. Some of these stories are about local characters in Gaizhou, some are about the origin of Gaizhou’s place names, some are about myths about Gaizhou’s ancient buildings, and some are about Folk proverbs based on local customs. Folk proverbs in the ancient city of Gaizhou describe the kindness, simplicity and justice of the people of Gaizhou, expressing the expectations of our ancestors, and are a priceless spiritual wealth.

——Inscription

Language is the carrier of culture, a mirror of the real world, the crystallization of a nation’s experience, truth and wisdom, reflecting the specific characteristics of people in a specific period. Social culture, living customs and ways of thinking, it has the characteristics of colloquial style, popular expression, intellectual content, philosophical understanding, etc., adding a landscape and color to the profound and colorful traditional culture. A charm. There are traces from the classics: "The pagoda was built in the Tang Dynasty, the circle was built in the Ming Dynasty, and the good temples were built in the Qing Dynasty. There was the God's Temple first, and then the city was built. The three mountains are not visible, the five bridges are not visible, there are two wells in one step, and the moat surrounds the city. State transfer". The ancient city of Gaizhou has a history of nearly 2,400 years of city construction and more than 640 years of acropolis history. There are so many proverbs that have been spread throughout the world that they are countless. It is a dazzling crystallization of the historical and cultural process.

Gaizhou became an important town in Liaodong as early as the Western Han Dynasty. The original meaning of a city is a city within a city, and the city precedes the city. The "city" of the ancient city of Gaizhou obviously inherited the development of the previous dynasty. Whether there was a market in Pingguo City during the Han Dynasty or how its commerce was conducted has not been examined. Judging from the descriptions in Ban Gu's "Ode to the Western Capital" and Zhang Heng's "Ode to Xijing" in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the city should have been a place with gates and walls, and there were flags in the city. There are several passages in the pavilion, and in the passages are "si" and "廛" for shopping. The buildings with long corridors are called Lieshu, and the shops selling things are called Yan. It shows that the market in the Han Dynasty had to conduct transactions in the circles specified by the government. After all, in addition to agricultural taxes, markets and merchants are new sources of revenue for the government. During the years of dynasty changes and wars and turmoil, what the city has left us is its vicissitudes of architecture and rich commercial culture.

In the Liao and Jin dynasties, it became a place where merchants gathered. The rulers of the Liao, Jin, and Yuan Dynasties needed to satisfy their enjoyment and expand their wealth. Even if the handicraft industry developed unbalancedly, it would produce abnormal prosperity. The government-run handicraft industry occupies a dominant position and is used to produce materials needed for the war. In the twenty-eighth year of Yuan Zhizheng (AD 1368), the Wubei Temple in Liaoyang of the Yuan Dynasty set up the Bow Bureau and the A Bureau in Gaizhou, responsible for manufacturing bows, arrows and armor for the army. The manufacture of iron weapons and the sewing of harnesses were indispensable during that period, which led to the development of related handicraft industries, such as wood, weaving, shipbuilding, construction and other industries. Centering on the development of handicraft industry, the city is an indispensable carrier. Production tools and daily necessities can be purchased. Rice, flour, firewood, clothing, hats, and papers are all professionally managed. The division of labor in the industry has gradually become clearer, which has also promoted the professional division of labor in various industries.

According to the "Gaiping County Chronicle": "The county seat was originally named Gaizhou Weicheng. In the fourth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1371 AD), Gaizhou was renamed Gaizhou Wei. In the fifth year of Hongwu (1372 AD) In the ninth year of the construction of the old earth city (AD 1376), Wu Yuyin was directed to build the south side, which was covered with bricks and stones for five miles and eighty-eight steps, with a height of three feet and five feet, a depth of one foot and five feet, and a width of one foot. Eight feet. Gate three: Shunqing in the east, Guangen in the south, and Ninghai in the west. The Bell and Drum Towers are in the middle of the city. Today, it is seven miles and three steps around the city. The city is divided into East Street, South Street, and Dongguan, Xiguan". The name of the east gate of Gaizhou City in the Qing Dynasty was different from the name in the Ming Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, the east gate was called "Minghui". Obviously, the Qing government was disgusted with the word "癙" whose meaning was Zhuishan, and simply changed it to "Shunqing". Because there is no north gate in Gaizhou City, and the west gate is closed due to the intrusion of sea water, only two streets leading to Dongguan and Nanguan are left as prosperous areas.

According to the record in "The East and West Towers of Gaizhou's Reconstruction of the City", the ancient city of Gaizhou "has beacon towers and piers, and dense rows of trees to control the Qing Dynasty, cover the entire Liao Dynasty, and defend the enemy on three sides." It can be seen that the ancient city is a military fortress in military terms and is called "Gaizhou Tao". Gaizhou is also an important transportation thoroughfare in southern Liaoning, so it is very convenient for it to become a town with prosperous commerce. A new relationship between the city and commerce has been established and developed here, and it is inevitable to become a town with prosperous commerce.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Gaizhou’s handicraft industry and commerce began to take shape. Convenient transportation provides objective conditions for commercial development. People in the ancient city gradually broke away from the traditional concepts of "if you want to be rich, men should work in the fields and women can weave cloth" and "it is better to turn over the land than turn over the land if you want to get rich", they began to "seek wealth from the market" and focused on commercial operations. seeking wealth. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the streets of Gaizhou Ancient City matured. New types of towns first appeared in places where handicraft industries were concentrated, or in political centers, transportation thoroughfares, transport chokepoints, important ferry towns, and military locations.

According to historical records, in the third year of Kangxi (AD 1664), the Qing government changed Gaizhou into Gaiping County, which was subordinate to Fengtian Prefecture, and implemented separate rule among bannermen and civilians. The county government included the boundaries of Gaizhou, Fuzhou and Jinzhou in the Ming Dynasty. There are 12 communities in the county: Xiongyue, Anping, Fuxing, Zaicheng, Fangji, Liren, Yongning, Leye, Anju, Xinmin, Yuanlai and Xiuyan, each with ten houses. With social development and economic prosperity, the number of small and medium-sized landowners, businessmen, and handicraft workshop owners is also increasing. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the ancient city of Gaizhou has served as the opening port of Northeast China. People in the ancient city formed the following attitudes: "A family with thousands of hectares of fertile land is worse than earning a cent a day", "A piece of land on the street is better than a hundred acres of farmland", "Having a son sitting in a salt shop is better than being a county magistrate", "If you want to get rich, open a shop for a long time" Mercantile consciousness. East Street in the ancient city of Gaizhou has always been a prosperous commercial place during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are many shops, merchants gather, and market stalls are set up, making it very lively. Before the port of Yingkou was formed, sea-going ships from the south sailed up the Daqing River from the mouth of the Xihe River and docked at the ship wharf outside Gaizhou Nanguan, which contributed to the economic prosperity of Gaizhou City.

In the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the ancient city of Gaizhou became the "thorough of wealth" in the Northeast, "famous throughout Fujian and as far as Sanjiang." Historical records show that after the Qing government lifted the maritime ban in the 23rd year of Emperor Kangxi's reign in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1684), merchants from all over the country came in droves and invested huge sums of money, which greatly promoted the rapid economic growth of the ancient city of Gaizhou and led to large-scale urbanization. The rise of. Gaizhou Fujian Guild Hall, Sanjiang Guild Hall, Shanxi Guild Hall and Shandong Guild Hall were developed at the right time. The popular ancient city of Gaizhou is summed up by people as "a gentleman loves money and gets it in a wise way". This "Tao" is the law of business management and capital operation. "The journey of the Tao lies in the benefits." It has a very rich connotation in the minds of merchants from all over the country.

Nanguan Ming and Qing Street was an important traffic thoroughfare and commercial street that entered the ancient city of Gaizhou during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It had numerous markets, numerous shops, shops and restaurants, developed commerce, and the Haihe River Port, where ships and boats came and went. Running a business requires a strong desire to get rich and a profit motive. Businessmen from all over the world have never concealed their purpose of seeking profit from doing business. "Everyone in the world is bustling for profit; the world is bustling for profit." A "profit" "travels around the world in search of small profits". Therefore, a businessman must be good at calculation. "Favors are like a horse, and buying and selling are divided into cents." "Five birds and six swallows, two bahts know each other." Although these mottos are full of commercial atmosphere, what is commendable is that Chinese businessmen have always insisted on paying equal attention to justice and benefit in the business motivation of making money and seeking profits. They require that this "profit" must be legitimate, the means must be reasonable, and must be in line with "righteousness" standards and make a fortune by legitimate means. "A true gentleman seeks profit from benevolence, and a man seeks wealth from within righteousness." "Wealth comes from the Tao, and profit comes from righteousness." For this reason, we must pay attention to "sincerity" and "trust".

A street in the Ming and Qing Dynasties is the most powerful testimony. There are shopping streets and developments in Gaizhou Ancient Town. Commercial development has gradually expanded the scope and volume of buildings, and the functions have changed from single to diversified. The functions of the front and back of the shop, as well as the shop downstairs and the home upstairs, are fully realized. "Profit comes from sincerity, and reputation comes from trustworthiness." If you do this, you are following the right path, you are an honest businessman, and you will be able to achieve the business results of "benefiting others at the top and benefiting yourself at the bottom".

Otherwise, relying on cheating, cheating, shortcomings, pretending to be good, and deceiving and dominating the market to make profits. Although it can obtain short-term benefits, it cannot last for a long time. This is despised by honest businessmen.

Today, the preserved commercial street on Nanguan Street in Gaizhou Ancient City is still relatively complete. The buildings on this street were built in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. After several renovations, they can still show the strong commercial atmosphere and social and economic development. There are more than 30 old buildings, including merchants, grain houses, salt houses, tea houses, cloth and silk shops, leather shops, medicine shops, tobacco and wine shops, butcher shops, grocery stores, fruit shops, wooden shops, mat shops, and paper shops. Pen shop, gun shop, restaurant, hotel, flower shop, hotel, etc. Most of them are buildings from the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, with very few buildings from the Ming Dynasty remaining. There are 17 buildings on the east side and 14 on the west side, 6 of which are two-story attics. Most of the buildings are large wooden and small structures, with blue bricks and tiles built on granite steps. Some buildings also have the style of Jiangnan architecture, and there are also several buildings with foreign-style facades. They are scattered high and low and lined up in rows, showing the prosperity of the past. "The city of Gaizhou has three gates: Guangzhi in the south, Minghui in the east, Ninghai in the west, and Quebei gate. In the 43rd year of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1778 AD), the west gate approached the coast and was closed because of inconvenient transportation." Nanguan and Dongguan have become the only way to enter and exit the city. It can be seen that for commodity circulation, commodity transactions are the material carrier, and interpersonal communication is its essence. Therefore, merchants in the ancient city of Gaizhou have always paid attention to interpersonal relationships and advocated that in doing business, they must understand and study people. "Being betrayed by wind, cloud, thunder and lightning is not as good as the harmony between heaven, earth and earth." Create a good market atmosphere for yourself in harmonious interpersonal relationships.

In Gaizhou City, today there are still "Cocoon City Hutong", "Fish Market Hutong", "Yinshi Hutong", etc. Hutong names with traces of "city, business" and so on. Nanguan and Dongguan are ancient commercial streets; there are dozens of stores, colorful shops, and bustling people filling the streets. The ancient city actually has two gates, and merchants and people's transactions and stores are concentrated in this area. When agricultural and sideline products enter the city, it becomes a distribution center and a place for material exchange. Most of the Nanchuan cargo going up the Daqing River was unloaded at Nanguan, while most of the products from the eastern mountainous areas and goods shipped outside the city came in and out from Dongguan. It is true that through these interpersonal public relations activities, a good business image of Gaizhou people has been established. "Everyone is affectionate, and it is easy to borrow an umbrella when it rains." "Always open, business always comes", forming a benign marketing situation in which "business is booming all over the world, and wealth is abundant reaching Sanjiang".

Coincidentally, in the early years there was also a jingle circulating in our Northeast: "Liao Jing, sea monster, and Gaixian people are the worst!". "Liao Jing Hai Wei" refers to the people of Liaoyang who are shrewd and insightful, while the people of Haicheng do things strangely. When it comes to the evaluation of us Gaixian people, more modifiers are removed and the words are straightforward: "Gaixian people are the most cunning. !” Even a child can hear it clearly. These are naturally the evaluations of outsiders. Nowadays, when we Gaizhou people hear it, we will not feel disgusted or resentful, but will feel complacent. This is of course related to the enthusiasm, hospitality and tolerance of Gaizhou people, but in detail, this sentence also reflects some of the character traits of Gaizhou people. Throughout history, Gaizhou was once an important water and land terminal in the Guandong region and a material distribution center with prosperous trade. At its most glorious, there were boats flying all over the sky, merchants gathered here, scholars, peasants, industry and merchants all gathered here, making it a center of culture and trade.

"There are always disadvantages in talking about prices across the street, but there are always disadvantages in talking about prices on the spot." In this regard, business proverbs in the ancient city of Gaizhou have many experiences. The colorful geographical and humanistic environment has created the people of Gaizhou who are forthright and heroic, with characters as tough as mountains, righteousness as thick as the sky, and minds as broad as the ocean, tolerant of all things. It can be said that the unpretentious, honest and kind-hearted Gaizhou people boast that they have experienced the prosperous world. It's exactly this: "If you help me, I'll help you, if you don't help me, I'll help you. If I help you, and you destroy me, then I'll do it to you." This is a cultural heritage that has been formed since ancient times, and there is no need to make a fuss about it. .

“The sea embraces hundreds of rivers, and the near and far bring joy!” Any foreigner who has been to Gaizhou will have a deep impression of it: Gaizhou has mountains and waters, culture and martial arts, taste, sound and color. History has stories, and the most important thing is that Gaizhou has people who are famous for their "hospitality". Nowadays, in the eyes of outsiders, they will feel that Gaizhou people are straightforward, generous, warm and courteous. The hospitality of Gaizhou is the memory deep in my heart, the things there, the people there, and the feelings there.

As a special form of language, proverbs carry a deep imprint of traditional culture and become a mirror reflecting the real society, truly reflecting the relationship between man and nature, man and society in ancient society. Relationship is a precious intangible cultural heritage. "If there is no spring breeze, it is rare to see autumn rain", "With dry thunder, there is no rain", "Three autumns are not as busy as one wheat, and three wheats are not as long as one autumn", "A smile makes ten years less; a sorrow makes one's head gray", "Winter Solstice Dumplings" Say goodbye to cooking noodles and go into bed to eat cold noodles at noon." . As a regional folk language art form, Gaizhou folk dialect Xiehouyu must contain a large amount of Gaizhou folk culture and imprint the daily social life activities of the people in Gaizhou area. Gaizhou proverbs are artistic statements created collectively by the people, widely passed down orally, concise and comprehensive, and relatively stereotyped. They are divided into weather and weather, solar terms and agricultural seasons, health and fitness, customs and culture, nursery rhymes and sayings, etc. They are a regular summary of the people's rich wisdom and universal experience. Gaizhou is an ancient cultural city with rich oral heritage. Gaizhou folk proverbs passed down orally from generation to generation retain the essence of Gaizhou dialect. Many folk proverbs have been gradually forgotten, and traditional proverbs are gradually withdrawing from modern people's lives. In addition, it also reflects the cultural changes of the times to varying degrees.

The culture of the ancient city of Gaizhou is not something you are born with, but the result of the hard work and enterprising spirit of generations of Gaizhou people. ” spirit is deeply ingrained in the city.

Language is the carrier of culture. It cannot exist without culture, nor can it exist without society. Any language is a reflection of a social culture. As intangible culture and tools for information exchange, proverbs, like ancient songs, have endured for thousands of years. Whether they are preserved in ancient books or proverbs spread among the people, after thousands of years of washing and evolution, they have been deeply imprinted on the traditional culture of Gaizhou ancient city.