On-the-spot Investigation of Caojia Ancient Bridge in Jinzhuang Village, Wenfeng Township, Wuyang

On-the-spot Investigation of Caojia Ancient Bridge in Jinzhuang Village, Wenfeng Township

On the Sanlihe River in the north of Jinzhuang Village, Wenfeng Township, Wuyang County, there is an ancient bridge built in the middle of Ming Dynasty. Local villagers call this bridge "Caojia Bridge", also known as "Caowan Beam Bridge".

The ancient road where the ancient bridge is located is now an ordinary field road, but before liberation it was the main road leading to the southwest mountainous area in Wuyang.

This ancient bridge used to be a seven-hole bridge. During the flood period in 1970s and 1980s, local villagers dismantled the double-hole bridge slabs at both ends privately, and built a small bridge across the river on other field roads, which changed from a seven-hole bridge to a five-hole bridge.

The existing ancient bridge deck is 9.5 meters long and 3.0 meters wide, covered with granite slabs and square holes. The pier below is made of stone, and the stone is covered with bluestone strips. Pier spacing 1.3m, pier length 2.5m, width 0.45m and height 0.64m. The bridge deck is basically intact, but due to disrepair, one of the slabs collapsed under the bridge and the other slab disappeared, which is in urgent need of maintenance and protection.

On the afternoon of June 22nd, 2009, 2065438+,the Bridge Architecture Culture Research Center of the Provincial Civil Architecture Society, together with Luohe photographers and ancient bridge lovers, and Cao's descendants who finished their grain in Shangcao Village, Wugang City, visited Caojia ancient bridge.

Regarding the construction of this bridge, the 24th generation teacher Cao from Cao Shi, Wugang told us that in the middle of Ming Dynasty, Henan suffered from famine year after year, and many people starved to death. The Cao family in Shangcao Village donated food to help the hungry, and paid tribute and tax for the people in Wuyang for three years. In recognition of the righteous deeds and merits of the Cao family, the court specially approved the construction of a 30-foot-wide (some people say 30-foot) Cao family-only avenue, starting from Ya 'an, Wuyang County. This ancient bridge is located where a special road crosses the Weishui River. Because the Cao family helped Wuyang people pay public grain and was rewarded by the government, it was called Grain Completion Bridge. For hundreds of years, this bridge has facilitated the passage of people along the way, and the deeds of Cao Wanyi in Shangcao Village have also been widely circulated among the people.

"During the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, due to the disrepair and serious damage of the ancient bridge, Cao Shi clan took the initiative to raise funds for maintenance and set up a merit monument in the north of the bridge to show future generations. This monument was moved to other places by people nearby in the early 1970s and has not been heard from for many years. Now it is said that it is in a well in Xiaoyangzhuang, north of Guqiao. If the relevant departments of the local government can salvage, they can know the historical materials of the ancient bridge more accurately. " Cao Shi 23rd generation lawyer Cao Yaozeng said.

Our group went to Jinzhuang Village and visited the ancient bridge along a winding path. The pastoral scenery on the roadside is infinite. In the villagers' small vegetable garden, beans hang like pigtails and leeks are green. Occasionally, farmers weed the garden. Lawyer Cao grabbed a handful of leeks, smoothed the soil into his mouth, and said: This kind of green and pesticide-free dish was often eaten when I was a child, but it is not easy to eat it now.

Next to the path, there is a dry ditch with deep thatch and blooming Beijing.

"This is the ancient road from Wuyang County to Shangcao Village!" Lawyer Cao explained to us as he walked, "Have you ever heard of the word' Dalugou'? The so-called Dalugou is because it used to be a big road, with cars and horses walking around, and the soil on the road surface is getting more and more solid, which is lower than both sides of the road. In summer, heavy rain washes the road surface and becomes a ditch over time. The road we should take now should be the ancient road. After the ancient road turned into a ditch, do you think this path is now lower than the fields on both sides? "

The path in front of us is sandwiched between the fields on both sides, which really becomes a road ditch. We walked north along the road ditch, and Li Sanhe meandered on the left side of the road ditch. There are shepherds herding sheep on the beach, and white clouds are floating in the sky, reflecting not only the clouds in the river, but also the sheep that stop and go like clouds. After several twists and turns, Li Sanhe flowed down from west to east at the location of the ancient bridge.

"Li Sanhe is a natural river, which can be called' nine bends and eighteen bays'. Because the bay reduces the impact of water flow on the ancient bridge, the ancient bridge can be preserved so well. " Gong Liu of the Cultural Center of Bridge Architecture looked at the ancient bridge in front of him and said.

Because there has just been a heavy rain, a large piece of garbage dump washed down from the upstream is at the bridge opening of the small bridge, which looks very unsightly. Cao Ran, a lawyer, went to the beach to find a long wooden stick, pushed the garbage away bit by bit, and let them flow down the river through bridge opening. There are some old farmers on the beach near the ancient bridge. Cao borrowed the old farmer's shovel to dig garbage and explore the water depth under the bridge. As a result, he couldn't bottom out at all. Finally, he explored the bottom of the river with the long wooden stick in Cao's hand.

"Look at the watermark of this stick. The estimated water depth is more than two meters. " Cao said to him:

According to Cao, their family is continuing to write Cao Shi's genealogy, and their ancestor is Hou Cao Zhen of Jingchuan in Ming Dynasty.

"The Jingchuantang in Cao Shi is a branch, and its ancestor is the descendant of Cao Bin in the Song Dynasty. For thousands of years, Cao Shi Wu in Jingchuantang has been a gentleman, and many talents have come forth in generations: Cao Bin, the ancestor of Wuhui in Song Dynasty, Cao Zhen and Hou Jingchuan in Ming Dynasty, Cao Dongling, a student from Huangpu in the Republic of China, Consul General of Cao Dongchang's Embassy in, Major General Cao Huachuan, Director Cao Zhiheng, Senior Colonel Cao Feng, Senior Colonel Cao Heng and Major General Cao Wuying, all of whom have made outstanding contributions to our Chinese nation. " Cao Shi's descendants talked about their ancestors, and their faces were filled with pride and glory.

In order to remember the merits of our ancestors, Cao Shi's descendants visited the ancient bridge many times.

Wugang and Wuyang were originally a county. From Wugang mountain area to Wuyang county, you must take the waterway. There is only one bridge on the water, so this bridge is the only way to connect Wuyang County and the southwest mountainous area.

The ancient bridge carrying people, cars and cars has not experienced sinking and uneven settlement for hundreds of years, so what are the skills of ancient bridge construction? The piers of ancient bridges are all big stones. How difficult was it to construct without mechanical equipment in ancient times? Why use stone piers?

In response to these questions, Liu Zhijie, a teacher from the Bridge Culture Center, explained that most of the piers of ancient beam bridges used cylindrical stones. First of all, they are easy to transport. If they are loaded and transported far away, they can roll to the water. Second, the diversion effect is good, which reduces the impact on the pier. Third, the beautiful shape gives people a sense of art.

Su Laohan, who reclaimed the sea on the river beach, is in his sixties this year and is from Xiaoyangzhuang nearby. Su Laohan recalled that when he was young, he swam under the bridge many times. Swimming to the bottom, he personally felt that there were many wooden stakes under the bridge.

"Since I can remember, many rivers have slowly dried up. Only this river has always had water, and in dry weather, the water of this river has been flowing. " Su Laohan said.

For the reason that the river under the ancient bridge has not dried up so far, Su Laohan said that there is a spring water under the bridge that keeps spewing out. "Go along this river, there are several springs! I've been pouring water out. If you don't believe me, I can show you! " Su Laohan said.

According to Kang, director of Wuyang Museum, there is a clear record in the county annals that there are springs in Wuyang, which is why Wuyang City is called' Wuquan Town'.

Lawyer Cao is cleaning up the garbage under the bridge. We carefully observed the water surface under the bridge and found that there were indeed many large and small blisters popping up from time to time.

"This is the first time that we have heard about piling at the bottom of the ancient bridge in Luohe since Xiaoshangqiao! It is also the only ancient bridge in Luohe that still has running water. " Liu Zhijie said, "Li Sanhe is a river mainly for flood discharge, with a wide beach surface, a narrow middle channel, and a fast-flowing water, which swept away some of the sediment below the river and caused the river to get deeper and deeper. It is difficult to build a bridge, and the bridge deck has been flat without settlement and uneven settlement. It is precisely because there are many wooden piles under the bridge that the ability of the bridge to resist uneven settlement is increased. The wisdom of ancient craftsmen is admirable! "

From Jinzhuang to the southwest, there is an ancient bridge in Renqiao Village, Wugang City, about ten miles away. The stone tablet at the bridge head was manually pushed down in the dry river. The pushed stone tablet was broken into three pieces, and the handwriting on it was faintly visible. Ren Heiwa, 87, has lived near Renqiao for generations. He said Renqiao was built in the Ming Dynasty. "This bridge has been like this since childhood, with seven-hole bridges, stone piers and granite bridge slabs. The age on the stone tablet is twenty-six years of Jiajing. " The old man said positively, "The road in front of the door used to be the road from the southwest mountain to Wuyang City, and then to the north across Caojiaqiao on the Li Sanhe."

"Can't you cross the ancient bridge of Cao Jia? There is no other way to Wuyang? " Teacher Liu Zhijie asked.

"no! To go to Wuyang, you must cross the Li Sanhe, which is the only bridge. Handed down from the older generation is the bridge to Cao Cao's home. Cao Cao's ancestors paid taxes for the people in Wuyang City. The bridge built by the government from Wuyang City to Cao Caojia in the southwest mountain. " Ren Heiwa said.

There is no conclusive evidence of which village the ancient official road passed through in those years. However, Renqiao and Jinzhuang Caojia ancient bridge were built in roughly the same age, and the bridge structure is also the same. The building materials used are stone piers and granite bridge slabs. Renqiao Village is between Shangcao Village and Wuyang County. Renqiao village road is probably a branch of the ancient official road, and the bridge was also built at the same time.

When leaving, the teachers of Luohe Medical College and Mr. Zhang specially took a group photo for Ren Heiwa and the ancient bridge to commemorate the old man's care for the ancient bridge for many years.

For this investigation, Cao Shi's descendants, like Mr. Liu of Luohe Bridge Architectural Culture Center, editor and photographer Mr. Sun of Love for Luohe, all did it with the sincerity of discovering history and culture, saving cultural relics and inheriting fine traditional virtues. Ancient bridges and ancient buildings, like the elderly, need nursing and physical examination. If you don't investigate and register in time and maintain it in time, the lost memory will never be found again.