Juren Village in Jingxi-Lingshui

Lingshui, a thousand-year-old village, is endowed with elegant, simple, quiet and profound beauty with its profound historical and cultural accumulation. Mottled houses, winding alleys, ruins of temples, deep courtyards of old houses and branches and leaves of ancient trees have all witnessed the vicissitudes of ancient villages. If we use eight words to describe Lingshui village, that is, "outstanding people come down in one continuous line." Since the prevalence of the imperial examination system in Ming and Qing Dynasties, there has been an endless stream of people who have achieved fame in the village, with Liu Zengguang as the representative, so Lingshui is called "Juren Village" by local people. In 2005, Lingshui Village was listed in the second batch of "Famous Chinese Historical and Cultural Villages".

Lingshui Village is one of the oldest villages in western Beijing, 78 kilometers away from Beijing, and belongs to Zhaitang Town, Mentougou District. Lingshui Village, surrounded by mountains, is slightly rectangular, with high terrain in the northwest and low terrain in the southeast. Looking at the village from Nanling, the whole village looks like a turtle. Turtles are the "Xuanwu" of the "four evil gods". It is a spiritual thing in charge of the north and a symbol of good luck and longevity. Xuanwu (turtle) has its head facing south and its tail facing north. Three east-west streets and north-south hutongs form a distinctive turtle pattern, and the size of the turtle pattern constitutes a quadrangle. Some people say that the word "Ling" in the name of Lingshui Village comes from the overall layout of the village. The residents of Lingshui Village are mainly Liu and Tan. Now the residents of the village gather together for multiple surnames.

According to historical records, Lingshui was originally called "cold water" and "Lingshui", and later evolved into "Lingshui". In the past, there were 36 stone mills and 72 wells in the village, with good feng shui and outstanding people. That's probably why the village is named. Come on. The Lingquan Temple in Lingshui Village was built in the Han Dynasty and has a history of 1000 years.

According to legend, there was a monk in Lingquan Temple in Han Dynasty who had a good eye for the land. He chose Lingshan, a beautiful land, to pass on scriptures and practice, to attract pilgrims from all directions and build a village here. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Lingshui village was prosperous and quite large.

At the latest in Liao Dynasty, Lingshui had a considerable scale. At that time, the economy was quite developed. There were eight famous firms in Lingshui Village, which were called "Eight Lobby", namely Sanyuan Taoist Temple, Daqing, Rongdetai, Quanyisheng, Quanyihao, Sanyilong, Deshengtang and Jishantang. Lingshui Village, located in the deep forests in the suburbs of Beijing, has eight views besides the "Eight Lobby", which vaguely makes people feel that Lingshui Village is inextricably linked with the Imperial City of Beijing. Even the landscape is modeled after the imperial city of Beijing.

Lingshui Village has beautiful natural scenery and many cultural relics and historic sites. Since ancient times, there has been a saying of "eight scenic spots in Lingshui". It is said that the eight scenic spots of Lingshui carved on the wall of Xuan Di Temple in Lingshui Village are: Dongling Stone Man, Xishan Castle Peak, Nan 'an Close View, North Tower Lingyun, Longquan Waterscape, towering cypress trees, high-altitude satellites and pretty pine elm. However, due to historical changes, several different views have been formed, but they are similar. Some scenic spots are set off by ancient temples, pagodas and pools. Because some ancient temples, pagodas and pools no longer exist, so do the scenic spots. At present, the eight scenic spots in Lingshui are considered as Dongling Shiren Site, Lotus in Xishan, South Temple and North View, Bai Cui in Beishan, Sang Yu in Bai Bao, Ginkgo biloba in Lingquan, Juren House and Temple.

Entering Lingshui village, the deep courtyard of the ancient house, whether it is the third courtyard or the fifth courtyard, is mottled and dilapidated, but the bricks and tiles here let us feel the massiness of history. Some of the ancient buildings in Lingshui Village are residential buildings in Ming Dynasty, mostly in Qing Dynasty. The quadrangle residential building is brick structure, with blue bricks and gray tiles, well-arranged, reasonable layout and gorgeous decoration, and the gatehouse, screen wall and stone steps are all available. The quadrangle in Lingshui village is also mainly composed of the main room, the inverted room and the left and right wing rooms, with a mouth-shaped central courtyard inside. The building standard, scale and decoration of quadrangles reflect strict grade restrictions.

The quadrangles in Lingshui village are generally dominated by one courtyard, and some have three or five courtyards. The ancient houses in Lingshui village are mainly quadrangles; There are also some three-in-one hospitals.

"Juren Village in Lingshui, Jingxi" is not an empty name. There are many juren's former residences and official residences in Lingshui Village, such as Liu Maoheng's former residence and Liu Zengguang's former residence. These houses are built with gatehouses, screen walls, high steps, large board doors, spacious halls, carved beams and painted columns, brick walls, thick walls, simple and exquisite brick carvings and exquisite flower carvings, which not only meet the needs of mountain architecture, but also pursue the "village scholar-bureaucrat style", maintain the elegance of scholars and reflect the cultural accomplishment and social status of their owners.

Five-entry quadrangles of Liu Zengkun, a rich man in Ming Dynasty

The house of Liu Zengkun, a rich gentleman in Ming Dynasty in Lingshui Village, is a set of five-entrance quadrangles connected north and south. There are side doors on the east side of each courtyard, and each quadrangle consists of more than 90 houses as an independent unit.

According to legend, during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, there lived a businessman named Liu. He has five sons, the eldest son Liu Ruiji, the second Liu Ruixiang, the third Liu Ruiru, the fourth Liu and the fifth Liu Rui, all of whom have outstanding literary talents. All five brothers in the family passed the juren exam. Therefore, the house of the five Liu brothers is called Jixingtang.

However, times have changed. Due to years of disrepair, several courtyards behind this mansion have been damaged and lost their former "grand" style. However, from the existing ancient dwellings and the site of Juren's former residence in Lingshui Village, we can see the extraordinary architectural style in Ming and Qing Dynasties, which can be traced back to the "official" style of Juren in that year. It is conceivable that once upon a time, the scholars in the village sharpened their swords for ten years in order to gain fame and fortune.

The home of Liu Maoheng, the magistrate of Qing Dynasty

Liu Maoheng's residence is one of the most striking juren residences in Lingshui Village. Liu Maoheng, a native of Lingshui village, was born in a rich family, studied since childhood, and entered the official career during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. He has served as Cabinet Secretary, Director of Zhejiang Criminal Department and Magistrate of Fenzhou, Shanxi. Liu Maoheng is an honest official, diligent for the people and deeply loved by the people.

The foundation of his house is more than 2 meters high, which is made of rectangular large stones. The joints of the stones are reinforced with iron wedges, and the upper and lower stones are connected by gravity. The foundation of this building was built in the Ming Dynasty. Although the houses on the foundation have been renovated several times, the foundation is still as solid as ever.

Liu Maoheng's former residence used to be a big quadrangle connected by five entrances. After more than 200 years of vicissitudes, it has now been divided into independent courtyards.

Liu Maoheng's mansion is now divided into an independent quadrangle, which is a three-stage quadrangle. The width of the inverted building (South Building) is about 19 meters and the depth is about 6 meters. The original front entrance of the front yard has been closed with masonry, and another door has been opened at the front end of the east wall. The indoor beams are cypress trees, carved beams and painted buildings, which are exquisite. The front yard (outer yard) has inverted rooms and east and west wing rooms. There is also an elegant cross-mountain shadow wall in the East Wing.

The yard is paved with pebbles and slates. The terrain rises from the front yard to the back yard. The central axis of the courtyard is a hanging flower door (the second door) in the north. The gatehouse is gone, but the ruins and stone steps remain. The front yard and the inner yard are separated by hanging doors and courtyard walls. Hanging flower door refers to the door connecting the inner and outer courtyards, commonly known as the second door, also known as the inner door. In the old days, it was often said that unmarried ladies "can't get out at the front door, but can't get out at the second door", which refers to this kind of hanging flower door. The rooms, halls and courtyards hanging upside down outside the hanging flower gate are outbuildings for receiving guests; The main room, wing room, wing room and back building in Diaohuamen belong to the inner room, where family members live and live, and outsiders are generally not allowed to enter and leave casually.

Go through the Intermediate People's Court and go north to the backyard. The gatehouse leading to the backyard is small, but it is well preserved. The large courtyard is quiet and pleasant, full of flowers and trees, very beautiful. I can imagine that once upon a time, ladies were threading needles under windows. We think of concrete buildings in the city, but we all envy the owners here.

Juren Liu zengguang former residence

At present, the "Liu's Former Residence" sign hanging in the village refers to the last house in Lingshui Village in the late Qing Dynasty that was awarded to Liu Zengguang. It is a quadrangle building in Qing Dynasty, located at No.81Houjie, Lingshui Village. Liu Zengguang studied in Zhaitang private school when he was a teenager. In the twenty-first year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty, he was admitted to Tianfu Examination and won "Wu Jiake". He has served as the magistrate of Zuoyun County, Jingle County, Jizhou County and the alternate magistrate in Shanxi Province. 1In August, 937, when the Wei Department of the Kuomintang and the Japanese aggressors fought fiercely in Huiji Mountain, this house was the headquarters of the 10th Division, and the division commander once lived in Liu Zengguang's home.

This house is an excellent three-way rectangular quadrangle, with blue bricks and gray tiles, carved beams and painted buildings, carved gatehouse, brick carved screen wall and tile roof, which is exquisite and unique. The whole mansion is divided into front yard, middle court and backyard, with more than 20 houses. There are hanging flower doors, screen walls and stone steps in the house, which are integrated and antique, showing an "elegant temperament". There is also an excellent screen wall outside the gatehouse of the house. The broken wooden nails on the outer wall of the house are faintly discernible.

Liu Zengguang (1866- 1943), a native of Lingshui village, has a well-off family. When I was a teenager, I studied in Zhaitang Private School. In the twenty-first year of Guangxu reign in Qing Dynasty (1895), he was admitted to Tianfu scientific research and won "Wu Jiake". In the 23rd year of Guangxu, Liu Zengguang stepped into his official career, and successively served as the magistrate and alternate official of Zuoyun County, Jingle County, Jizhou Prefecture.

Clock of "Combination of Chinese and Western"

In the home of Du Yongjun, a villager in Lingshui village, we accidentally saw an old clock made in the United States, which is a wooden clock with a gold-plated metal device inside. The present owner of this bell tower is Du Yongjun who lives at No.40 Lingshui Village. According to Du Yongjun, this clock belongs to Liu Zengguang, the last juren in the late Qing Dynasty. At that time, as a wedding gift for Liu, it was given to his family by the Qing court during the land reform in the early days of liberation. It is said that juren Liu Zengguang has married four wives. It turns out that his wife's surname is Liu, and she is from the village. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac come from Jiagou, at the gate of Mentougou. Sanfang is a native of Baiguan City, Changping County; The little wife in the fourth room is from Fanshanbao, Zhuolu, Hebei. When this clock came in handy, we couldn't prove which one of them Liu married, but obviously this western object was an extremely precious gift at that time, and rural people couldn't afford it.

In ancient China, people recorded the time by dripping water from a copper pot. There was no such thing as a clock. From the end of the Ming Dynasty to the Wanli period, western clocks and watches were introduced into China court as diplomatic gifts.

This clock looks like copper, but it is actually made of wood. Around this ancient clock, we are amazed at its legendary experience and perfect shape. I don't know who touched the pendulum gently, and the pendulum made a crisp and pleasant sound, which immediately echoed in the air.

Later, we learned that Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty had great enthusiasm for western science and technology, and he also had a special liking for European chimes. He also wrote a poem "Ode to the Bells": "Buddhism began in the West and was taught skillfully. The wheel rotates with the scribe line and the pointer moves by the point. When the crimson flowers rest and urge the dawn, the golden bell announces. Be diligent in government affairs in the morning and ask at night. " It can be seen that the clock is essential for the diligent monarch to arrange the order of life and work. Since then, the Qing court set up a workshop to repair and manufacture chimes in hall of mental cultivation, so mechanical clocks and watches gradually became popular from the court to the people.

Sanjin monument

When we went to the Nanhai Fire Dragon King Temple in Lingshui Village, we had unexpected gains. In Lingshui Village, a "Three Forbidden Monuments" with a history of more than 300 years is well preserved. Embedded in the left wall of the mountain gate, it is 0.94m high and 0.35m wide. The stone is limestone with detailed village rules and regulations engraved on it.

The "Three Forbidden Monuments" were established in the reign of Kangxi Weixin, namely 169 1. It has a history of more than 300 years. There is an octagonal pool in front of Longwang Temple in Lingshui Village. The villagers use spring water. The inscription contains three prohibitions in the pool: "hurl and jump, stupid and muddy, and children sweat and drown." There are three prohibitions on the pool and platform: "Kill the foul smell, drink livestock for exercise, and wash vegetables with pulp."

It can be seen that the villagers in Lingshui had such a strong awareness of environmental protection 300 years ago. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, Longwang Temple and the octagonal Dragon Pool in front of the temple were rebuilt and left with inscriptions. The "Three Forbidden Monuments" is the earliest monument to protect water sources discovered in Beijing so far.

Temple ruins

There were once 17 temples in Lingshui village. Among them, there are 2 Buddhist temples, namely Lingquan Temple and Baiyi Guanyin Bodhisattva Temple; 2 Confucius Temple, Wenchang Pavilion and Kuixing Building; The remaining 13 temples are Taoist and folk belief temples, namely Nanhai Huolongwang Temple, Tianxian Notre Dame Temple, Yuhuang Temple, Tianwang Temple Temple, Xuan Di Temple, Guandi Temple, Wudao Temple, Erlang Temple, Mawang Temple, Mountain Temple, Niuwang Temple, Sansheng Temple and Land Temple. Wenchang Pavilion and Kuixinglou, represented by Confucianism, are relatively rare in the northern rural areas of China, which shows that people in Lingshui Village paid great attention to culture in ancient times. Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and various folk beliefs coexist in one place, which is not uncommon in rural areas of China, but it is rare that there are so many temples in a village, which shows that people in Lingshui Village are devout in religious beliefs and tolerant of various cultures.

Although with the passage of time, most of the temples in Lingshui Village no longer exist, the existing relics such as Lingquan Temple, Nanhai Fire Dragon King Temple and Notre Dame Cathedral still make people look back on the past and realize the lively atmosphere filled with smoke and pilgrims.

Lingquan Temple

Lingquan Temple under Lianhua Mountain in the west of the village was built in the Han Dynasty. Lingquan Temple is the earliest recorded temple in Lingshui Village and the earliest recorded Buddhist temple in Beijing. It was originally named Ling Rui Temple, but it was renamed in the Ming Dynasty. According to ten thousand miscellaneous notes in Ming Dynasty, Lingquan Temple was built in Han Dynasty, in Lingshui Village, and rebuilt in 1485- 1505. Lingquan Temple used to be very large.

The temple faces south, with a brick-and-wood gate and a shadow wall in front. There is a side door on each side of the mountain gate. The entrance of the mountain gate is Tianwang Hall, the northeast of Tianwang Hall is Guangong Hall, behind Tianwang Hall is the III Buddhist Hall, and there are three murals on the east side of the III Buddhist Hall. Behind the three Buddha halls are three halls for scholars, and there is a courtyard on each side of the three Buddha halls. During the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty, such a large-scale incense flourished, which was in the same strain as the Yue Ling Temple in Zhaitang, making Zhaitangchuan a Buddhist resort in western Beijing.

In the 12th year of Jiajing in Ming Dynasty (1533), it was rebuilt, and there was a rebuilding log at the mountain gate. There is only one mountain gate left in Lingquan Temple. The mountain gate is made of blue brick imitation wood structure, with a large ridge tile roof, kissing animals and hanging animals, hanging wind chimes at four corners, and stone carving to make coupons. There are stone carvings of Lingquan Temple at the entrance, and blue brick side doors on both sides of the entrance. Lingquan Temple has an ancient pagoda tree and two ginkgo trees, one of which is hermaphrodite and bears fruit every year. These two ginkgo trees are national second-class ancient trees and one of the eight scenic spots in Lingshui.

From the existing mountain gates and ancient trees in Lingquan Temple, it is not difficult to see that there used to be incense and Buddhism here.

Nanhai Huolongwang Temple

Nanhai Huolongwang Temple is located in the west of Lingshui Village. According to legend, it was built in the Jin Dynasty and rebuilt in the 15th year of Jiajing in Ming Dynasty (1536). The Fire Dragon King Temple in the South China Sea faces south, with a huge scale, covering an area of about two football fields. The gate is 5.5 meters wide and 4 meters deep. Now the main hall is gone, only the gate is reserved. The mountain gate is a blue brick building with a kissing beast on the top ridge and a tile roof.

The upper part of the coupon hole is inlaid with a carved plaque of blue brick, and the lotus petals are engraved around it. The forehead is titled "Nanhai Fire Dragon King Temple" with the inscription "It was built in Chongyang during the Jiajing period of Daming (1536) and rebuilt in Ceng Lin Township". There is a side door on each side of the main entrance, which is 4.2 meters wide and 2.5 meters deep. Regrettably, these temples are now just ruins and ruins. The ruins of Haihuo Longwang Temple are magnificent, and the ancient trees in the mountain gate are telling the heyday of incense in the past.

In ancient times, people often prayed to the Dragon King to make the water-deficient places rain, but a fire dragon king temple was built in Lingshui village. As the saying goes, "fire and water are incompatible", which makes people puzzled. The villagers explained that Lingshui village was rich in water resources in the past, and water was also prone to disasters. Therefore, the Fire Dragon King Temple was built to maintain a "balance between Yin and Yang" and pray for good weather.

There is a 2000-year-old Cooper in the Fire Dragon King Temple in the South China Sea. There is a mulberry tree and an elm tree at the branch of the trunk of two ancient cypresses, which are called "Bai Bao Mulberry" and "Bai Bao Elm" by Lingshui, which is one of the eight scenic spots in Lingshui and the "wonders of ancient cypresses" in the suburbs of Beijing. These two thousand-year-old cypresses are both national first-class ancient trees.

Notre Dame de Fairy

Notre Dame was built in the 19th year of Qing Emperor Kangxi (1680). Located on the north side of Huolongwang Temple in Nanhai, facing south. The gate is 2.4m wide and 1.6m deep, with hard mountain ridge and brick kissing beast. The second door was built on a rock platform. The main hall is10.7m wide and 8. 1 m deep. It's a hard mountain, covered with tiles and dripping from the eaves. Five beams were erected, and dragons were painted on the beams in the temple. The dragon is lifelike and magnificent, especially its eyes are so bright that people suspect that it is about to jump off the beam.

There are three auxiliary halls on the east side of the main hall, which are 4.3 meters wide and 2.2 meters deep and have hard ridges. There are three huts on each side of the three beams, all of which are hard hilltops, clear water ridges, tile roofs and three beams. The original mural of the "Seventy-two Divisions" on the wall of the squatter has disappeared.

Longwangmiao stage

The stage of Longwang Temple in Lingshui Village was built in Ming Dynasty, opposite the gate of Huolongwang Temple in Nanhai. The stage faces south and is built on a stone pier. The stage is 6.8 meters wide, 8.7 meters deep and 2.64 meters high. Hard mountain type, covered with gray tiles. There are eight pillars and five beams. There is a wooden partition in the middle of the stage, which divides the stage into two parts: the front stage and the back stage. The partition has three doors on the left, middle and right. Longwangmiao Stage has been listed as a cultural relic protection unit by Mentougou District Government 1985.

Longwang Temple, stage, Bajiaochi, three taboo relics and Notre Dame in the South China Sea form a dense cultural center of ancient villages.

Ancient trees in Lingshui village

There are 10 ancient trees in Lingshui village, which have been listed in the annals of ancient and famous trees in Beijing. There are three first-class ancient trees in Lingshui Village, namely "Bai Bao Elm" (Platycladus orientalis), "Bai Bao Mulberry" (Platycladus orientalis) and "Beishan" (Platycladus orientalis), seven second-class ancient trees, "hermaphrodite" Ginkgo biloba and five Sophora japonica. There are more than 200 mature cypresses and four pine trees in Lingshui Village.

Among them, ginkgo trees with "cypress holding elm", "cypress holding mulberry" and "male and female integration" are called "rare tree species in the world" by relevant experts. Buddhists call it the "Three Holy Trees".

Local culture

Lingshui Village is a typical northern village, which embodies the ideal realm of "harmony between man and nature" in China. The discerning monk of the Han Dynasty chose this beautiful Lingshan, built Lingquan Temple and practiced scriptures. This land of geomantic omen attracted pilgrims from all directions, and everyone lived in the village for a long time. Monks of past dynasties spread Buddhism here, and even collided with Confucianism and Taoism, blending together in harmony for thousands of years, forming the religious culture of "three religions in one" in Lingshui Village, which is a microcosm of the broad and inclusive spirit of Chinese culture.

People in Lingshui Village worship culture, respect officials, realize the true meaning of "being an official with excellent learning" early, and start to change the life of officials with the help of the imperial examination system prevailing in ancient times. Lingshui people are smart and understand the eternal motto "There is a golden house in the book". If you want to study, you have to have money. If you have money, you must do business. Doing business means going out. What can go out depends on culture. With money, we can better train the next generation. This is a virtuous circle, so there are many literati in Lingshui since ancient times. It is "the spirit of the earth educates outstanding people, and outstanding people are rich."

The villagers in Lingshui village have advocated education since ancient times and have a strong reading atmosphere. They have received both ancient education and modern education. They are famous for their "Juren culture" and are a model of rural culture. According to records, this village has produced many celebrities and two Jinshi. During the Republic of China, there were six students from yenching university in this small village. Liu Zengguang, a famous scholar, won the reputation of "Lingshui Juren Village in Jingxi" for Lingshui Village, which resulted in the "Juren Culture" of Lingshui Village.

After liberation, many students in the village also went to college. A small village with a population of less than 1000, but with so many literati, has formed a unique cultural phenomenon in the local area, so it is called "Juren Village".

The local folk culture in this village is very rich, especially the Autumn Porridge Festival in Lingshui village. On this day in early autumn every year, the villagers in Lingshui Village spontaneously get together to drink autumn porridge. It turned out that in the seventh year of Kangxi (1668), there was a flood in Zhaitangchuan, and in the twenty-first year of Kangxi (1682), there was another drought. Liu Maoheng and his father Liu Yingquan have donated more than 3,700 stones of grain to help tens of thousands of victims. Liu Maoheng has always been an honest official, diligent for the people and deeply loved by the people. To commemorate Liu Zhifu's righteous act, the villagers changed the start of the Mid-Autumn Festival to "Autumn Porridge Festival" and raised funds to buy a cauldron. You give a handful of rice, I give a handful of beans, you add water, I add firewood, and everyone drinks "Juren porridge". In beginning of autumn, the autumn porridge festival in Lingshui Village became the Golden List Festival. In recent years, every time in beginning of autumn, some students who are preparing for the college entrance examination will come here to drink "Juren porridge" and feel the "winning way" of their ancestors.

As a small village in the suburbs of Beijing, Lingshui Village is very much looking forward to visiting, whether it is simple and elegant ancient houses or beautifully built juren houses. Here, you can feel the accumulation of cultural heritage, which will not happen overnight. These ancient houses and deep courtyards, like a history book, let future generations travel through just visiting, feel the ancient charm of books and trace back to the official style of Lingshui people in the past. The ancient houses, mansions, deep alleys and ancient trees in Lingshui Village have lasted for a long time in the pious eyes of future generations.

Sun Keqin and Sun Bo write articles and take photos.

refer to

Sun Keqin, Song Guanya, Sun Bo, 2006, visiting ancient villages in western Beijing. Beijing: China Pictorial Publishing House.

Sun Keqin, Sun Bo, 20 13, visiting the most beautiful ancient village in China. Beijing: Metallurgical Industry Press.