Why is Fuzhou village in Jiangxi called "the first village through the ages"?

Mango Travel Diary: When passing through Fuzhou, Jiangxi, some netizens recommended me to visit Liukeng Village, saying that it is known as "the first village in the ages". This overbearing name really aroused my interest, so I decided to go and see why this village was called "the first village in history". Whether it is worthy of the name.

Qian Gu Di Yi village

Liukeng Village is located in Tian Niu Town, Lean County, Fuzhou City, Jiangxi Province, 38 kilometers away from the county seat, and there is a direct bus to the passenger station. On the way, you will pass a memorial archway, which says "the first village in history". There is a gray car parked next to the archway. After waiting for a long time, nothing happened, so I had to take pictures.

There is a tourist service center before entering the village. An old man was chatting with the security guard at the door, and there was no one inside. I waited for a long time before the old man came in and asked me what I wanted. I said buy a ticket. I bought a ticket and continued to walk in the village. Later I learned that you can actually go in without buying a ticket.

Little sister, do you want a guide?

There is a big tree at the entrance to the village. It is said that it died and met spring. There is a canteen and a restaurant next to it. While taking a photo, a voice next to it sounded: Little Sister, are you here to travel? Do you want to hire a tour guide? I turned around and saw a woman in her thirties and forties. I smiled and said no.

She said, do you want to have dinner in my shop first? Pointing to a nearby restaurant, I shook my head again and said I was not hungry. She said, well, I'll be your tour guide, free of charge. You can come to my shop for dinner after shopping. I still shook my head and said no, I want to go shopping by myself. I want to take photos and go shopping slowly. She said, then take your time and get down from here. I waved and walked on.

A little disappointed.

Walking forward from the tree at the entrance to the village, there is a round stone pier. When you look closer, it is a grave with the words "Shi Shi X Shi Zu" written on it. Later, you saw several similar graves. Not far from the cemetery, I saw an archway that read "Shuangshoufang" and a sign next to it read "Gaoping Mountain Villa". It is said that it is a local gentry Dong Fanchang (No.Gao Ping), built in the Zheng De period of the Ming Dynasty. The existing buildings were rebuilt by later generations in the Qing Dynasty. Now it's the family ancestral temple dedicated to Dong Fanchang, and the door is closed.

There is a stone bridge next to Gaoping Villa, which leads to the opposite side. There are also some buildings on the opposite side, which looks nothing special. If Liukeng Village is like this, I am a little disappointed.

After crossing the bridge, I walked on, found an alley paved with bluestones and went in. As I walked in, the building became more and more antique, but the road was full of mud, stones and bricks, as if it were rebuilding the road. With colorful oiled paper umbrellas on his head, it seems a little abrupt in this silent Gu Xiang, and there are almost no pedestrians on the road.

Opened the door to history.

Passing through Gu Xiang, I saw a piece of broken walls in front of me. On this cold rainy day, the dried Yangmei in the dustpan was forgotten. The more you go inside, the more antique it is, as if it opened a door of history, and vicissitudes of life came to you.

Passing through several ancestral temples, it looked magnificent at some time, but it was not introduced. According to a shop owner nearby, these are small ancestral halls, so there is no maintenance or introduction. Go on, there are many big ancestral halls, and there are introductions next to them. To tell the truth, this nameless little ancestral temple is more stylish and chronological than many ancestral temples I have seen, and the carvings on the doors are also exquisite.

Huaidetang

Following the guide card, I finally came to the Huaide Hall, with Shangyimen written on the door and Huaide Hall written in the lobby. Huaide Hall is one of the most famous buildings in Liukeng Village. It was built in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. Its owner is Dong, a Confucian businessman in Liukeng, who studied under Luo Rufang. The word "Huaidetang" was written by Luo Rufang.

The most interesting thing about Whitehall is the brick mural on the front wall of the hall. Three paintings, left, middle and right, depict "sparrow (knight), deer (land), bee (phoenix) and monkey (back)". In the middle of the painting is written "aboveboard", which was also written by Luo Rufang.

Going forward after coming out of Whitehall, the buildings on both sides are more and more antique. The houses here are simple in appearance, but beautifully decorated, integrating brick, wood, stone carving (carving), ink painting and calligraphy. Wood carving, wood carving, sparrow replacement, diagonal braces, doors and windows, lattice fans and other components have been carefully carved. When I was taking pictures, I occasionally passed by one or two villagers, gave me a curious look, smiled and continued to pass by.

Meet the villagers

Passing a building, the door was open, and I heard there was a lecture hall inside. I reached in and took a look. I saw two villagers chatting inside, one drawing water and the other standing on the other side. I greeted them and smiled. They also smiled and let me sit in.

This is a closed building with a big yard in the middle and several families around it. An old woman is sitting at the door of a house next door to me. When she saw me, she smiled and slurred something I didn't understand. I guess she asked me to stay for lunch. I smiled, waved goodbye and went out to continue roaming.

Finally arrived at Hanlin Building, I saw an old woman coming out of the gatehouse with an umbrella. Hanlin Building was built in Ming Dynasty and rebuilt in Qing Dynasty. It is not only a defensive watchtower, but also a building commemorating the compilation and renovation of the Imperial Academy in the early Ming Dynasty and Dong Yan, secretary of imperial academy.

On the front of Hanlin Building, the word "Hanlin" is engraved on the top, and the horizontal plaque at the bottom reads "Less Division First", which was inscribed by Zaifu Yang Shiqi in Ming Dynasty. On both sides, there are brick carvings of "A few imperial edicts from the Emperor, the teacher of contemporary emperors". On the back, the words "Rong En" were carved in bricks, and the words "Shi Sheng" were inscribed by Zou, a political scientist in Jiangxi.

Zuimeiyu lane

Go through Hanlin Building, turn left and come to the ruins of Sipailou. There is a tall and striking building next to it, with blue bricks and white walls, four columns and three rooms. There is a red stone "imperial edict" vertical plaque embedded in it, with the words "Zhang Shixia, wife of Dong Chaojie, wife of Confucian scholars" engraved in the middle, and "Xie Xiaofang" below.

Sipailou site is the most beautiful place in Liukeng Village. The original sharp bluestone road has been polished smooth and round by the years, and the mottled wall exudes vicissitudes. The deep rain lane seems to lead to the end of time. At the end of time, it seems that someone is waiting with a red lantern.

At the end of the rain lane is the ancestral hall of the famous Neo-Confucianism scholar Dong Gui. On both sides of the gate are two magnificent Ming Dynasty stone lions covered with glass. I was a little hungry after shopping around, and I couldn't find a restaurant around, so I asked people all the way back to my sister's restaurant at the village entrance and ordered two dishes. My sister asked me how my visit went. After chatting for a while, I realized that I was not among them, and there were still many alleys and buildings that I didn't visit.

But after this circle, my view of Liukeng Village has changed. This "first village through the ages" is worthy of the name. First of all, it has a long history. Built in the Southern Tang Dynasty in the Five Dynasties, it has a history of more than 1000 years. Secondly, the buildings are well preserved, with more than 260 ancient buildings and sites in Ming and Qing Dynasties. The genealogy of the third genealogy is well preserved, and the plaque of the building is well preserved, which makes the vast majority of ancient buildings in the village have accurate construction dates.

What I like most is that the commercialization here is not heavy, it is quiet, there are few tourists, and there are almost no tourists. I prefer Liukeng Village to Hongcun Village. Although the scenery is not as good as Hongcun, it has the primitive simplicity of ancient villages.

About the author: Mango, female, Cantonese, likes to travel alone (not rich second generation, every penny spent on tourism is hard earned). She has been to Thailand, Zimbabwe, Nepal, Vietnam, Cambodia and other countries, Xinjiang, Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Tianjin, Beijing, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Guangxi.