Essays on Nanjing Tulou

Nanjing Tulou Essay 1

About ten days before going to Xiamen, I started to think about where to go. The first goal is Wuyi Mountain, which is listed on the most beautiful list in China, but my wife went there two years ago. So it was changed to an earth building - it was listed on the heritage list. We booked Xiaohui Inn in the "Four Dishes and One Soup" on Taobao in advance, hoping that this famous family hotel would not disappoint us. Early on the morning of the 8th, we rushed to Binnan Road Coach Station and took the bus to Nanjing.

Fujian Tulou are represented by Nanjing and Yongding, especially Heguilou. In fact, along the way here, there were so many large and small earth buildings passing by outside the window, and each one of them made me wow. The tour guide didn't seem to be too interested, but he still worked hard to introduce the earth building. Hegui Building is our first place to visit. Although I knew I was going to stay in the Tulou that night, I still went to the Tulou for 10 yuan due to the persuasion of a woman and my own curiosity. Then it became clear that this was a rather unwise decision. Compared with these well-known buildings, the earth buildings on the side are slightly lonely, but they have more original features and have a unique charming charm. It is rumored that the Tulou Scenic Area was the filming location for the movie "Yun Shui Yao".

This preview was a bit disappointing. Unexpectedly, the earth buildings, which are known as the wonders of the world, did not give the local people enough confidence and courage, and they actually relied on a movie that could not be called first-class to boost their reputation. It was really a bit of a waste of time. Just like Shandong, instead of emphasizing that it is the hometown of many Xiantai scholars, it specifically states that it is the hometown of Ximen Qing. Yunshuiyao Trail is now an important scenic spot, beautifully and delicately built, like a garden trail. If it weren't for the scattered old buildings around and distant mountains in sight, it would be easy to mistakenly think that we have traveled to a water town in the south of the Yangtze River. Then there is the equally famous Huaiyuan Tower. Strange and cute "rabbits" were discovered in Huaiyuan Building, which residents used to eat meat.

Four dishes and one soup are the hallmarks of Nanjing Tulou, and the inn is one of them. After tea, I left the table, and heard the sound of music and singing, but it turned out that the so-called "play" was a get-together with the family folk band. The girls who came with us joined the group first and were working hard to sing solo. We immediately corrected it to a chorus. This was the most important part of the trip. We sang several old songs passionately, and several musicians spoke highly of our singing voices, which were either high or low, mute or mute. We, who have never experienced band accompaniment and have always been in karaoke, can truly feel the hardship and joy of being a singer.

After the song ends and everyone disperses, we climb up to the viewing platform at night and catch a glimpse of the earthen buildings at night under the landscape lights. Tulou is like a handsome village girl who is suddenly eager to get married. She puts on all her makeup, wears red and green clothes, and perms her most charming braids into waves and oil. The moon was full that night, so I bought two bottles of beer and sat downstairs in Wenchang, where the inn was located. Looking at the bright moon in the sky circled by the earthen building, I felt like sitting in a well and observing the sky. The temperature is comfortable, the air is fresh, and looking at the circles of peaceful lights, the taste of beer is better than every sip. Nanjing Tulou Essay 2

On Nanjing Tulou Tourist Line B, there are two national key cultural relics protection units. "Huaiyuan Tower" and "Hegui Tower". When walking downstream along the stream of "Yun Shui Yao", the first thing you see is a tall square earth building, Hegui Tower. The main feature of this Hegui building is that it has the highest height record of the local earth building, and it is a five-story earth building with a history of more than 200 years built on the swamp beside the creek. Outside the main building of Hegui Building, there is a group of buildings called houses, which seem to be guards protecting the main building. In terminology, it is called Cuobao Building. Only after entering the first door can you see the official building door. Five-meter-long steel bars are being easily inserted into the gaps in the building foundation to show that the building is built on vertical wooden piles with a length of more than five meters, so it can stand on the swamp for a long time without collapsing. There is another square house inside the building, with a Jinshi plaque hanging on it, explaining the cultural connotation of this building. There is a sunken flat ground paved with cobblestones in the house. Walking on it feels like walking on a spring floor. According to the building manager Jian, this is also because it is built on swampland.

There are also two plaques, "Promoting learning and respecting education" and "Promoting learning and benefiting overseas Chinese", both of which were commendations from political figures in the former Republic of China. The fact that they can be preserved to this day may be due to the gift of Emperor Yuan of Tiangao. There used to be a private school in this building. It is said that the Jian family who lives in the building now has the highest proportion of college students in Nanjing. Continuing down the creek, there were almost no tall houses in sight. I was suspicious, so I asked the people in the city, and they said, at most 200 meters, you can see the Huaiyuan Tower. Sure enough, the path turned a corner, and the heroic figure of Huaiyuan Tower appeared. Huaiyuan Tower was built in the late Qing Dynasty, almost immediately after the 1911 Revolution. But it finally took the glory of the Qing Dynasty, and it had a historical reference. Outside the building, a useless ticket barrier was set up. In fact, the roads inside extend in all directions and there are no obstacles. It's just that most tourists have already bought package tickets at the tourist service center and are happy to check them out. Nanjing Tulou Essay 3

The mountain road is winding, uphill and downhill, passing through the Tulou Reception Center in Shuyang Town, bypassing the earth platform that is still under construction, and rushing through the 2-kilometer trail. , there is another parking lot in front, and parking is greeted again. Visitors must take a free battery car to enter the scenic spot. After parking the car, we went to take the battery car again. Unexpectedly, there were many people in the car, nine people at a time, and we had to wait for the next one. I also asked the management staff and learned that the so-called Yunshui Yao was Changjiao Village. Because a movie called "Yunshui Yao" was made, the name of the village was simply changed in order to increase its popularity.

It reminds me that I have been to Wangcun in western Hunan before and changed the name of Wangcun to Furong Town because of the filming of the movie "Furong Town". It is the same reason. However, it really makes no sense that the battery car has not arrived after waiting for a long time. I also learned that when entering by car, you start from there and go up the river to the parking lot. Then, the starting point for walking down the river from the parking lot to the other side is the same. So, another retrograde came.

As we walked forward, we really got into a better place. The nearby earth buildings and the distant terraces look like pastel landscapes, which are eye-catching. Looking at the earth building again, its defensive function is only revealed here. The slogans on the earthen wall still show the legacy of decades ago. It’s just that they always say it’s “clouds and water.” Why do we only see the clouds in the sky and not the water on the ground? Don't worry, the water is right in front of you. After turning a corner, I saw a small bridge and flowing water, which became a beautiful scenery that made many people linger. The water is crystal clear. The earth building is located by the creek, and the house outside the building is called "cuo". I only understood this word after staying in southern Fujian for a long time.

There are more than a dozen large banyan trees in front of the earth building. I heard that they are hundreds of years old. Although banyan trees grow quickly in the south, it is rare for so many ancient banyan trees to gather in the same village. The house below may have been demolished for the filming of a movie. The normal slogan should be "Educate the people and run it by the people, run good education for the people." The town turned out to be somewhat of a goods distribution center, and the warehouse below illustrates the problem. The rolling weir in the creek, the water glows beautifully in the sunset, but it is not dazzling. I really wanted to go to the middle and play in the water, but as I got older, I stopped doing dangerous things. Nanjing Tulou Essay 4

Writer Zhang Chengzhi once wrote: "There are many places in the world. If people are not interested, they will ignore them all their lives; but for those who love them, they are like powerful magnets. When I first read this sentence, I had no special feeling. But when I came from the vast northwest of desert and Gobi to the southern resort of Fuzhou, I went around countless mountain roads and ended up at the Nanjing Tulou in Zhangzhou. When you stop walking, you realize that there really is such a place in the world. Its charm tempts you to go there with all the trouble and spend a lot of time chewing and savoring it.

The Creator is omnipotent and created the world and all things. However, the Creator seems to be partial. He pays special attention to Nanjing and has painstakingly arranged spectacular, beautiful mountains and rivers for it. The fertile land supports tens of thousands of wild species. Along the way, you can see endless bamboo forests, banana forests, grapefruit trees, tea trees, and trees full of yellow apples and persimmons, which are like colorful paintings that make people dizzy. Although it is already late autumn, the mountains on both sides of the road are still densely covered by thick subtropical vegetation. In the vast green field, you will see an unknown tree species. The straight, smooth, high tree trunk does not grow a branch or a leaf. They are surrounded by subtropical vegetation with low branches and thick leaves. Like the poplar tree in Xinjiang, it strives to reach the upper reaches, springs up with all its strength, and only when it is higher than all the trees, does it spread its branches and leaves, and grows into a lush and huge crown. It is proud and unique, just like the pride of nature.

Perhaps it is the beauty of the mountains that gives the Hakka people their unique wisdom, and the tenacity of the trees that gives them their indomitable spirit. This group of Han people who originally lived in the Central Plains fled war, famine and hunger, and migrated to the remote mountains and old forests of Nanjing. Although Nanjing has a unique natural environment, the beautiful bird calls are often accompanied by the hissing of venomous snakes. Behind the beautiful landscape, beasts and venomous snakes are rampant, and bandits and thieves are infested. They can only survive the difficulties by relying on the unity of their own people. Therefore, people of the same family and surname lived together and formed a rope to protect against natural and man-made disasters. Living conditions were harsh and building materials were scarce, so local loess was used, and construction techniques brought from the Central Plains were used to ram the walls with raw soil to build large-scale dwellings that combined living and defense - Hakka earth buildings.

In Shuyang Town, Nanjing, you can see round, square, and long earth buildings everywhere, scattered like petals among the mountains and on the terraces. They are simple and elegant. Some earth buildings are hidden in the vast green mountains. In the middle, still holding the pipa, half-hiding his face, he shyly exposed a corner of the eaves. The local earth buildings are multi-story and are mainly made of raw soil. Sand, gravel, and bamboo chips (wall bones) are infiltrated into the soil. Some of them are mixed with lime, brown sugar, and glutinous rice to build tall castles. , the roof is covered with scale tiles. There are no windows on the first and second floors, which are used as kitchens and granaries. On the third floor and above, walls are built to separate living rooms, where people from the same family often live within five volts. There is a corridor on the courtyard side of the home floor that runs through the entire floor, and there are symmetrical and staggered stairs on each floor. The earth building has only one solid door for entry and exit. There is a large courtyard with pebbles paved inside, a well for drawing water for food, and an observation window on the top floor, which has complete residential and defensive functions.

The hard-working Hakka people use fragrant tea trees as walls and lush fruit trees as fences, which resemble the natural barriers of earth buildings. The surrounding roads are winding and criss-crossed by smooth cobblestones. The century-old banyan trees that cover the sky and the sun, the chirping of cicadas, the chirping of birds, and the ancient and simple earth buildings become more and more beautiful and transcendent, making people feel like they are in another world.

What is very different from the majestic appearance of the Tulou is that in the courtyard of the Tulou, the wooden doors and windows that have been blackened by time, the red lanterns hanging high, and the gilded red couplets blend the old and the festive, which is heart-warming. Generate warmth.

The coir raincoats, bamboo baskets, and dried pickled vegetables hung on the corridors and wooden pillars, some rely on each other, some line up, or look at each other, unintentionally becoming the simple decoration of the Tulou people. Nowadays, as a world cultural heritage and a national 5A-level scenic spot, the crowds of tourists from all over the country have already disrupted the tranquility of this quiet land, making it increasingly commercial. The courtyard of the Tulou is filled with a dazzling array of Anomatis, winter bamboo shoots, tea tree mushrooms, persimmon cakes and other local specialties. Local residents have long since converted into small vendors. When they see someone coming, they immediately gather around to sell. What’s more, when you are not paying attention, or your friends are taking pictures of you and posing for POS, they have already pressed the shutter button and handed the photo to you in an instant. You are reluctant to buy it, but you are also reluctant to part with the magical earth building in the photo. , his hand reached for his pocket involuntarily.

The bustling and noisy Tulou reminded me of a Hakka netizen who once talked to me about the Tulou where he lived in his childhood. There are many small families living in earth buildings. Due to the architectural layout and management model, there is not much private space. It is difficult for residents to have privacy. In addition, round buildings tend to produce noise focusing effects. A quarrel between one family can be heard clearly by everyone in the building. It is clear that this lifestyle has some restrictions on family life and personal behavior. In particular, some behaviors that violate the normal life and ethical relationships of Hakkas will be looked at with suspicion and isolated. However, in the past living environment of barren mountains and wilderness, the sound inside the earth building was the comforting breath of life, and it was a good medicine for the tourists who were visiting a foreign land to eliminate the feeling of loneliness and strangeness.

Perhaps with the invasion of modern civilization and foreign tourists, the lifestyle, ethical relationships and fireworks in the earthen buildings have been wiped out. The Hakkas have long turned away from being the main guests in the place where they live and have become one of the local hosts. However, in the changing times of thousands of people, A hundred years later, they still stubbornly call themselves Hakkas, do not change their accent, and stubbornly speak the Hakka dialect. They carefully pursue their destiny, respect and worship their ancestors, and place the family ancestral hall in the center of the earth building. In the ancestral temple of the Tianluokeng Tulou Group, the spiritual tablet of Bai Sanlang, the first ancestor of the Huang family, is still enshrined. Every year on the fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar calendar, all the descendants of Bai Sanlang go to the ancestral temple to burn incense and worship. On the day before Qingming Festival, pigs, sheep, and fruits are used to carry out large-scale sacrifices in front of Bai Sanlang's tomb. At this time, people no matter how far apart they are, have to travel back through mountains and rivers. Even if they are gray-haired old people, entrepreneurs with hundreds of millions of assets, or migrant workers working hard outside, they all have the same eyes to worship and look up to their ancestors. Pious, sacred, and full of awe. Nanjing Tulou Essay 5

Nanjing Tulou is surrounded by high mountains and canyons, full of greenery, noisy water and rushing streams. There are two straight cement roads on both sides of the bank, covered with fresh tea leaves, and peasant women holding bamboo rakes plowing them to dry. On the hillside on the roadside, earth buildings are built one after another, the round buildings are tall and majestic, and the square buildings are small and delicate. The girls squatted on the creek rocks, their faces were like peach blossoms, and their index and middle fingers were stretched out like scissors. Their prince charming held a camera to take pictures. The fragrance of tea lingers, and as you follow the fragrance, semi-finished tea is being processed in the earth building. The farmers are enthusiastic and boil water to make tea. The aroma of tea is fragrant, and the taste of tea is rich and intoxicating. When talking about tea, praise the earth building. This is the boundary of Nanjing County, under the village name Pagoda, and is under the jurisdiction of Shuyang Town. Outside the village, in the Jiaomiao Square, there are many ancient stone poles, each of which records a merit and a large number of talents.

Walking up the stream, there is an earthen building on the other bank that is famous for "it tilts east and west, but it doesn't fall down." On the way to the bridge, a big snake crossed the road, frightening everyone. This is a round building. When you enter the courtyard, you can see that the wooden columns that should be vertical are all tilted to the left on the fourth floor, while those on the third floor are reversed and staggered according to the floor.

Then go up the mountain. There are probably hundreds of terraced fields, and the rice is bright green. This is the Tulou Village famous for its "four dishes and one soup". The village is built in a mountain nest. Standing on the roadside somewhere near the top of the mountain and looking down, the four round buildings in the village seem to surround a square building. A few years ago, this scene was photographed and promoted everywhere, and I got to know the earth building. The villagers were worried that tourists would not be able to find the best viewing position, so they surrounded it with wooden fences and sent several strong men to guide the way. I was in the designated area, bent on my knees and on tiptoes, but couldn't see the way. I asked the staff, but they didn't have time to talk to me. The driver of the car who was traveling with him poked his head and looked around but was persuaded to leave, laughing at himself. Only a person with a squinting eye could see it.

Go over the mountain, go down, arrive at Shuyang Town, and transfer to a two-wheeled motorcycle.

Go to "Hegui Building", this is the square building. There are two round pools far apart in the courtyard. The one on the right is called the "yin well" for residents to dump sewage; the one on the left is called the "yang well" where clean water comes out. The motorcycle driver scoops up the water and drinks it "gu, gu". The dipper was handed to me. I saw the golden carp swimming in the pond and didn't dare to take water. The residents of the building advised me to drink the auspicious and lucky water, saying that the fact that the fish is alive proves that the well water has not been poisoned by bad people. I was worried about violating a taboo, so I took a sip. What food does this fish live on? Thanks to the blessings of the 18th generation ancestors of Tulou, I dare not have plankton in my stomach!

Go to "Huaiyuan Tower". This is a round building. The biggest selling point is that there are some words written on the wall inside, such as "Help my righteous teacher" and so on. The ticket seller explained for a long time, but he couldn't explain the reason.

Return to Shuyang Town and head to the county seat. Before the season, the little plums were green and astringent, so the fruit seller used his unique skills to smash them out of shape, mix them with ginger pounded into flocs, and sprinkle with sugar. The fragrance was so fragrant that it actually attracted bees. I tried one and smacked my lips after savoring it. I ate another one and my appetite was whetted. When it gets dark, bananas are everywhere on the pontoon outside the flood control embankment. Not to mention they are cheap, they are fragrant and sweet. At the end of the pontoon, in the lawn park, the cool breeze blows, and you can't help but lie down and watch the stars shine brightly.

Get up in the morning and eat braised noodles. The chef uses stainless steel scissors to cut braised vegetables into the bowl, including braised bamboo shoots, braised eggs, braised duck, braised tofu, braised dried sesame, braised pig skin, braised pig ears, braised pig tongue, braised dried cuttlefish. Wait, choose according to your appetite. There are many women in clothes in the river in the center of the city. The water is clear and the water plants are swaying.