The Historical Evolution of Yu Jia Village

Yu Jia Village is the birthplace of the direct descendant of Yu Qian, a politician and national hero in Ming Dynasty. More than 95% of the villagers are Yujia. During the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, Yu Qian's eldest grandson Yu Youdao moved from Nanyu Village in Jingxing, and has multiplied for 24 generations, with more than 400 households and 1600 people. According to the existing historical records, Yu Qian has a son in Mian, another adopted son in Kang, and there is no son in Mian after Kang, so it is impossible to verify. According to the old man in the village, after the ancestor Yu Qian was killed 500 years ago, his son fled to Nanyu Village outside Niangziguan at the junction of Hebei and Shanxi, and later had three sons. During the Chenghua period, due to the pressure of life, Yu Qian's eldest grandson moved to the present Youdao village. Yu's descendants still call this land selected by our ancestors "a treasure trove of geomantic omen".

I don't know if it's the guidance of our ancestors, but the "land of feng shui" really works. On the land of "wood and stone depend on each other, and deer swim on each other", Yu's ancestors built a Shi Cun with orderly planning, unique technology, rough and bold, and unique features with hard-working hands. Today, 500 years later, Yu Jia Village is a famous tourist area in Shitou Village, Hebei Province. Walking on the path of Stone Village, stone buildings, stone pavilions, stone houses and stone benches can be seen everywhere. Houses in rural areas are built according to the trend of high and low. "Work at sunrise and rest at sunset" is still the basic life law of villagers in Shitou Village.

The pavilion in the east of the village is the landmark building of Stone Village. Such a high building, even without foundation and auxiliary materials, is based on natural stone, and the bottom is completely dry foundation. According to the analysis of experts accompanying the pursuit team, such a building should have been built during the Ming Dynasty.