Taro Dong Cultural Village: The charm of folk customs and the new development of Tao Dong Village

(Correspondent: Ma Wenjing) "Taro Village" located in the southwest of Huaihua Pass Dong Autonomous County still completely retains the architectural pattern of the Ming Dynasty village and the architectural objects of the mid-Qing Dynasty, with green tiled wooden buildings built against the mountains. In order to experience the folk customs of this ancient village and inject new impetus into the development of this ancient village, the Social Practice Department of the Youth League Committee of Xiangtan University went to Huaihua Passage Dong Autonomous County for an in-depth investigation.

Scenery and Human Relations

As soon as they approached the village, they were attracted by the ancient Dong villages, the long wind and rain bridges, and the sharp peaks. The pointed drum tower and the brown wooden ancient village are full of a strong sense of history. They appear quiet and solemn in the silent green. The crisp bird calls from the village add a bit of interest to the silence. In the picturesque pastoral scenery, the whole heart can slowly settle down. It is an excellent place for everyone to travel and study. Here, members of the research team saw the crowds of tourists passing by and relaxing here. , enjoy a moment of leisure, and feel the wonderful integration of history, folk culture, and culture between the mountains, rivers and ancient villages.

In addition to the intoxicating scenery, the Dong people’s hospitality and ethnic customs have also become a symbol. A unique business card that attracts tourists. When the research team entered the village, a smiling girl in national costumes greeted the guests from afar with a glass of wine. Confucius said, "When a friend comes from afar, he will be welcomed." "Lehu?" This is probably what he said. After the wine, the villagers kindly gave directions to the members of the research team and brought out local specialties for the members to taste. In the square in front of the Drum Tower, There are unique song and dance performances performed by the Dong people. They dance with great energy, as if they want to convey their enthusiasm and joy to the air.

? Historical Stories

Research team's performance. In order to understand the origin of the village, the team members asked the elders in the village about the history of the village. One villager told us that in the first year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, a young man named Yang from the Dong ethnic group came to the Taro Border area with a hunting dog. One day, the hound lay down on a lawn and refused to leave no matter what. The owner had no choice but to say, if you can catch the food I threw into the air three times, we would stay and make a home for the hound. He kept his promise and lived here. Later, the young man married a woman who had fled and hid in the mountains. This girl was good at singing and dancing, and it is said that she brought the couple their Lusheng performance skills. It is said that the "Sa Sui Altar" that remains in the village was built to worship this grandmother.

After hearing this history, the villager took us there again. Ancient post road. He said that this post road was built during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty and was paved with bluestone slabs. It is said that the Chinese workers and peasants once walked on this post road when Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of Western Shu, captured Meng Huo seven times. The Red Army crossed the grassland and marched westward from here. Some of them also crossed the taro border and entered Guizhou on the bluestone slabs on this ancient post road.

After listening to these stories, the research team members had a deeper understanding of the Dong Cultural Village.

Village development?

The research team learned that Taro Village was originally a poor village and the village’s economic development was lagging behind. In November 2017, Du Jiahao, Secretary of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee, visited Taro Village for investigation and instructed the local area to take advantage of the green mountains and green waters to promote the transformation and upgrading of the seedling industry and help villagers get rid of poverty and become rich. In 2018, Long Guoxiang, leader of the Poverty Alleviation Team of Central South University of Forestry and Technology, came to the village, conducted a large number of visits, and burned a large number of seedlings due to improper management and sales. After burning the useless seedlings, the work team identified new seedling varieties. In addition, Long Guoxiang also introduced new high-quality economic forest varieties such as Yangfeng sweet persimmon, Mid-Autumn crisp jujube, and Jinxiang jade yellow peach. In order to standardize the production process, improve production efficiency, and take the road of modern agricultural production, the working group established Tongtong Yunong Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. In addition, the working group also used the local fresh and beautiful ecological environment and unique ethnic customs to develop red tourist attractions for study and sketching, and helped villagers get rid of poverty and become rich through the development of the tourism industry. Long Guoxiang not only paid attention to the hard power of the village, but also worked hard on the soft power. In order to correct the original bad habits of the village party members, he required the party members to reveal their identities, wear party emblems, not play cards, not say weird words, and adhere to the basic principles of party members. Duties must be fulfilled and a high spirit must be maintained at all times. Thanks to the efforts of the work team, Taro Village was listed as a party education base and became an important village for spreading the red gene.

After everyone’s efforts, Taro Village has transformed from a poor and backward small mountain village into a red tourist attraction with beautiful mountains, rivers and beautiful scenery. The story of the village continues, and the development of the village has a promising future. I hope that more people like Long Guoxiang will make it shine in the future.