Introduction to the tourist attractions of Shanxi Big Sophora Tree Shanxi Big Sophora Tree tourist attractions introduction video

Where is Shanxi Sophora japonica?

The Sophora japonica is under the jurisdiction of Hongdong County, Linfen City, Shanxi.

The detailed introduction is as follows:

Southern Shanxi is a densely populated area in Shanxi, and Hongdong was the largest and most populous county in southern Shanxi at that time. According to records, during the Ming Dynasty, there was a Guangji Temple on the west side of Jia Village, Erhuali, north of Hongdong City. The temple was grand, with majestic buildings, many monks, and endless pilgrims.

Beside the temple, there is a Chinese locust tree, which is "several in size and shades several acres of trees." The avenue of carriages and horses passes under the shade of the tree. The old harriers on the Fenhe River beach build nests in the trees, which are dotted all over the place, which is very spectacular. The Ming Dynasty government set up a bureau in Guangji Temple to centrally handle immigration, and the place under the big locust tree became a gathering place for immigrants.

Extended information:

The Hongdong Big Locust Tree Root-seeking and Ancestor Worshiping Park tourist attraction is located in Hongdong County, Shanxi Province. It is the only one in the country with the theme of "root-seeking" and "ancestral worship". It is a sacred place for people to worship, a national AAAA-level scenic spot, and a key cultural relics protection unit in Shanxi Province. In 2008, the custom of worshiping ancestors under the big locust tree was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage.

The scenic area is divided into four themed areas: "Immigration Historic Area", "Ancestor Worship Activity Area", "Folk Custom Experience Area" and "Fenhe Ecological Area". There are stele pavilions, second and third generation large locust trees There are more than 60 scenic and cultural attractions, including Millennium Sophora japonica roots, Ancestor Worship Hall, Guangji Temple, Stone Scripture Tower, Immigration Reliefs, and Chinese Surname Garden.

From the 2nd year of Hongwu to the 15th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, 18 large-scale official migrations occurred under the big locust tree in the past 50 years, mainly to Beijing, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Anhui, and Jiangsu It covers 18 provinces and more than 500 counties and cities. After six hundred years of migration and multiplication, there are now descendants of the big locust tree immigrants wherever there are Chinese people around the world. The large locust tree in Hongdong has long rooted in the hearts of descendants of Yan and Huang to recognize their ancestors and return to their ancestors. They are regarded as "home", called "ancestors" and regarded as "roots".

The great migration during the Hongwu and Yongle years of the Ming Dynasty was the largest, most extensive, organized and planned migration in Chinese history. This has certain historical significance for restoring production, increasing population, developing economy, developing frontiers, national unity, cultural exchanges, etc. The migration lasted for 50 years, involving 1,230 surnames, and hundreds of millions of descendants of immigrants moved from here to other places.

On March 29, 2018, the 28th Hongdong Big Locust Tree Cultural Festival opened with the theme of "Roots connecting the world, loyalty and filial piety to the world". During the cultural festival, the opening ceremony of the 28th Hongdong Big Locust Tree Cultural Festival, the 11th Hongdong Famous Snacks Festival, traditional opera performances, and the 28th Hongdong Big Locust Tree Cultural Festival were held successively. , the 3rd Hongdong Big Locust Tree Immigration Cultural Seminar and other activities.

About the immigration of the Hongdong Big Locust Tree:

1. Reasons for immigration

In the last years of the Yuan Dynasty, the imperial court used troops abroad for many years and implemented ethnic oppression at home. Due to the brutal exploitation and oppression of peasants by Mongolian nobles and feudal landlords, class and ethnic conflicts have increasingly intensified. In addition, floods and famines are frequent in the Huanghuai River Basin, and people are in dire straits. Peasants all over the country rose up one after another to resist the tyranny of the Yuan Dynasty. Continuous wars and various disasters have seriously damaged the social economy. By the early years of the Ming Dynasty, many places in China, especially most areas north of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, showed a desolate scene of barren fields and no human habitation.

At this time, Shanxi had a different scene. It was relatively stable, with good weather and good harvests year after year. Compared with neighboring provinces, Shanxi's economy was prosperous and its population was prosperous. Furthermore, a large number of refugees from other provinces also flowed into Shanxi, making Shanxi a densely populated area.

After the Ming Dynasty overthrew the Yuan Dynasty, in order to consolidate the new political power, develop the economy and enhance national strength. Zhu Yuanzhang made a big decision based on the actual situation of the country at that time - "immigrate to farmland and reclaim wasteland"

2. The number of immigrants

There have always been different opinions on the number of immigrants, and there is no consensus. However, repeated research by scholars has shown that there were 17 massacres in the Hongwu and Yongle dynasties. The simple situation is:

In the sixth year of Hongwu (1373), immigrants from Zhengding Prefecture in Shanxi and Hebei moved to Fengyang, Anhui to reclaim wasteland.

In November of the ninth year of Hongwu (1376), they immigrated from Shanxi and Zhengding Prefecture to Fengyang to reclaim wasteland. Because it was winter, the government distributed cotton-padded clothes to the immigrants for the winter.

In May of the 13th year of Hongwu (1380), 24,000 people from Shanxi were recruited to join the army. Later, they were all demobilized and became ordinary people, who were resettled to reclaim wasteland and farm land.

In August of the 21st year of Hongwu (1388), families with "little land and little land" or landless families were selected from Zezhou and Luzhou in Shanxi and moved to Zhangde, Zhengding, Linqing, Cultivated crops in Guide, Taikang and other places.

In September of the 22nd year of Hongwu (1389), 116 households including Zhang Congzheng, a commoner in Qinzhou, Shanxi, voluntarily moved out to farm. The Ministry of Household Affairs rewarded them and allowed them to return to Qinzhou to recruit residents.

In the same month of the same year, Zhu Rong, the commander-in-chief of the rear army, reported to the court that the people who moved from Shanxi to the three prefectures of Daming, Guangping and Dongchang were given 26,000 hectares of land per day.

In November of the same year, Li Ke, the minister of the Hou Army Governor's Office, and others were ordered to move Shanxi people to Zhangde, Weihui, Guide, Linqing, Dongchang and other places to plant mulberry and jujube, and reclaim wasteland. land.

In August of the 25th year of Hongwu (1392), Feng Sheng, Fu Youde and Chang Sheng waited for Shanxi to recruit people to join the army and set up 16 guard posts. Approximately, Pingyang Prefecture selected 9 guards, and Taiyuan, Liao, Qin, and Fen selected 7 guards. Each guard had 5,600 people, and the army had more than 90,000 people.

In December of the same year, the imperial court ordered Li Ke and Xu Li, the governors of the rear army, to go to Shanxi to recruit 598 immigrant households and move them to Zhangde, Weihui, Guangping, Daming, and Dongchang respectively. , Kaifeng, Huaiqing and other places.

In the first month of the twenty-eighth year of Hongwu (1395), 26,600 Shanxi Mabu officers and soldiers went to the north of the Great Wall to build a city and farm fields.

In the fourth year of Jianwen (1402), the Ministry of Household Affairs verified that the two prefectures of Taiyuan and Pingyang, and the five prefectures of Ze, Lu, Liao, Fen, and Qin, had "more land but less land" and "houses without land", and moved To all the prefectures, prefectures and counties in Peiping.

In September of the second year of Yongle (1404), 10,000 households immigrated from Taiyuan, Pingyang, Ze, Lu, Liao, Fen, and Qin to enrich Beijing.

In September of the third year of Yongle (1405), another 10,000 households immigrated from the above areas to enrich Beijing.

In the first month of the fourth year of Yongle (1406), 214 households including Li Mao, an official from Huguang, Shanxi, Shandong and other counties, were willing to come to Beijing to serve as residents, and the Ministry of Household Affairs paid them settlement allowances.

In May of the fifth year of Yongle (1407), the imperial court ordered the Ministry of Household Affairs to recruit 5,000 households from Pingyang, Ze, Lu, Shanxi and Deng, Lai and other prefectures in Shandong to the Shanglinyuan Supervisor in Beijing. Raise and plant.

In May of the fifteenth year of Yongle (1417), Shanxi Pingyang, Datong, Yuzhou, Guangling and other prefectures applied to the imperial court for admission to Beijing, Guangping, Qinghe, Zhengding, Jizhou, Nangong and other prefectures. Prefectures and counties work for the people, open up wasteland and cultivate land, pay taxes in accordance with the law, and receive rewards and subsidies from the government.

To sum up, from the sixth year of Hongwu (1373) to the fifteenth year of Yongle (1417) in the early Ming Dynasty, in the past half century, there were 17 immigrants from Shanxi to other places, each time hundreds of people Households, or even tens of thousands of households, with a population of more than 1 million. Looking back at the government-organized immigration activities in Chinese history, the Han Dynasty was limited to farming and border garrisoning, and did not form a national scale;

The Three Kingdoms separated themselves into one side, and each dispersed their farming; the immigration and farming activities flourished in the Tang Dynasty, but were abolished after the An-Shi Rebellion; the Song Dynasty emphasized Wen Qingwu, the military, the farming boom and decline; in the Yuan Dynasty, the country prospered, but soon the world was in chaos. Therefore, Shanxi immigration in the early Ming Dynasty was the largest immigration among organized and planned official immigrants.

Baidu Encyclopedia: Hongdong Big Sophora Tree Immigration

Introduction to Hongdong Big Sophora Tree Attractions

Hongdong Big Sophora Tree Attractions Introduction

The ancient big locust tree, also known as the Hongdong big locust tree, is located in the big locust tree park on the west side of Jia Village, two kilometers northwest of Hongdong County. Although there are no magnificent buildings in Hongdong here, it is still beautiful despite the severe cold winter. In the scorching hot summer, there is an endless stream of tourists. Some write poems and inscriptions to express the sentiment of "drinking water and remembering the source". Some look up at the ancient locust trees, lingering in nostalgia and refusing to leave for a long time. Below is an introduction to Hongdong Big Sophora Tree attractions that I have collected and compiled. I hope it will be helpful to you!

Introduction to Hongdong Big Locust Tree Attractions

In the last years of the Yuan Dynasty, the Yuan government used troops externally and implemented ethnic oppression internally. In addition, continuous floods and frequent famines in the Huanghuai River Basin finally triggered a series of More than ten years of Red Turban uprising. The Yuan government brutally suppressed them, and desperate battles for territory occurred from time to time. Seventy-eighty percent of the people in Lianghuai, Shandong, Hebei, and Henan died. The wounds of the war in the late Yuan Dynasty had not yet been healed, and the "Battle of Jingnan" in the early Ming Dynasty followed one after another. The regions of Hebei, Shandong, Henan, and Anhui were severely affected and became almost uninhabited land. During the war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Shanxi, the "mountain and river outside and inside" ruled by Chahan Timur and his son, the armed Mongolian landlords, had a different scene. It was relatively stable, with good weather and good harvests year after year. Compared with neighboring provinces, Shanxi's economy is prosperous and its population is prosperous. Furthermore, a large number of refugees from other provinces also flowed into Shanxi, making Shanxi a densely populated area. After the fall of the Ming Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty, in order to consolidate the new political power and develop the economy, eight large-scale immigration activities were organized in more than fifty years from the early years of Hongwu to the fifteenth year of Yongle.

Southern Shanxi is a densely populated area in Shanxi, and Hongdong was the largest and most populous county in southern Shanxi at that time. According to records, during the Ming Dynasty, there was a Guangji Temple on the west side of Jia Village, Erhuali, north of Hongdong City. The temple was grand, with majestic buildings, many monks, and endless pilgrims. Next to the temple, there is a Chinese locust tree, which is "several in size and provides shade for several acres." The avenue of carriages and horses passes under the shade of the tree. The old harriers on the Fenhe River beach build nests in the trees, which are dotted all over the place, which is very spectacular. The Ming Dynasty government set up a bureau in Guangji Temple to centrally handle immigration, and the place under the big locust tree became a gathering place for immigrants.

In late autumn, the locust leaves fall, and the old crow's nest looks very eye-catching. When the immigrants were leaving, they stared at the tall ancient locust trees. The old harriers perched among the branches of the trees kept wailing, which made the immigrants shed tears when they left their homeland. They looked back frequently and couldn't bear to leave. In the end, they could only see the big locust trees. The old crane's nest. For this reason, the big locust tree and the old crane's nest have become symbols of immigrants' farewell to their hometown. "Ask where my ancestors came from, it's the big locust tree in Hongdong, Shanxi. What's the name of my ancestor's hometown? It's the old bird's nest under the big locust tree." This folk song has been widely circulated in many areas of our country for hundreds of years.

In the early Ming Dynasty, immigrants from Hongdong, Shanxi and other places were mainly distributed in Henan, Hebei, Shandong, Beijing, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hubei and other places, with a small number moving to Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia. The immigrants who moved from Shanxi to the above-mentioned places later moved to Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Xinjiang and the Northeastern provinces.

Organized large-scale migration over such a long period of time and over a large area is rare in the history of our country, and this is just one example of dispersing people from one place to other places. The Ming government implemented the policy of immigration to reclaim wasteland and revitalize agriculture. Although its purpose was to consolidate the rule of the feudal dynasty, it objectively eased social conflicts, mobilized farmers' enthusiasm for production, gradually restored agricultural production, consolidated border defense, and stabilized society.

In the second year of the Republic of China, Jing Daqi, a native of Jia Village in Shandong Province, retired and returned to his hometown. He raised funds to build a stele pavilion, teahouse, etc. The stele pavilion was built on the site of the original ancient locust tree. Although the pavilion is not large, it is exquisitely decorated with carved beams and painted pillars, cornices and brackets. There is a bluestone tablet erected in the pavilion, engraved with five official characters "at the ancient locust tree". On the back of the stele pavilion, there is an inscription engraved on it, briefly describing the immigration story. On the west side of the pavilion, there are three teahouses built for tourists seeking their roots to have a rest and drink tea. The lintel plaque of the teahouses has the inscription "Drinking water and thinking of the source". There is an archway built more than 20 meters south of the monument. The banner is engraved with "Yu Yanjia tree" and the other side is engraved with "Shade all living things". In the early 1980s, the Hongdong County Government renovated and expanded Dahuaishu Park.

There are also some stories about migration circulating here. After the Revolution of 1911, Yuan Shikai ordered Shanxi Governor Zhang Xiluan to lead Lu Yongxiang's Third Town Army to attack the Shanxi Revolutionary Army and plunder wherever they went. After arriving at Hongdong, the soldiers came to the ancient locust tree, dismounted their horses and bowed to each other, saying to each other: "I have returned to my hometown of the big locust tree." Not only did they not rob, but they also donated their belongings under the big locust tree. The large locust tree is praised for its role in "preventing disasters".

Legend has it that during the immigration years, officers and soldiers used knives to cut each person's little toenail as a mark. To this day, the little toenails of all descendants of immigrants from the big locust tree are compound (two petals). "Who is the immigrant from the ancient Sophora japonica? He took off his shoes to check the shape of his little toe." If you are interested, you may wish to check it out yourself.

At that time, in order to prevent the immigrants from escaping, the officers and soldiers tied them up behind their backs, connected them with a long rope, and escorted the immigrants on the road. People turned back step by step. The adults looked at the big locust tree and told the children: "This is our hometown, this is our hometown." To this day, the descendants of immigrants, no matter where they live, all say that the place where the old locust tree is is their hometown. . As the immigrants' arms were tied for a long time, their arms gradually became numb, and they soon got used to it. Later, most immigrants liked to walk with their hands behind their backs, and their descendants also followed this habit.

During the escort process, due to the long journey, people often had to report to the officers and soldiers if they needed to urinate: "Master, please relieve yourself, I need to pee." The more times this happens, the more verbal requests become simpler. , as long as you say "Master, I relieve myself", you will understand that you need to urinate. Since then, "relieving one's hands" has become synonymous with peeing.

When the immigrants arrived in a new place of residence, a wilderness, they had to use their hard-working hands to build houses, open up wasteland and cultivate land. No matter what they did, they would be reminded of the mountains and rivers of their hometown. In order to express their nostalgia for their hometown, most people plant a locust tree in the yard of their new home and at the gate to express their nostalgia and nostalgia for their hometown. Some immigrants named their villages after their place of origin after they moved to their places of origin. For example, in the suburbs of Beijing there are Zhaochengying, Hongtong (Hongdong)ying, Puzhouying, Changziying, etc., indicating that these residents came from Zhaocheng, Hongdong and other places. Relocated.

There is a "List of Surnames of the Descendants of Ancient Sophora japonica" posted in the ancestor worship hut. There are 450 surnames on the list, and their tablets are enshrined, which greatly exceeds the number of surnames of hundreds of families. They all immigrated to various parts of the country six hundred years ago. After being collected and compiled, they were published on the wall for the purpose of tracing their roots. In recent years, mainland Chinese people have competed to compile family trees, and overseas compatriots have searched for their roots and worshiped their ancestors, and have inquired about their blood relationship with the giant locust tree.

More than six hundred years have passed. The ancient locust trees of the Han Dynasty no longer exist and have disappeared into the dust of history. However, the third-generation locust trees growing next to them with the same roots have lush branches and leaves and are full of vitality. Descendants of Huaixiang can be found in more than 20 provinces and more than 400 counties across the country, and some are even as far away as some countries and regions in South Asia.

I recall how many sad tears were shed by our ancestors when they supported the old and the young and left their hometowns. When they frequently looked back at the big locust tree and the old pigeon nest, I hope that the big locust tree and our compatriots at home and abroad will always be rooted together. , heart to heart.

Main Attractions

Gendiao Gate

"Gendiao Gate" is the main entrance of Xungen Ancestral Worship Garden. It is shaped like a locust root, with an east-west span of 20 meters and a height of 13 meters. , its shape is ancient and vicissitudes of life, its stalwart is thick, its roots are buried in the soil, and its Qiu is powerful, implying that the descendants of the big locust tree are from the same family, have the same roots, have the same ancestors, and share the same heart. It symbolizes that the sons and daughters of the big locust tree leave their small family behind, pursue great righteousness, take root in the land of China, and work tirelessly and strive for the prosperity of the country and the nation. It interprets the unique roots and hometowns of the descendants of immigrants, and the souls of the children of the big locust tree.

Screen Wall with the Character Root

The Shadow Wall is the iconic landscape of the scenic spot. This large official character "root" was created by Zhang Dinglao, the former dean of the Academy of Arts and Crafts and a famous calligrapher and painter. Inscribed by Mr. The font is vigorous, powerful, steady and dignified, with hidden pictograms and profound meaning. It is full of deep feelings of hometown and long-lasting homesickness. The Tao expounds the complicated feeling of hometown and country that condenses in the minds of returning wanderers.

The stele pavilion (the ancient locust tree)

The stele pavilion was built on the site of the first generation big locust tree. The stele is one foot and a half high and two feet four wide. It is more than an inch tall, with the word "Memorial" written in seal script on the top of the stele among the fine carvings of a coiled dragon. On the top of the stele are engraved the five official characters "at the ancient locust tree". These five characters were not written with a pen, but with a brush. came out.

It is said that a good friend of Liu Zilin, one of the builders of the ruins, was very poor and had no money to donate to build the stele pavilion. He could only write with a brush and did not leave his name. Although he did not donate money, his handwriting was very good, so it was adopted.

The second and third generation large locust trees

This is the second generation of large locust trees that grew out of the first generation of ancient large locust trees. It has a history of nearly 400 years. The third-generation locust tree grew from the same root of the second-generation locust tree and has a history of nearly a hundred years. When immigrants bid farewell to their homeland, they all regarded the locust tree as a symbol of their hometown. After moving to new places, they planted locust trees in their courtyards. And hang a mascot to pray for the blessing of the homeland and express the longing for the homeland.

Thousand-year-old Sophora japonica root

According to the identification of archaeologists, this root grew around the Song and Yuan Dynasties, about 1,000 years ago, long before the immigrants in the early Ming Dynasty. The height of the locust root is 6.2 meters, of which the exposed part is 4.2 meters. The roots of Sophora japonica are intertwined and intertwined, with a peculiar image that can evoke rich associations. It is a rare true root of a large ancient Sophora japonica.

Immigration reliefs

The three groups of reliefs are set against the background of a large locust tree. From left to right, they are: Immigration National Policy, Immigration Farewell, and Immigration Migration. There are words in the middle to explain the paintings, and the words and paintings complement each other. It tells in detail the origins of the big locust tree's immigration and the scenes of people in the locust township leaving their hometown and migrating.

Immigration Scenery Sculptures

Three groups of immigration scene sculptures, Resolutions in the Court, Under the Big Locust Tree, and Endless Stories, vividly show us the history of immigration under the big locust tree. . The first group of sculptures is the scene where Zhu Yuanzhang listened to the report of the ministers of the court and ordered the relocation of people. We call it the resolution of the court. This second group of sculptures tells the story of the old man saying goodbye to his children under the big locust tree. The third group of endless stories shows that the young man who migrated has become an old man and is still telling the story of the migration to his descendants.

Ancestor Worship Hall

Interior Ancestor Worship Hall was designed and constructed by the Shanxi Ancient Building Conservation Research Institute. The architectural style is imitation of Ming Dynasty architecture and is the core of the entire ancestor worship garden. The ancestor worship hall faces south, with a width of 112 meters and a depth of 55 meters, covering a total area of ??6160 square meters. There is an open-air copper tripod incense burner in front of the hall, and there are 1,230 surname tablets of immigrant ancestors in the hall. It not only reflects traditional culture, but also highlights the theme of "ancestor worship." It is the largest ancestral hall of hundreds of family surnames in the country and the first hall of civilian sacrifices in the world.

Wangxiang Pavilion

Wangxiang Pavilion is located on the east side of the Ancestor Worship Hall. It is a place specially used to receive guests returning from afar. The environment inside is quiet and the layout is simple. You can enjoy it here. Take a taste of hometown water and read books about big locust tree immigrants. The entire tea room service is free. Because the old teahouse we saw earlier can no longer meet the needs of the increasing number of tourists returning home, we opened this teahouse. Its function and meaning are the same as the original teahouse. A cup of tea and a ladle of water are given to the descendants of immigrants who have come from thousands of miles away to search for their roots and worship their ancestors, in order to express the family's affection for the descendants of immigrants from all over the world. Treating guests with tea is a noble etiquette with far-reaching cultural connotations. It has even more extraordinary significance to receive fellow villagers with hometown water and hometown tea.

Xian Hall

Xian Hall is a place used to place offerings during sacrifices. It is also the main activity place for the officiating personnel. It is located on the central axis of the ancestor worship activity area, with a construction area of ??1250 square meters. Square meters, five rooms in width and five rooms in depth, single-story double eaves, surrounded by corridors on all sides. It is an all-wood structure imitating the Ming Dynasty. The cross-hatch roof is integrated with the Ming-style stage. Its height and span are the first in the three Jin Dynasties. , its splendor is rare in the country.

Suyuan Pavilion

Suyuan Pavilion is located on the west side of the ancestor worship hall. It is built symmetrically with Wangxiang Pavilion. It is the west pavilion of the "one hall and two pavilions" of the main building of the big locust tree. Its architectural shape It is an antique double-story building with four corners and pointed roofs and three eaves. The upper floor is connected to the ancestor worship hall by a corridor. The meaning of "Tuyuan Pavilion" is to trace the origin, which is intended to trace the historical facts of immigration and express gratitude for the merits of our ancestors. The overall layout of the Traceability Pavilion also highlights the history of traceability immigration and displays the theme of hometown culture.

Chinese Surname Garden

Chinese Surname Garden mainly consists of the origin, development and evolution of surnames of the Chinese nation, 11,969 surnames, surname county names, hall names, hall couplets, family mottos and other surname cultures arranged. You will enjoy a feast of Chinese surname culture here.

Immigration Empirical Exhibition Hall

There are clay sculptures of immigration scenes, daily necessities of immigrant ancestors, many precious immigrant genealogies, and every physical object on display here. Each has a touching story. Although it may seem ordinary, it is the most authentic testimony and the most precious evidence of the history of immigration.

Guangji Temple

Guangji Temple in Hongdong County was built in the second year of Emperor Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty. At that time, Guangji Temple was a grand temple with many monks and incense. It contains the Heavenly King's Hall, the Mahavira Hall, the Three Holy Temples, the Dharma Hall, the Sutra Library, the Jialan Hall, the Patriarch Hall, the Zen Hall, the Abbot, and the Bell and Drum Tower. There are also dining halls, guest halls, sleeping halls, teahouses, longevity halls, etc. There is a large locust tree on the left side of the mountain gate that shades several acres. This is the ancient large locust tree that people can't forget when they moved people in the early Ming Dynasty to handle official business.

Sophora wood fossils

Sophora wood fossils were excavated from the Hongdong Xishan Coal Mine. According to expert research, they have a history of hundreds of millions of years.

Many places on it have been carbonized, which vividly shows that there were locust trees in Hongdong hundreds of millions of years ago, so it is well-deserved to be called the "Locust Land".

Stone Scripture Building

The Stone Scripture Building is the oldest cultural relic in the Ancestral Worship Garden and the only existing historical witness of the migration of people in the Ming Dynasty. Jingzhu is a type of ancient Buddhist stone carvings. It was founded in the Tang Dynasty. It is composed of multiple stone carvings piled up into a column. There is a plate cover on the column, and the body of the column is engraved with Dharani scriptures and Buddha statues. It was built by Huilian, the great master of Guangji Temple, in the fifth year of Jin Chengan (1201), more than 200 years earlier than the immigration. It is the only relic of Guangji Temple and a typical scripture building with a history of more than 800 years. It is made of bluestone, with an octagonal plane, four floors and fifteen levels, and a height of 9.4 meters. The carving art is simple and profound, the calligraphy is strong and smooth, and the reliefs are lifelike. It is a treasure of the carving art of the Jin Dynasty.

Hall

This hall has five rooms, three open and one open. The gate building has a glazed roof, complete with kissing animals, and two poems written by Qi Jue under the central eaves. The first one means: All descendants of immigrants are "Hongdong people" from Yanghou State. This is not unfounded. It is recorded in numerous private inscriptions and genealogies. The second song means: The descendants of immigrants from Beijing, Henan, Shandong and Chuhe, Anhui, all have the same roots and origins. Please don’t worry about misidentifying each other. The ancient legend about the two little toes is the evidence that we recognize each other.

Hongya Ancient Cave

The Hongya Ancient Cave built here has a close relationship with Hongdong, because the name Hongdong is taken from the "Hongya" in the south of the city and the "ancient cave" in the north of the city. . The eight characters "Hongya Cutting Wall" and "Gudong Lianyun" were written by the famous calligrapher Dong Shouping. "Hongya Ancient Cave" covers an area of ??800 square meters, with a length of 40 meters from north to south, a width of 20 meters from east to west, a cliff height of 16 meters, a cave height of 4 meters, and a width of 2.5 meters. The cave is winding and winding.

Kuixing Tower

The tower-shaped building in the south of the folk village is Kuixing Tower. According to the "Book of Han" records: Kuixing is a "god" in ancient myths and legends, who dominates literary fortunes. Kuixing Tower is a holy place dedicated to Kuixing in ancient villages. Scholars worshiped Kuixing in Kuixing Tower to pray for success in the imperial examination. The so-called "Quixingdian Number One Scholar" is like this. There is also a Big Dipper next to the Kuixing Tower, and the first four stars of the Big Dipper are called "Xuanji", also called Kui, and because the four stars are arranged like the word "Dou", they are also called "Dou Kui".

Tongyuanqu

Tongyuanqu, as the name suggests, is that the descendants of immigrants have the same source. The descendants of immigrants are spread all over the country, and are integrated into the entire Chinese nation, but they have only one source, which is the Hongdong locust tree. As long as you are a descendant of the big locust tree, you can find traces of your immigrant ancestors here, and you can find a family with the same roots.

Siyuantan

Water flowing thousands of miles away always has a source, and people everywhere will never forget their homeland. The immigrant ancestors moved away from here and expanded their territory, but they never forgot their longing for their homeland. Hundreds of years later, the descendants of immigrants will never forget their attachment to their origins because of the distance of time. Here, you can meditate on the kindness of your ancestors, dust your hands, and pay homage to your ancestors with a pious mood.

A large locust tree of the first generation (imitation)

The newly sculpted large locust tree was built based on the records of the ancient large locust tree, recreating the style of the large locust tree back then. According to records, the size of the big locust tree at that time was "seven feet and one daughter-in-law." That is to say, it would take seven men and one woman to join their arms to hug each other. The men's feet were five feet long, and the women's feet were four and a half feet tall. Therefore, this tree The newly sculpted large locust tree is nearly 40 feet in circumference and 13 feet in diameter.

Archway

This archway was built in the third year of the Republic of China (1914). Its front and back are engraved with "Yu Yan Jia Shu" and "Shade All Living Things" respectively. "Yuyanjiashu" refers to the fact that as the descendants of the big locust tree have migrated, the big locust tree also enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad; "Yuyanjiashu" refers to the fact that the spirit of the big locust tree has protected the descendants of immigrants from generation to generation. Looking at all the living beings under the big locust tree, during the Revolution of 1911, the land of Huaixiang was saved from a major catastrophe because of the big locust tree.

Tea House

The tea house adopts an all-wooden frame structure, with a total height of 11 meters, a length of 23.65 meters from north to south, and a width of 13 meters from east to west. The first floor is Hongdong's characteristic farmhouse pure green and pollution-free products, and the second floor is a teahouse imitating the Ming Dynasty. The tea house is not only a traditional folk building, but also an intuitive embodiment of the old custom of entertaining guests with tea in Chinese culture in Hongdong. It allows you to truly feel the enthusiasm of your hometown and understand the simple folk customs of your hometown.

Tea Room

The Tea Room, built in the third year of the Republic of China, is a place for tourists to rest, drink tea and chat. It is 10.45 meters wide and 4.77 meters deep. It is small in area and has an average ridge height. Its appearance is the same as that of a folk house, but its meaning is different. It was specially built to receive tourists returning from afar. This is what the plaque and couplets express. This kind of family relationship between hometown and returning guests.

Three Bridges

The West Bridge is named Lianxin Bridge, which has two meanings. First, Hongdong has been known as the Lotus City since ancient times. At that time, the county seat was high and the surrounding areas were low, so people stored water to plant lotuses. In summer, the fragrance of lotus fills the entire Hongdong City, and it is truly a "water-filled lotus city." Secondly, "Lianxin" is homophonic to "heart to heart", which means that the old family members and the descendants of immigrants will always be connected to each other.

The name of the middle bridge is Huaixiang Bridge, which has two meanings.

First, it is said that this is the hometown of locust trees, and the fragrance of locust flowers is everywhere. The second is that the homonym of Sophora japonica is the nostalgia of my hometown, which means that the descendants of the big Sophora japonica tree will always miss their hometown.

The East Bridge is named Stork Bridge because the song of storks is used to express the homesickness of wanderers. I don’t know if you have heard of this folk song: “Ask me where my ancestors are, the big locust tree in Hongdong, Shanxi. What is the name of my ancestor’s former residence, the old stork’s nest under the big locust tree.” The stork in folklore refers to a water bird that is similar in size to a crane, but has a shorter neck and body than a crane. In the past, they were often seen foraging for food in large areas along the Fen River, and they built huge nests in large locust trees [2].

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Where is the big locust tree in Shanxi?

The big locust tree is in Hongdong County, Shanxi.

The Hongdong Big Locust Tree Root-seeking and Ancestral Worship Park tourist attraction is located in the southern part of Shanxi Province, at the northern end of Linfen Basin, separated by Huoshan Mountain in the east and Gu County, Luliang and Pu County in the west, and Huozhou and Fen in the north. It is adjacent to Xi County and Yaodu District to the south. It is the only sacred place for folk worship in the country with the theme of "root seeking" and "ancestral worship".

The immigration of large locust trees in Hongdong started from the migration of the Song Dynasty to the south in the late Northern Song Dynasty, reached its climax in Hongwu and Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, and lasted until the middle of the Qing Dynasty. It lasted for more than 700 years from the first year of the founding of the Jingguo period by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty (1101) to the twenty-fifth year of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty (1820).

The cause of the immigration of the big locust tree in Hongdong

After the war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the number of household registrations in the country dropped sharply. In addition to dying in wars and famines, residents in various places were mostly exiled. Becoming a refugee has resulted in a significant reduction in the official household registration population, causing uneven population density in various places. The population in the northern provinces, northwest regions, and Huaihe and Huaihe regions is obviously sparse. Shanxi has better geographical advantages, is less affected by the war, and has a relatively concentrated population, so it was decided to immigrate from Shanxi.

During the immigration period of the Hongdong Big Locust Tree, the Ming Dynasty government implemented measures to encourage farmers to produce by giving immigrants cattle, seeds, farm tools, and not levying taxes for 3-5 years. The idle areas near cities in the north The government also allocates land to landless people for cultivation, with 15 acres per person, and another 2 acres of vegetable land. "Those who have spare capacity are not limited to acres."

In the twenty-seventh year of Hongwu (1394), the Ming government issued an edict to reclaim additional wasteland and never start any new land, which stipulated that immigrants from Shandong, Henan, Hebei, and Shaanxi, except for taxable land, The reclaimed land is left to its own devices and will never be taxed.