? Jucheng? Xiaolan

In the hinterland of the Pearl River Delta, Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province, there is a town with a history of 86 years, which is called Xiaolan because the terrain under its jurisdiction resembles an olive. However, since its birth, it has formed an indissoluble bond with chrysanthemum. Over the years, for hundreds of years, Xiaolan people have always regarded chrysanthemum as their own symbol, making friends with chrysanthemum and being proud of chrysanthemum.

Xiaolan people love and grow chrysanthemums, and have the reputation of "Chrysanthemum City". Throughout the ages, there are countless praises about "Chrysanthemum", which has left a valuable cultural heritage for this land rich in chrysanthemums. Xiaolan's chrysanthemum pageant "once every 6 years, once every 1 years" is even more amazing. The chrysanthemum will be characterized by "nature, humanity, flower sea and chrysanthemum city", with chrysanthemum landscaping as the main feature, highlighting cultivation techniques. The beautiful scenery of chrysanthemums with different shapes is beautiful, which is a grand event of chrysanthemum culture in Lingnan.

xiaolan people love to grow chrysanthemums, which has a long history. it is said that in the ninth year of Xianchun in the southern song dynasty, the residents of Nanxiong Zhuji lane moved south in order to track down Hu Fei. In the tenth year of Xianchun (1274), some refugees from Zhuji Lane fled to Xiaolan. Seeing that the land here is fertile, the climate is mild, and Huang Ju is full of fragrance and gold, they settled here and established their homes. Since then, Xiaolan people have formed an indissoluble bond with Chrysanthemum.

By the Ming Dynasty, the art of chrysanthemum in Xiaolan had flourished, and the cultivation of chrysanthemum was very common. According to Li Sunchen, a villager who was then the Shang Shu of Li Lang, Nanjing in the Ming Dynasty, the article "On the Landscape and Topographic Map of Two Lanes" has been written, and there have been praises of "Five Pines and Six Roads and Three Ya Water, Twelve Bridges of Plum Blossoms in Cave, and endless chrysanthemums in the poetry circle", which is enough to show that Xiaolan people at that time were good at chrysanthemum art, and it has become a habit to gather three or five confidants and enjoy flowers every year when chrysanthemums are in full bloom.

During the reign of Kangxi in Qing Dynasty, the level of artistic chrysanthemum in Xiaolan was further improved, and a set of systematic experience was gained in the cultivation of chrysanthemum, such as shaping and coring, maintenance and management. According to historical records, at this time, new species have been introduced from Shanghai and other places, which has increased the variety and color. Some gentry, businessmen and officials in the countryside have set aside their posts to relax their ambitions, and they have made great efforts to send pottery to Huai 'er fence, and the art of chrysanthemum has flourished in the past. At this time, Xiaolan has been known as "Little Chai Sang".

In the third year of the first year of Qing Qianlong, Xiaolan began a "chrysanthemum test". "Villagers love the integrity of chrysanthemum, which is not afraid of frost and frost, and appreciate its various flowers and elegant fragrance. In the first year of Qing Qianlong (1736), there was a chrysanthemum contest. " According to "Xiangshan County Records", the chrysanthemum test is to gather the famous species planted by the villagers when the chrysanthemum is in full bloom, set up a reward grid and evaluate the competition. During the Games, a flower shed was built in front of the ancestral temple in the township, famous flowers were displayed, and the chrysanthemum was evaluated on the spot, and the chrysanthemum was sung, the champion was promoted, and the ranking was determined. The evaluation of chrysanthemum was based on the "three noes", that is, no leaves, no branches and no knees; Taking "three branches and six tops" as the model, Dali Chrysanthemum Branch Art was first used, and after the test, it was awarded yarn, satin towel, fan and other items respectively.

However, after five years of Qianlong, due to the loss of the famous chrysanthemum "A bouquet of snow" in Xiaolan, the chrysanthemum test was no longer held, and it was changed to "Chrysanthemum Society", that is, every year when chrysanthemums are in bloom, people form a group association with clans, temples or Fang Societies, and gather all kinds of good chrysanthemums in the society "to unite with two or three confidants, lean over the fence and ask for flowers". As for the Chrysanthemum Club, He Dazuo, a person in the Qing Dynasty, wrote in the book "Olive Scraps": "Those who join the Chrysanthemum Club don't pay for it in advance, and they don't pay for it. Unlike the Chrysanthemum Trial, they only gather comrades and friends, and move all the good things to the club, dotted with incense screens, facing each other in the morning and evening, or drinking and composing poems, or playing music evenly according to the music. After the club broke up, there were flowers for the givers and they left with a full boat. "

In the 47th year of Qianlong, in 1782, the scale of "Chrysanthemum Club" was expanded, and it was renamed as "Huanghuahui", which turned the former Chrysanthemum Club into a small group participating in the Chrysanthemum Club. At that time, all the villages in Lan Township were furnished, and the chrysanthemum farms in each village not only set up chrysanthemums, but also set up flower stands, flower houses and flower bridges, and also performed more than ten performances. At night, lanterns are decorated and colorful, and all night long, with many visitors.

In 1814, in the 19th year of Jiaqing in Qing Dynasty, Xiaolan held a grand Chrysanthemum Festival to commemorate the contribution of ancestors' settlement, and agreed to hold a Chrysanthemum Festival every Jiaqing year (that is, every 6 years). In the 13th year of Tongzhi (1874), 1934 and 1994, big chrysanthemum fairs were held one after another, and four sessions of Jiaju Chrysanthemum Conferences were held in one * * *.

Xiaolan is also known as "Chrysanthemum City". Many people know that "Chrysanthemum City" is a well-known name all over the world, but few people know when it was called. In fact, "Chrysanthemum City" was spread by a chrysanthemum exhibition in 1959.

1959 was the first chrysanthemum exhibition held by Xiaolan after the founding of the People's Republic of China. This Chrysanthemum Festival not only inherited the traditional chrysanthemum art, but also created a new modeling style. For the first time, Xiaolan people used chrysanthemums to build a huge mural "dove of peace" with a width of 1 meters and a height of 7 meters, and made huge slogans and patterns with chrysanthemum art. At the same time, a large number of chrysanthemums, cliff chrysanthemums, tower chrysanthemums and varieties of chrysanthemums were exhibited. Although the exhibition lasted for seven days, the audience was nearly 3 thousand. Pearl River Film Studio also specially produced a documentary called "Chrysanthemum", and some newspapers and periodicals inside and outside the province reported the grand occasion of the Chrysanthemum Festival for several days, and praised Xiaolan as "Chrysanthemum City". Since then, "Chrysanthemum City" has become increasingly prosperous.

During the Chrysanthemum Festival, you can have a special "Chrysanthemum Meal". That is, all kinds of food and delicacies cooked with fresh chrysanthemums. Famous ones are chrysanthemum meat, chrysanthemum stewed snake soup, chrysanthemum colored balls, chrysanthemum fish porridge, chrysanthemum wine, chrysanthemum cake and so on. There are all kinds of chrysanthemums around the dining table. People talk about chrysanthemums and taste the chrysanthemum meal. It is fragrant, fresh and delicious, sweet but not greasy, and has endless aftertaste.