Commentary of Chinese New Year in Pingyao

It is a small city with a history of 2,800 years. It has preserved the most complete city wall in China today and has more than 3,000 courtyards from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It was the financial center of China a hundred years ago. It has The oldest Buddhist colored sculpture, it is the home of more than 40,000 people. Today, it has become a unique wealth of mankind.

Pingyao - an ancient county in the central part of Shanxi Province, China. In the 1990s, this small city in northern China attracted the attention of the world.

When explaining the history of this ancient city, the time has to be traced back to 2,800 years ago. Yin Jifu, the general of the Zhou Dynasty at that time, built this ancient city to resist the invasion of northern nomads. Today, on the edge of the east city wall, we can see the temple built in Pingyao six hundred years ago to commemorate him. Less than 300 meters outside the east city wall, there is a tomb said to contain his clothes. Yin Jifu can be said to be the founder of Pingyao Ancient City.

The ancient city wall is the beginning and symbol of Pingyao’s history. Around 2,800 years ago, the Zhou Dynasty, the ruler of China at that time, stationed troops, built houses and built a defensive line with earth in what is now Pingyao. This is the earliest origin of the ancient city wall of Pingyao.

In 1368 AD, China entered the Ming Dynasty. The Great Wall in the north was rebuilt and reinforced. At the same time, the government built city walls in many important cities. At this time, strong giant masonry was used as a building material in large quantities. Production.

In 1370 AD, the ancient city wall of Pingyao built with earth was converted into a masonry city wall. This project lasted for more than ten years. The ancient city wall of Pingyao that now stands completely in front of the world is 6,100 meters long. Sixty-two point seven meters, the city wall is twelve meters high, the bottom of the wall is more than ten meters wide, the top of the wall is three to six meters wide, and the moat is three meters deep. After the river dried up, only sections of incomplete river channels could be seen. Outside each city gate there is a square area with the same height as the city wall, which is called the urn city. There are two inner and outer gates in the urn city, which are usually used to check passers-by. During battle, a certain number of enemies can be put in and the two doors are closed, so that the enemies in the urn city can be quickly eliminated from above.

The last time the ancient city wall was used as a military facility was on February 13, 1938. On this day, the Japanese army that invaded China used explosives to blow up a corner of the east city wall and swarmed in and occupied this ancient city. The defensive facilities designed six hundred years ago have completely lost their effect in the artillery fire of modern warfare. The wounds on the southeast corner of the city wall are the bullet marks left by the Japanese shelling at that time.

The ancient city wall of Pingyao was repaired 26 times during the Ming and Qing dynasties over 500 years ago. Since the 1980s, the national and local governments have repaired it many times, with a total investment of nearly 10 million. Yuan.

Pingyao Ancient City is roughly square in shape, with an area of ??only 2.25 square kilometers. The north-south streets in the center of the ancient city form a straight central axis, and the 18.5-meter-high city building stands at the center of the city. Four main streets running from east to west, north to south, eight evenly distributed streets, and seventy-two criss-crossing alleys, together form an orderly transportation network in the small town. The government offices, temples and large green halls and houses with yellow and green glazed tile roofs present a symbol of hierarchy.

In the early 1980s, China began a movement of great economic change.

Due to people's lack of understanding of ancient buildings or because they hindered the blueprint of urban development plans, many ancient buildings fell down with a roar. The ancient city of Pingyao has not stayed out of this transformation. It has also formulated a Pingyao County urban master plan. According to this plan, at least several wide roads will be opened up and down the ancient city and eight corresponding excavations will be made on the ancient city wall. gaping holes and the construction of a series of high-rise buildings. The plan to destroy the ancient city was implemented in 1981, but the project progressed slowly due to lack of construction funds. At this time, China's ancient architecture experts learned of the situation and made an urgent appeal to the government to keep the ancient city. The suggestion was finally adopted. Pingyao The ancient city has survived due to decades of economic underdevelopment. Today, among the more than 4,000 cities and towns in China, Pingyao has become the only example that can present the original pattern and style of a traditional Chinese historical city.

The traditional residential buildings in the ancient city of Pingyao belong to the rigorous courtyard style of the Han nationality in northern China. Each courtyard or low wall is made of bricks, and the surrounding outer walls are seven or eight meters high, which is good for resisting the wind and sand weather in the north. Most of the courtyards are facing south to get more sunlight.

The most unique thing about Pingyao’s ancient dwellings is that the main house retains the form of cave dwellings in the northwest. This kind of cave dwelling is no longer dug into the earth to make a kiln, but is completely built with bricks on the flat ground, usually with three to five holes. A wooden gallery and tiled eaves are usually added to the outside of the brick cave dwellings to protect them from wind, rain and sun, and are decorated with exquisite wood carvings and paintings on various themes. Large families also build a second floor of brick and wood structure on top of the main house for receiving guests or serving as a study. These various Feng Shui walls and Feng Shui buildings are built on the roof of the main house, striving to make the The height is higher than that of the neighbors, preserving the feng shui of one's own home.

The story of Jin Opera "Sanniang Godson" is as follows: A naughty boy who lost his father in his early years, under the strict education of his stepmother and his family, studied hard for ten years and finally became the number one scholar (the original name of Jin Opera was Shanxi Bangzi is a local opera popular in central Shanxi. Its origin is now difficult to verify).

These strange-looking cold weapons were weapons used in warfare in ancient and modern China. For nearly a thousand years, a group of strong people with good fighting skills have specialized in escorting valuables and receiving generous rewards in China. This kind of private organization is called a bodyguard.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Pingyao merchants who traveled to various parts of China found it difficult to preserve a large amount of property and reach their destinations safely, even if they paid considerable remuneration to the escort agencies. At that time, because a paint shop in Pingyao had branches all over the northern provinces, merchants from the same town often asked this company to deposit their cash into the paint shop's branches nearby, and then returned to Pingyao with a certificate, and then from the paint shop's branch. The main account withdraws cash, and the merchant pays a small commission for this. Lei Lutai, the big shopkeeper of the paint store, had a premonition that this was a huge business opportunity. But after several years of preparation, Lei Lutai created a whole new way of buying and selling money, that is, changing the physical transfer of cash to a specially designed money order, and no longer carrying a large amount of cash with him.

In 1823 AD, Lei Lutai formally suggested to his boss Li Daquan that the paint store business should be changed into a bank account and named "Rishengchang". As an investor, Li Daquan presented 300,000 taels of silver, which was the savings of his family's business for generations. Li Daquan and Lei Lutai agreed that all management rights of Rishengchang would be vested in Lei Lutai and Lei Lutai would be given a certain proportion of the original shares. Rishengchang's main customers are various large merchants. These merchants can not only transfer funds safely and conveniently with money orders, but can also pay various amounts with money orders, thus changing the traditional cash settlement method.

There is only one key bill of exchange, which is held by the customer and adopts an exchange system of recognizing the bill but not the person. The money order also has a set of secret codes using Chinese characters as symbols that can only be understood by the core personnel of the bill number. The ticket number also implements the rule of three to five days late delivery, so that the person who loses the ticket has time to report the loss. Each money order is filled out by a dedicated person. In addition to the handwriting being familiar to insiders, more importantly, these secret keys are constantly being changed. To this day, it is still difficult for us to decipher these mysterious Chinese character codes.

Ticket numbers charge remittance fees ranging from 23% to 78% depending on the length of the journey. Since transportation was underdeveloped at that time, the remittance period was usually very long. The bank used this period to lend money to merchants at lower interest rates and collect interest. The specific amount of profits made by the ticket number cannot be found now. What is relatively clear is that the initial investment of 300,000 taels by Li Daquan, the major shareholder of Rishengchang, created 15 million for the Li family in a hundred years. Two silver dividends.

The daily business conditions of each branch and the main account are summarized by the accountant. The accountant handles all the accounts of the entire account. The accountant also has an accountant and an account assistant to take charge of them. Various specialized accounts.

The ticket account also has a complete reporting system. The core figure of this system is Mr. Nobufang. Mr. Nobufang is mostly a member of the Kejia League, and his status and salary are very high. Daily reports for each subcolon are completed by letters. The main account receives more than a hundred letters every day, and there are dozens of letters that need to be responded to in a timely manner. The entire ticket number is fully managed by the big shopkeeper, with one or two assistants. The daily management is done by the accountant who reports the day's income and expenditure. Mr. Nobufang summarizes the operating conditions of each branch and submits them to the big shopkeeper for decision-making. Specific instructions are then handed over to the boss. The letter room conveys it to each semicolon.

In the heyday of Rishengchang Bank, the main bank consisted of fourteen or fifteen people, and there were thirty-five branch offices across the country, each with three or four people. The entire bank system was no more than About one hundred and fifty people.

There are a set of strict rules for the selection of ticket clerks. They must be young boys between the ages of thirteen and fifteen, with good looks. They must pass abacus and regular script examinations, must be guaranteed by fellow villagers, and have a certain family background. We want three generations to be clean. After joining the apprenticeship for three years, the apprentice only has room and board but no pay. Within a certain period of time after the apprenticeship expires, the wages will not be paid to the apprentice, but will be paid directly to his parents by the ticket number. The ticket office implements a lifelong employee system. When these clerks mature, they will be sent to work in various branch offices. After a certain number of years, there will be some specially designed human resources. Rishengchang has had nearly ten big shopkeepers, all of whom started out as little boys.

During the Qing Dynasty, officials were transferred frequently, and a large amount of cash often needed to be transferred. These officials became the most loyal private customers of the bank. With the rise of bill accounts, whether it was disaster relief money issued by the government, taxes paid by local governments, or even war reparations at that time, money orders issued by local governments were gathered in the capital, and cash was withdrawn at each branch and sent directly to the capital. Completed by the treasury.

In the mid-19th century, the ticket office industry entered its heyday. Most of the country's ticket offices came from Shanxi Province. There were more than 40 banks in total, of which 22 were in Pingyao. Pingyao became China's financial center at that time, and at its peak controlled nearly half of China's currency in circulation. In the history of the bill number, there has never been any case of fraud using fake money orders. It is precisely because of the strict management system that it is difficult for future generations to obtain a once-used money order. This is the only complete money order we see now, a hundred years ago. It may have been invalidated due to a clerical error at the time, but fortunately it was passed down. This is the correspondence between Rishengchang bank account and that year.

This account book records some of the accounts of the Rishengchang bank account in the 20th year of Daoguang's reign (1840). It is also the earliest bank account book ever found.

From the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, Chinese society was in rapid turmoil, and the banknotes repeatedly suffered huge losses. By the 1920s, the Pingyao bank had completely declined. From the birth of the first bank, Rishengchang, in 1823 to the closure of the last bank, Baofenglong, located opposite it, Pingyao's bank has existed for a full hundred years.

Shuanglin Temple is located six kilometers southwest of Pingyao Ancient City, covering an area of ??more than 11,000 square meters. Each hall of the temple is full of colorful sculpture groups, the large ones are more than three meters high and the small ones are no more than ten centimeters. There are 2,050 statues in total, of which 1,566 are well-preserved. It took seven hundred years to complete and is known in China as a treasure house of colored sculpture art from the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.

After entering Shuanglin Temple is the Tianwang Hall. Under the eaves are four huge statues more than three meters high, commonly known as the Four King Kong. The eyes of the Four King Kongs are inlaid with glass beads and appear vivid and lifelike. This is a unique decorative craft in China. In the Sakyamuni Hall upon entering the courtyard, Buddha Sakyamuni sits high in the middle, with Manjushri and Samantabhadra standing on the left and right. The entire four walls of the Sakyamuni Hall are covered with colorful sculptures, telling the legendary story from the reincarnation of the Buddha to his nirvana and becoming a Buddha. More than 200 figures with different identities and expressions move among buildings and rocks. The conception and composition are exquisite and breathtaking.

As soon as you enter the courtyard, there is a small Arhat Hall with eighteen Arhats in it. Arhat means a person worthy of respect from the world. Ancient artists gave full play to their imagination and talent, making these Arhat statues a clear proof of the transition from stylization to individuality in Chinese Buddhist painted sculpture art, and they are called divine products.

The Mahavira Hall in the second courtyard of Shuanglin Temple is the tallest building in the whole temple. Because the Buddha can subdue all kinds of demons, he is also called Mahavira. These three huge Buddha statues are all three incarnations of Buddha.

The Thousand Buddha Hall is located on the east side of the Main Hall. There are more than 500 colorful sculptures in the hall. The main image of Guanyin Bodhisattva has a casual posture and a quiet and charming face. It is a rare and unique work among Bodhisattva statues. The statue of the protector Wei Tuo beside him is known as the No. 1 Wei Tuo in China. The figure is 1.6 meters tall, and the combination of expression and eyes is very dynamic, creating a truly powerful and powerful warrior beauty. It is the most outstanding painted sculpture in Shuanglin Temple. There are more than 500 colorful sculptures of Bodhisattvas around the four walls, showing the colorful sacred scenes of the Buddhist kingdom.

Opposite the Thousand Buddha Hall, the Bodhisattva Hall has the main image of Avalokitesvara with Thousand Arms and Thousand Eyes. In the minds of Chinese people, Guanyin Bodhisattva is the most sympathetic to the sufferings of the people, so it is the most approachable. Her image is more like a beautiful and graceful young woman among the people, who has thousands of hands and eyes to save all sentient beings.

Located twelve kilometers northeast of the ancient city of Pingyao, there is also a striking temple called Zhenguo Temple. Zhenguo Temple was first built in 963 AD and has been repaired by various dynasties in China. The entire temple faces north to south, with two courtyards, covering an area of ??nearly 13,000 square meters.

This Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall, built more than a thousand years ago, has completely maintained the architectural style of the Tang Dynasty in China. Its biggest feature is that the entire temple is approximately square, with a huge roof and eaves that look like wings. The flying wings show a majestic appearance. It is one of the earliest wooden structures discovered in China so far.

There are eleven colorful sculptures in the Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas, depicting the Buddha and his disciples. These statues are the only painted sculptures from the tenth century AD that exist in Chinese temples and can be called national treasures. The Three Buddha Tower in the second courtyard was built in the Ming Dynasty and still retains the original appearance of 37 colorful sculptures and 52 murals. These Buddha statues and four Bodhisattvas are graceful in shape and natural in posture. They are typical works of China's Ming Dynasty (i.e., the fourteenth century AD). The murals on the mountain walls on both sides integrate landscapes, flowers, birds, and figures. They use simple painting techniques in the form of comic strips to carefully describe the extraordinary life of Buddha. This ancient locust tree has a history of more than a thousand years. It has been accompanied by monks for generations. Although it is not three meters tall, it has a unique shape and is one of the wonders in Zhenguo Temple.

Pingyao is located in the traditional agricultural area of ??northern China. It has a temperate continental climate, with cold winters and little rain, and hot and rainy summers. The main crops are wheat, sorghum and corn, with nearly 800,000 acres of farmland. . By the end of the twentieth century, China was basically self-sufficient in food.

More than half of the population in the ancient city still maintains the identity of farmers, but they no longer have land for farming. Most of them run various small businesses and become self-employed in the ancient city. mainstream.

Life proceeds in an orderly manner according to the usual rhythm, and various sounds echo in the streets of the ancient city.

Life is a living and vivid reality.