Six Notes of Wangcun.

Wangcun, located on the bank of Youshui River, is a small ancient town in western Hunan. Why is it called Wangcun? "Yongshun County Chronicles": In the Qin and Han Dynasties, it was a mountain city called Youyang. Later, it was the capital of the local kings in the past dynasties, so it was named Wangcun. Because of the legacy of the ancient town, rafting on the Mengdong River, and "Furong Town", it is now famous. From May 17th to 4th, 1994, he traveled to western Hunan. On the 21st, he stayed with brother Xu Dayuan of Liling for an evening stay in Wangcun, and left again the next day. Make six notes as a preface.

Mashi Street

The first time I came to Wangcun, my impression was not weak. There was a scene in the earlier movie "Furong Town": a middle-aged mad man, wearing a shabby military uniform and a red cloth on his left arm, regarded himself as a rebel commander during the Cultural Revolution. He seemed to stay on this stone street every day, wandering up and down, talking, cursing, singing and dancing. The film was shot on location in Wangcun, and the characters in the play were made up. But this granite street could not be built at the moment. It is long and winding, and its impression will never be forgotten.

There are many granite streets in the world, but here they are different. Diaojiaolou is rising everywhere and is attached to both sides of Mashi Street. They are about the same size and style, and most of them have no eaves or steps. When they go out individually, they just step on the stone street. The street is three to five feet wide, flat and smooth, with no phlegm, scraps of paper, fruit peels, and hard-to-find flowers and trees. It is a clean street. There are stalls at the entrance, offering cotton weaving, mountain products, miscellaneous medicines, root carvings, puppets and other items for you to choose from. There are young women wearing no makeup, gathered together in small groups, chattering and laughing, you shout: Let’s go shopping! There is a woman flying in front of you, looking at you and giggling.

Men have legacy. The old man often sits at the door, holding a bamboo pole more than three feet long, glancing at people, exhaling, blowing paper matchsticks (tinder for lighting cigarettes), and sucking in thick smoke. This was the first time I saw this leisurely smoker. Several tofu shops have signs with "Liu Xiaoqing Tofu Shop" written on them. Liu Xiaoqing plays the role of the tofu shop proprietress in "Furong Town". She is known as the "Merry Widow". Some young and charming girls, dressed in beautiful clothes, stood in the shop cooking and cooking, just like the boss's wife. In a short time, a group of male and female diners gathered, all smiling and looking like they were paying a lot of money. In an instant, the ma stone street was filled with laughter, curses, grunts, and the ping-pong of pots, basins, spoons, shovels, and dishes, forming a symphony. The aroma overflowed the street, and the air became fresh and tender, as if smelling No smell of oil smoke or dust.

Masi Street is very old. Some people say that it is like Mother Dashan’s Baina clothes, strung with history, and there are always wet stories hidden in the wind and rain. The Mengdong River indeed carries the wildness, arrogance and passion of the mountains all the way south. When it reaches Wangcun, it slowly breathes a sigh of relief, rests at the edge of the town, and then goes east leisurely.

Through hundreds of millions of years of vicissitudes and ups and downs of the times, the town has prospered and declined, but now it is becoming more prosperous. Those dark windows on stilted buildings have long been staring at the granite streets. They have seen mountain people, local kings, soldiers and bandits, as well as homeless people, prostitutes, and cadres and madmen who enter the mountains. Now they are a Tourists. The blood of mountain people and the wandering souls of patriots once overflowed and drifted in this stone street. It has an ancient charm and is shaking off the dust of history to attract the attention of the world.

On the hill behind the old street, a new street has been opened, where ancient and modern times collide. I think the ancient Mashi Street will always be covered with wind and its charm will remain unique. Otherwise, who would come to Wangcun?

Ma Shi Street is here, but I still come to Wangcun.

Xilan Kapu

Walking along the street towards the river, I suddenly saw a large stilted building standing on a step. The door was open, and there were several girls talking and laughing inside. , then walked over. An old man was pulling a ball of colorful thread at the door.

The old man is in his sixties, short, with white hair, wearing a double-breasted turban, and a pair of old-fashioned eyes hanging on the tip of his nose. I asked him what he was doing. He looked at me, said slowly: "Xilan Kapu", and then lowered his head to work. There are several brocade machines placed in the main hall, and various handicrafts are hung on the walls. I guessed: this is Xiangxi brocade. When I asked, it was true.

I have heard of Xilankapu for a long time, but what does it actually mean? I couldn't figure it out for a while, but later I got a small book called "Sanxiang Customs", which said it was "Tujia bedding", also called Tujia brocade.

In fact, it can also be used as wall hangings, tablecloths, back baskets and other accessories. Nowadays, most of them have evolved into exquisite handicrafts. Hundreds of things can be woven, so it is more accurate to call it Tujia brocade.

According to legend, a long time ago, there was a Tujia girl named Xilan who was very good at weaving flower and fruit patterns with colorful threads. She always wanted to weave beautiful ginkgo flowers on the back. There is a ginkgo tree in the girl's yard. She went alone several nights to observe the blooming of the ginkgo tree (I don’t know why the tree bloomed at night), but she was caught in the rumor and lost her life in vain. Later generations missed her and called the Tujia brocade "Xilan Kapu", which was passed down to the world.

Brocade appears in "Shangshu", and there is a record of "embroidering brocade" in "The Book of Songs". This handicraft appeared at least before the Western Zhou Dynasty. I have been to the Mawangdui History Museum in Changsha and visited some folk museums in Xinjiang. I have seen this kind of fabrics, and most of them have simple and vivid compositions. "Cihai" records: Brocade is a specialty of Suzhou, Hangzhou and Sichuan. What year and era does this refer to? I think Tujia brocade should be considered a specialty of western Hunan, and can be compared with Changsha's Hunan embroidery. It has a thick texture, ingenious conception, bright colors, and flexible patterns. When touched by hand, it does not feel light and slippery. This thick and simple thing is indeed cute.

I saw a brocade in a workshop: in the melting moonlight, it accommodated small rivers, bridges, and people within its dimensions. Hearing the sound of water through the bamboo fence, a pair of lovers were leaning on the bridge and whispering. There was a puppy and a goat beside them, both of them snuggled together, a masterpiece. I asked the girl guarding the store how much it cost, but she just pursed her lips and smiled without answering.

Wangcun produces native lacquer and is famous for its persimmons, all of which are high-quality products. They are all clearly marked with prices. The brocades I have seen are not marked with prices. The tapestry is priceless.

Waterfall

When you go to Wangcun, you have to see Wangcun Waterfall. If you don’t take a look at it, it seems like you have never been there.

This waterfall is neither fierce nor violent nor wild nor wild. The water came slowly from the creek, but suddenly it became tense. After the three streams of water quickly separated, they twisted together, rolled down the stone field along the smooth stone ridge, and then flew into the cave. The sound was like thunder, which was heart-stopping. In terms of momentum, it is not as good as Huangguoshu Waterfall, but the surrounding scenery is superb.

The water stirred up the boulders, flying and scattering, the sun shone through, and the rain and fog formed a rainbow. The locals called it "Snow Wave Flying Rainbow", which should be very beautiful, but it was a pity that the light rain did not appear. During the peach blossom rainy season, this waterfall is extremely spectacular. The peach blossoms have long since withered, and Bai Lian has grown from big to small, turning one into three, which is also very impressive.

Laughter, singing, and voices often come from the creek. On the stone piers of the stream, there are many beautiful colors of red, green, blue and white. Young daughters-in-law are moored in the stream to wash. As time goes by, the stone piers are covered with green grass, slender and shiny. The water in the pool is as clear as five colors, a bit like the green jade on Tianshan Mountain. In Yuluo Creek, the girls in the small town are a little arrogant, which is hard for city people to imagine.

Wangcun Waterfall is famous all over the world, but the creek that created it is not well-known. I originally thought this was Lingxi, but it was actually far away from Lingxi. The creek struggled to break out of the meandering deep stream, meandering and wandering, coming sadly, as clear as jade, and endearing. I called it "Youbi Creek".

No matter what it is called, it should be renamed.

Diaojiaolou

Diaojiaolou are arranged along the street. Some facades are made of bricks and mosaics, and their original charm is lost. In a private folk museum, there is a fire pit in the main hall with firewood piled next to it. This is just for tourists to see. The main halls of many houses are equipped with sofas and desks; TV sets and cassette players sit on the table, and there are songs and local opera tunes that can be heard softly. It's not like the newly opened karaoke hall in town, which is very popular at night and makes the noise annoying.

Diaojiaolou is a residential house made of wood and wooden boards with carved patterns. The mountainous area in my hometown is called Banbanlou. The year before last, I saw a short, heavy wooden house in the suburbs of Moscow, and I was reminded of this stilted building. The old wooden houses in the mountains of my hometown were single rooms, covered with cedar bark, and had two floors. The upper floor was used to store sundries, and the lower floor was used to feed pigs and cows. No one could live in it. This is very different from that in western Hunan.

Most of the ones I saw in Wangcun were two rooms running side by side, and most of them were double-story attics. The attics had curved eaves, some decorated or not.

Tujia Miao people, due to environmental constraints, formed Gaopo Village and Shanjiao Village. Wang Village should be a Shanjiao Village, which looks solemn and elegant. Some stilted buildings face the river, with cornices and cloisters. On a white moonlit night, men and women singing in antiphonal style should have a unique style. Unfortunately, I haven't seen it yet. On the way to Baofeng Lake, I saw a pair of singing platforms. Several Tujia girls were flying around like swallows under the eaves, chattering, but the folk songs were easy to sing, and they didn't speak often. They had to pay for each song. They had no choice but to laugh and play! Like the purple swallow whispering. Wangcun couldn't see the antiphonal platform, nor could he hear the folk songs on the stilted pavilions. It seemed like something was missing.

Opposite Wangcun Waterfall, a three-story pavilion on stilts stands between the cliffs. The stone scriptures are in ruins, the weeds are growing wild, the owner seems to have moved away, the ancient buildings are vacant, and they are hanging by the river. Some landscape photos often have it as the background, with blue sky, white clouds, rainbows, stone streams, green grass and green trees, accompanied by the ancient town, it is indeed a wonderful scene. As for Wangcun Waterfall, it is retreating step by step due to karst phenomena. This unique stilted building is quite dangerous and it is unknown when it will disappear.

If you want to see the stilted buildings in western Hunan, it is best to save this stilted building. I wonder if tourists feel the same way.

Mandarin Fish Fertilizer

In the small town of Wangcun, there are many restaurants. In front of the door, there are running water poured into wooden basins, and several mandarin fishes are raised in the basins. The wooden basin is surrounded by moss, and the small mandarin fish are swimming erratically in the basin, as carefree as diners; the larger ones are sitting on one side, either on their backs or lying down, looking stiff and inactive, which is a bit unbearable to see.

Mandarin fish has tender meat and delicious taste. The soup is as tender as milk. My hometown is hard to see nowadays. Mandarin fish, also known as flower fish and mandarin fish. "Xu Wenchang's Lost Grass" said that its scales were like a tapestry, but what I saw were green and yellow mixed with black spots. It looks unattractive, with a sharp mouth and a bulging back. If you touch its head with your hand, the spines will open up and bump around, which is a bit embarrassing. It feeds on fish snails, but many people in my hometown don't eat it and feed it to cats. Actually, it's delicious. Wangcun people promote it as a delicacy to their guests, and they are well aware of its nature and flavor. Anyone who travels around to eat has tasted a lot of delicacies from all over the world. It is also a blessing to taste a bowl of mandarin fish soup in this ancient town in western Hunan. In the mountains of Mizunami Plateau in Japan, I ate sashimi once. It was made from salmon and mixed with ginger seasoning.

Mandarin fish fertilizer is used during the peach blossom rainy season. Zhang Zhihe's "The Fisherman" says: "Egrets are flying in front of Xisai Mountain, peach blossoms are flowing in the water, mandarin fish are fat, green bamboo hats, green coir raincoats, the slanting wind and drizzle do not need to return." Fishing in this season is very interesting. Unfortunately, after being away from home for many years, the scene of catching mandarin fish in my childhood has faded away.

At the end of May, the mandarin fish in Wangcun are also fat. It was kept in a wooden basin, ready to be sacrificed. I asked the hotel proprietress, where was this fish caught? She looked at the pot with a smile and answered loudly: "Menghe Cave." There are green mountains on both sides of the Menghe Cave, high hanging rocks, and broken walls. The river is fast and cold, and the mandarin fish fly freely here, hitting the bottom. The waves flow down the cave. Now they are confined in a wooden basin, raised and fed, and the environment has changed drastically.

When people come to Wangcun, do they want to taste it or appreciate it? Love it? unknown.

Xizhou Bronze Pillar

Xizhou Bronze Pillar is a piece of history, hard and solid.

When did Xizhou become famous? Local historical records: Yugong here belongs to the territory of Jingzhou, which was later called Chu and then Qianzhong County. The Han Dynasty established Youyang County and built a city in Wangcun. According to my research: At the end of the Warring States Period, Chu had established Youyang County. In the second year of Tianshou of the Tang Dynasty (AD 691), Xizhou was first established. Although its name was changed several times later, the name of Xizhou has always been known. This was once the economic, political, and cultural center of the region and the ancient capital of the Tuwang, so it is naturally famous.

The Tujia call themselves Bizka, which means locals; they call the Miao people "Baika", which means neighbors; they call the Han people "Paka", which means outsiders. "Historical Records" calls them "Southwestern Barbarians". "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" calls them Wuling Barbarians. Later official and unofficial histories have called them "Jingzhou Barbarians" and some "Wuxi Barbarians". There is a basis for the Tujia people to be locals. The Miao people may be descendants of the San Miao people.

According to "Warring States Policy·Wei Ce": The land of Sanmiao was located between Pengli (today's Poyang Lake), Dongting (today's Dongting Lake), Wenshan and Hengshan. It was the Wang tribe in the south during the reign of Yao and Shun. Later, due to ethnic strife, they gradually retreated to the mountainous areas of the southwest. The ancient southwest included the land of present-day western Hunan. Five generations ago, this place was commanded by Tujia leaders. In the Five Dynasties, the Peng family from Jiangxi entered this area and the situation changed drastically. The bronze pillars in Xizhou are related to the Peng family's regime.

In the late Tang Dynasty, Peng Yao, a native of Luling, Jizhou, Jiangxi (now Ji'an), and his son Peng Shiran (also known as Peng Shichou), after entering Xiangxi, they combined with the then King of Chu, Ma Yin, and planned to kill the Tujia people. leader, and later conquered the barbarians in Wuxi and became the "Emperor of the Earth". Peng Yao was the governor of Xizhou, and Peng Shi then succeeded his father and established the capital in Laosicheng. His descendants lasted for 9 dynasties, 25 generations, and more than 800 years. In the fourth year of Jinfu (939 AD), Peng Shiran fought with Chu King Ma Xifan in Yuanling and Linli areas, and surrendered after defeat. In 940 AD, the two families formed an alliance in Huixiping, Xizhou, and erected bronze pillars at what is now Pheasant Tuo in Taiping Township, Yongshun County. In 1971, due to the construction of Fengtan Reservoir and the rising water in You, it was moved to Huaguo Mountain in Jinwang Village. Today, among the greenery, there is a colorful pavilion. In the pavilion, there is a bronze pillar, which is two feet long and six feet into the ground. On it is engraved "Remember the Bronze Pillar of Xizhou", which clarifies Xizhou's subordinate relationship to Chu and Chu to Chu. Xizhou does not levy taxes, do not force purchases, and does not raise troops to infringe. It was originally a special boundary monument, but now it is a historic site.

The Peng regime has been controversial in history. Three thousand of Peng Yao's descendants left the country and chose to live in the mountains in order to seek hegemony. During this period, there were those who broke the covenant, some who committed great crimes, and some who were dissolute and immoral. However, their ancestors led the people to resist the rule and oppression of the King of Chu and safeguarded the interests of all ethnic groups in western Hunan. Under the Peng regime, Xiangxi has been marked with copper pillars for thousands of years. The territory has been unified and the people's production and life have been greatly improved. This is what they should do. For sure.

Dynasties rose and fell, royal power was destroyed, and only the bronze pillars of Xizhou remained.

Zhou Huitao, a man of the Ming Dynasty, wrote in a poem: "All the peaks in my eyes are lying on the ground, and one pillar in the mountain alone holds up the sky."

He affirmed the Xizhou copper pillar. I don't like borrowing from ancient times, but for a moment I was in a daze, so I quoted him one after another to testify and asked for his friend's voice.

I think the history that can be commented on should be real history.