Opening remarks
The ancient city of Xuanhua has a long history, "one grasps a handful of history, one relies on one Great Wall", in the ancient city, a brick and a house have a story, and a mountain and a stone are left with an allusion. Ancient walls, pavilions, houses, temples, ruts... Constantly rushing into view, these cultural symbols show the evolution of Xuanhua and highlight the profound historical and cultural heritage.
In order to excavate the story behind the ancient city of Xuanhua, from now on, the "Beautiful Xuanhua" WeChat public account has opened a column of "Entering the Ancient City of Xuanhua and Touching Historical Memory" to touch the memory of Xuanhua, explore the treasures of the ancient city, and reproduce the long-standing cultural heritage of Xuanhua.
Entering the Ancient City of Xuanhua and Touching Historical Memory (6)
Ancient City Xuanhua Caprice (II)
The grapes are fragrant
More than 2,000 years ago, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian on an envoy to the Western Regions, and Zhang Qian brought back to the Han Dynasty grape strips planted in the Area of Dawan (present-day Kazakhstan). Since grapes are cloned by cuttings of young shoots, they cannot be transported over long distances. It was first planted in Xinjiang, and then gradually introduced to the Central Plains such as Chang'an and Luoyang.
Because of its fertile land, abundant water source and long sunshine time, Xuanhua is located at 115 ° 2 ′ east longitude and 40 ° 31 ′ north latitude (the earth's "golden line", and the French grape producing region - Bordeaux is the same latitude), which is the most suitable latitude for viticulture. According to Cao Xingsui, a researcher at the China Agricultural Museum, around 1800-1900 years ago, Xuanhua already had grapes introduced and planted, and took deep root in Xuanhua and blossomed.
At that time, Xuanhua should be: the city is small and famous, and the scenery is beautiful and beautiful. Thousands of peaks are stacked with greenery, and ancient trees are towering in the sky. The smoke cage is far away, and the sun and moon shine on the cloud screen. Noisy, mountain birds talking. Dancing, geese and cranes flying together. Fragrant and fragrant, all kinds of flowers. Green and overgrown, weeds are strange. There is gushing green water in the river, and there are auspicious clouds in front of the mountains.
In the later Tang Dynasty, due to the fertile land, flat terrain and pleasant climate of Xuanhua, Liu Qi, who was then the assassin of Shi Shi, organized the military and civilians to reclaim the land and create orchards because there was no war for a long time.
Grapes began to be promoted in military camps and temples, and the earliest planting place of Xuanhua grapes was in Mida Temple, which was located in the north of Xuanhua City, with sufficient fertilizer and water, and the water of the Yanagawa River could be used for irrigation all year round. It is cultivated with a unique "funnel rack". Looking up, a grape rack with a diameter of more than 10 meters, like a huge lotus blossom, and like an upside-down giant umbrella, arranged neatly, like pieces of colorful clouds, hanging in the sky, magnificent. Overlooking, a round grape rack, like a huge turquoise jade bowl or jade ring, one next to the other, embedded in green brick and gray tiles, very beautiful. It is said that the funnel frame type was also inspired by the Tang Dynasty monks, who were inspired by the Buddhist teachings on "circle" and "perfection of merit". Later, this method of grape growing, which combines "ornamental" and "practical", was extended to ordinary people's homes, and the only agricultural system that originated in the city gradually developed throughout the city. More than 4,000 acres of green vineyards, under the glow of the bucket arch cornices, are surrounded by greenery and are particularly beautiful. It can really be described as "Qingyuan downstairs two days, half city Dewa half city green". What kind of intoxicating landscape is that?
Time is like an arrow, and in a flash, more than 1800 years have passed. The ancient city of Xuanhua still retains the traditional vineyards of half the city. It is the world's "only" vineyard grown in an urban area, and a model of complementary and intimate integration of farming cultures and urban cultures.
In 2013, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) named the "Traditional Vineyards of Xuanhua", an agricultural system and landscape, "Globally Important Agricultural Cultural Heritage". What a precious cultural heritage and wealth that our ancestors left us!
At that time, grapes were planted in the courtyards of the city's residents, and the rows of grape racks in the north of the city bloomed like lotus flowers, looking like a green ocean in the distance. Empress Xiao was particularly fond of milk grapes, and once acquired more than 30 acres of land and turned them into "royal vineyards" for the royal family to enjoy. Later generations called the royal vineyards "white orchards". Today, dozens of grapes in the white orchard are still deep-rooted and fruitful. In particular, an old vine with a length of more than 6 meters and a width of 0.7 meters has experienced 500-1000 years of ups and downs, and is still lush and fruitful.
"Mountains and rivers overlook the castle, and the town of The Domain is heavy. Mulberry ma tens of thousands of miles, fireworks tens of thousands. The poem of the grape autumn upside down, peony medicine full of trees in spring" is a true portrayal of the jin dynasty poet Liu Ying's beautiful scenery and grape planting scale in Xuanhua at that time. Just think, the city is half a city of grapes, willows, babbling rivers, guidong, scale after scale, antique. Outside the city is densely forested, surrounded by water and sunny. What a sight to behold! It is simply the most beautiful paradise on earth!
800 years ago, during the Yuan Dynasty, Xuanhua North Mountain was still a large area of primeval forest. According to the "Biography of Yuan Shi Yelü Chucai", the noble minister Kesi did not spend the song: "Collecting gold and silver servants and planting fields in the western region and planting grapes, the emperor ordered more than 10,000 households to move in Xijing Xuande to fill it." Chu Cai said: "The first emperor's will, the people after the mountain are simple, there are no foreigners, they are available in a hurry, and it is not appropriate to move lightly." Now that Henan will be conquered, please give this battle to the people without disabilities. "Emperor Can play. This passage is to say that there was a minister in the Yuan Dynasty palace named Kesi Buhua, who invited servants to collect gold and silver and to send them to the western regions to cultivate fields and plant grapes. Emperor Taizong ordered the relocation of 10,000 households from Xuande in Xijing to serve as an agent. The Xijing mentioned here, that is, today's Datong City, the government of Xuande Province is in today's Xuanhua. This minister of Kesi did not spend a lot of money to play the matter of asking for a large-scale migration of the people to fill the western region, and used the prime minister Yelü Chucai to give reason, and finally with "Emperor Keqi played back the fate".
It can be seen from this that at the beginning of the 12th century, when Emperor Taizong of Yuan was in power, he was able to order the relocation of more than 10,000 grape professional households to the Western Regions at one time, which at least shows that more than 800 years ago, Xuanhua planting grapes has been quite common, and it is a rich and precious land with a large population, so the emperor will easily say "migrate more than 10,000 households" with one mouth.
Excavation site of Zhang Wenzao's tomb
Grapes unearthed from Zhang Wenzao's tomb
In 1993, in the Liao tomb excavated in Xiabali Village, dried grape branches and wines from more than 1,000 years ago were found, which can make us imagine that Xuanhua grape cultivation was extensive, the area was wide, the fame was large, and the city was prosperous.
Due to the long history of Xuanhua grape cultivation, the large area, and the superior Western varieties, which are suitable for the unique local environment, the quality of the grapes is very good after more than a thousand years of cultivation by the ancestors. It has the characteristics of "the fruit is as big as milk", "the skin is thin and the flesh is thick", "the sweet and sour is delicious", "the knife cuts without flowing juice" and other characteristics, which is well-known at home and abroad. Therefore, Xuanhua is called "Grape City".
"Taste the fresh grapes of Xuanhua, tender and fragrant like milk drops of Cuigan; cool autumn plugs outside the sad corner, dream of wind and frost for eighty years." This is a poem given by the great writer Cao Yu in September 1988, the first Xuanhua Grape Festival.
After the poem, there is also an explanatory passage: "When Yu was a child, he lived with his father. In the autumn twilight of the ancient city, the military trumpet blows, still ringing in the ears, the sound is miserable, and I can't help myself. The grapes are sweet and fresh. This year's Xuanhua Grape Festival in China is a beautiful celebration, yangchun reunion, surprise intersection, overwhelmed with emotion. ”
Cao Yu, a famous modern Chinese drama master, has authored famous works such as "Thunderstorm", "Sunrise", "Beijinger" and is known by foreigners as China's "Shasbyah". At the age of six or seven, he came to Xuanhua with his father, and his father Wan Dezun was an envoy to Xuanhua Town in the early days of the Republic of China. When he was young, the happiest thing he did was to sit in a palanquin and go to the market to buy white milk grapes to eat. The sweetness of Xuanhua grapes left a particularly good impression on his soul.
From the Hengshan Temple on the north peak, there is a panoramic view of Xuanhua City, and there are many vineyards." "There are several large grapes in the midas temple, and the results are fruitful, and the ancients have been more than sixty years old. The knotting method of the grapevine, such as the inverted umbrella (funnel-shaped). The handle of the umbrella is upward, so that the branches and leaves, and the sun are exposed, is what the horticulturist should emulate." This is a beautiful Xuanhua City depicted in 1935 when the famous writer Bing Xin came to Xuanhua.
"Out of the north gate of the city, you will see Hengshan Temple (Beiyue Temple), the temple occupies a hilltop (the original site of the temple is located on the hill behind the village of Bon Yao in Chunguang Township, outside the north gate), there are many grapes under the Hengshan Temple, and there are also melon fields, and the grapes needed in the Pingjin area are supplied from this." This is the Xuanhua described by the famous writer Zheng Zhenduo, who traveled with Bingxin.
Both writers are great celebrities in the Republic of China period, who have traveled all over China and seen many beautiful scenery. Just from the words and phrases in their texts such as "the water is mighty", "landscape banners", "Jiangnan flavor", "there are many grapes", we can imagine how beautiful the scenery of Xuanhua in the Republic of China period was! How good is the ecological environment! What a lot of rice paddies and grapes!
Xuanhua grapes have always been "royal tributes". In 1915, it won the "Honorary Product Award" at the Panama International Products Exposition, and the "Gold Award" at the 2013 Wuhan China International Agricultural Products Exposition.
In the summer of 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture released the "2013 Regional Public Brand Evaluation of China's Agricultural Products" in Beijing, and the evaluation value of Xuanhua's "Milk Grape" brand was 1.81 billion yuan, ranking first in the list of grape product brands.
About the Author
Sun Huiliang: A native of Xuanhua, Hebei Province, he joined the army in 1982 and graduated from beijing anti-chemical engineering command college. He once served as a military staff officer of the Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade of the 20th Group Army, an instructor of the Artillery Command College of the General Staff, a captain of the cadet team, a staff officer of the Military Affairs Office, and a political commissar of the cadet corps.
In 2010, he transferred to the local government and is currently the deputy secretary of the party group of Xuanhua District Government. He is a member of Hebei Writers Association and Hebei Photographers Association. He has published hundreds of articles in various newspapers and magazines such as People's Daily, People's Liberation Army Daily, and Leadership Science.
Introduction to the Kamigaya Cultural Research Association
The Shanggu Cultural Research Association is a local, academic, and non-profit civil society organization voluntarily formed by experts, scholars, writers, artists, teachers, and cultural enthusiasts in our region. It was established in November 2017 by the Propaganda Department of the Xuanhua District Committee of the Communist Party of China. The purpose of the seminar is to "study regional history, explore cultural resources, provide public lectures on sinology to all sectors of society, carry out various forms of excellent traditional culture popularization activities, and establish local cultural symbols."
The Shanggu Cultural Research Association actively organizes members to participate in various social welfare cultural activities, research and inspection activities, and has founded the journal "Shanggu Culture" and the public account "Shanggu Cultural Institute", which has set up columns such as: Historical Hook Shen (Xuanfu Memory, Red Archives), Shanggu Characters, Gujun Range Rover, Collection Heaven and Earth, Yanagawa Forum, Stone of His Mountain, Art Flavor, Xiongwu Charm, New Knowledge Expo, Society Dynamics, etc. So far, it has published 13 issues of the journal, produced the propaganda film "Shanshui Yongjindi - Xuanhua", edited and published the Chinese and English comparative propaganda brochure "Millennium Ancient County - Xuanhua", in 2020 and the Xuanhua District CPPCC jointly compiled and published the "Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the Chahar Democratic Government Album", in 2021 edited and published the propaganda material "Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China • Shanggu Cultural Album".
Source: Kamiya Cultural Institute
Editor: Jian Chen
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