Original title: There are many stories in small towns
Author: Ni Mengtong
Source: Reading Leting Cultural Research Association Journal
Pictured: Editor, from the data archive of the Laoren website of Laoting
On March 30, 1978, in the underground palace of the ruins of Duyoucheng, a variety of cultural relics were unearthed, among which the dazzling one was a four-way pottery stele, and the front forehead of the pottery stele was written: Pingzhou Ma County Qianjin Qianrenyi, with the construction of the Scaleless Tranquil light Buddha Stupa; the back book: The diary of The Great Khitan Emperor Zhaoxiao on March 26, 133.
This major discovery has attracted widespread attention, thus unveiling the mystery of this "village-level city". It not only records the name of the tower, but also records the name of the country, the age of the tower and the name of the location, which shows that when the stupa was built, it was not called Duyoucheng.
What is the saying of a thousand gold and a thousand people? As the name suggests, it should be a place with many rich people, and it should also be the meaning of a small town! However, from the perspective of the environment here after the founding of the People's Republic of China, although many times have been slotted to build roads, drill wells, and excavated a drainage canal and other water conservancy projects that run through the north and south, the foundation of small towns has never been discovered, and after decades of exploration, no other relics have been found in the tens of miles of the land.
Can it be understood that the stupa was a landmark building of Le Ting in that era, and to see the tower is to see Le Ting. Undoubtedly, this is also a Buddhist shrine where good men and women worship the Buddha and incense. Every year, there is also a wide-ranging and large-scale temple fair here. According to the "Zhishu" record: the temple fair period was on june 24 of the old calendar, for three consecutive days, the streets were full of traffic, merchants gathered, the family was full of wine and vegetables, and relatives and friends were full of seats. During the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, there were also Hebei Zizi and Lotus Luoban Society to perform to help entertain. Famous artists such as Wang Tarzi, Golden Teapot, Golden Chrysanthemum, and Six-Year-Old Red have all performed here.
It can be said that during the Chongxi period of the Liao Dynasty, it was already a prosperous place and a gathering place for all kinds of people. There have been many foreigners who have come here to settle down in the first place, and later built the "Shi Dengtun", which is actually a place of excess. Because of arable land, population density and other reasons, people had to go to the surrounding areas to build villages, settle down, and make a living, which is very likely. This major discovery should be clearer and clearer about the history of the early Du ghost city.
Legend has it that Duyoucheng is composed of 13 zhuang, and now there are only 8 zhuang. To this end, the author has repeatedly examined the old people in the countryside: these 13 villages have now been able to identify Zhangzhuang, Xiaoyangzhuang, Liuzhuang, Zhuzhuang, Yatuo, Houlizhuang, Houzhuang, Wangzhuang, Xiaozhuang, Nizhuang, Vinegar Lizhuang, Vinegar Yangzhuang, a total of 12, but people know very little about "Shi Dengtun". For this period of history, many curious villagers are still exploring. In Laoting County, it is not only said that Duyoucheng is a ten-village village, but also in other areas of the county. There must be a reason for this, and people have an interest in seeking its truth, and the root cause may be the formation of the management system at that time, which is likely to be an allusion and worth exploring.
The title of the village to which Duyoucheng belongs is also worth exploring. Such as the du ghost city Ni Zhuang, "Ni" written out in black and white, I believe that no one will be wrong, interestingly, in the early years of the name of the village has a different name, people say "Ni" as "nie" Zhuang. In the new era, people in Honjo and nearby villages still call it that way. In addition to Ni Zhuang, "Li" is also pronounced as "lie", such as vinegar Li Zhuang called vinegar Li "lie grin" Zhuang, Hou Li Zhuang called Hou "Grin" Zhuang, and Zhang Zhuang called "Rising" Zhuang, although there is no allusion, but now it feels particularly fresh. It is worth saying that a small city with only 8 zhuang, of which 4 zhuang each has two zhuang names, may be with the inheritance and continuation of history, each has its own differences.
Ni Zhuang, although the village is not large, but the "county chronicle" contains here is "a good place for colorful herbs, fishing for colorful incense, or a village where literati have come from generations." In this small village in the Qing Dynasty, there were 2 lifters and 7 gongsheng, and the wisdom and influence of the ancestors inspired generations of Ni's descendants.
Playing in groups is the traditional habit of the Children of the Ni Family and the uniqueness of the Ni Family. Why do small friends love group activities, especially in groups? The answer is simple, it's a tradition of rules. According to the old legend of Zhuangli, since zhuangli set up a school, it has set a rule, all the children of the Ni family, all those who come to the Ni family to study, must dress neatly and uniformly, so that they can stand and sit, and the clothes in the classroom should be correct. When the group goes out, dress in the same color.
The rise of wearing a horse coat, everyone has to wear a hat on their head, a long braid is pulled behind their backs, standing and sitting together, it looks very neat, making the tribesmen happy and outsiders envious. The children of the Ni family prefer to go out together, so that they can show themselves in front of everyone, and the neat and consistent costumes are particularly conspicuous, which is to add luster to Ni Zhuang, as long as the people in the nearby villages see this gang, they know that this is the children of the Ni family. But the people who did not know the inside story still followed curiously and watched, stopped to discuss, and over time, there was a local praise: "The old Ni family children are smart, that is the fallen peanuts of the city - no rope." Originally, the local government had already evaluated Ni Zhuang and compiled it into a smooth mouth: "The home of the magnate is in the Langjun Temple, and Xiu Cai is out of Ni Zhuang." The younger generation was praised again, which was the icing on the cake. This is undoubtedly another business card for Ni Zhuang.
There is also a unique feature that the children's fetal flux is unique, not only long hair, but also long retention, and the hairstyle is consistent. The saying is: Protect the Celestial Spirit Cover. At that time, as long as the little friends sat in the classroom, it was a piece of brush, and the two eyes looked at Mr. Zhuang, and the whole village could hear the children reading loudly and loudly: "Hundred Family Names", "Three Character Classic", "Thousand Character Text" and "Disciple Rules".
Why did the Ni family have such a solemn rule? The source is that at that time, Ni Zhuang was a person surnamed Ni, a large family composed of the descendants of the ancestors, and the generations were all readers, and the Door of Books and Fragrances specially talked about etiquette and rules, and this zhuang rule was passed down from generation to generation. And the children who grow up in this environment have received a good traditional education from an early age, and they have a collective brand in their hearts, so the children love to participate in collective activities, so it is not surprising that this unique rule has been handed down.
After the founding of New China, children went to state-run primary schools to study, and there were more opportunities for groups to form groups, and there was also their own festival "June 1st Children's Day". On June 1st, the children all wore white shirts and red scarves around their necks, looking even better, singing "We are all communist successors" as they walked.
These people walked on the way to and from school in a well-behaved manner, but when they played, they scratched their ears and scratched their cheeks, jumping around happily, really like a group of monkeys, which attracted more attention. The villagers saw it and said some praise: "Look at a few little monkeys how energetic!" "A few of us listened, and our hearts were beautiful.
Ni Zhuang people are happy. As early as 1945, in order to celebrate the victory of the War of Resistance, Zhuangli formed a gong and drum team, equipped with a set of gongs and drums. Later, in each festival, one side was a big drum, a pair of big cymbals, two pairs of small cymbals, a pair of cymbals and a side of a gong. Whenever there is a festival, it is beaten up to cheer for the villagers to perform. Every year, the Spring Festival is the most lively. Chinese New Year's Eve had just eaten the stew at noon, the drums sounded, and the children rushed out with food in their mouths, gathering in groups to enjoy the wonderful performance of the gong and drummers. Gong and drummers sometimes raise their left and right hands to stagger the hammer, sometimes rubbing the side to play drums, the drums are sometimes light and sometimes heavy, and like a double-crowned big red rooster, the terriers perform duels with their necks, making the villagers clap their hands! The people who beat the cymbals and strike the gong are also in a variety of postures, sometimes jumping up, followed by different drum beats, and finally falling on a point, and the cooperation is quite tacit. Played tricks, superb skills, won people's applause. It ends every year on the second day of February. This cultural activity has continued in the village for many years.
At that time, the movies were all performed in the countryside, the little friends liked to watch very much, as long as they played movies in nearby villages, they never ended up, and sometimes chased the film team, Xinzhuangzi and Gaonizhuang were miles away from my village, but no matter how dark the day, they always ganged up to join in the fun. Every time you watch a movie, you have to have a harvest, learn something back, this has become the practice of this group of people, such as watching the opera movie "White Haired Girl", without the teacher to teach, hum twice to learn "the north wind blows, snowflakes drifting ..." The next day in Zhuang Xue sang Xi'er and her father, making the villagers laugh.
People also like quyi, often invite the well-known Music Pavilion drum artist Han Xiangpu to wait until the village to talk about books, the beautiful tone, fluent confession, smooth and funny words, so that the people listening to the book are pleasing to the eye. When it comes to the highlights, there is a lot of applause on the field. And whenever it comes to the key point, the artists will also come to a sharp turn of the lyrics, raping a sentence "Tomorrow continues!" Or with "Listen to the next breakdown!" "As soon as the drum board stops, people who listen to it are stunned and anxious, this is the artist's singing style." There was no way, the people had to rush early the next day, take their seats, and listen to him continue rapping.
Nowadays, a village-level cultural square has been built in the village, and the Yangge team has also been built, in order to inherit this cultural activity, Ni Kuifan, a clan member, has purchased a set of gongs and drums from his own pocket for the villagers to enjoy, and the cultural and artistic activities are more colorful.
(Author Ni Mengtong, a native of Nizhuang, Duyoucheng)