Wenzhou Wencheng has a place, if you want to go, you must take a boat, has a history of 264 years

Wencheng is located in a mountainous area, because it is far from the sea, there are almost no boats in the territory, but there is a place, if you want to go, you have to take a boat. That is the village of Shangjin, which is located in the reservoir area.

Shangjin Village is located in the western part of the county, bordering Taishun County, and belonged to the three capitals of Taishun County in the Ming, Qing and early Republic of China, and was only transferred to the jurisdiction of Wencheng County in 1948. The difference in Shangjin is that when Shanxi built the reservoir in that year, the village was surrounded by water on three sides, the mountains behind it were towering, and the traffic was blocked on all sides, becoming one of the few remote and isolated villages in the reservoir area of Wencheng County. When the reservoir was built, the government organized villagers to go down the mountain to get rid of poverty, but some villagers still lived in the village because they did not have the financial ability to migrate.

Surrounded by mountains, the isolated village is surrounded by beautiful mountains and rivers, rolling hills and ravines that are difficult to reach without a boat. Starting with the start of construction of the Shanxi Reservoir in 1996, which lasted more than 20 years, during which Shangjin Village was almost forgotten, a few years ago, the documentary "Lonely Village" filmed by several college students pushed the dying village to the people again.

In order to explore the isolated village, I also walked into Shangjin Village twice.

Getting to Shangjin Village is not easy, and you have to take a boat from the ferry docks of ShanXi or Huangtan. The first time I went to Shangjin, I took a boat from ShanXi and took a ferry ride for more than an hour to get there. After getting off the boat, we walked a long way up the stairs to reach the entrance of Shangjin Village.

Shangjin is an ancient village, according to the Shangjin Wu clan genealogy, Shangjin Village was moved in by Qianlong twenty-two years (1757), which has a history of 264 years. When the Wu clan first moved to Jin, they worked hard to start a business, and after having savings, they not only managed the family business, but also a family that emphasized etiquette and education. From the Daoguang years of the Qing Dynasty to the Guangxu years, Shangjin Village has produced two Gongsheng, one with the title of Liupin, one from Jiupin, two Tai students, and one from Yi Itch. At the peak of the population of Shangjin Village, there were only more than 300 people, a remote mountain village, in just a few decades, it is still a little surprising that so many talents can be produced! Perhaps it was because of the imperial rule and imperial examination system at that time that this phenomenon was only possible.

In ancient times, the original purpose of the examination was to select talents for the government from the private sector, regardless of origin, rich or poor. At the time, it was a fair, open and impartial way to improve the employment system. This kind of scientific examination is very similar to today's civil service examination. This not only broadens the basis for the government to select talents, but also gives intellectuals in the lower and middle classes of society the opportunity to flow to the upper echelons of society through scientific research. Nearly half of the jinshi of the Ming and Qing dynasties were from the "cold door" who did not read in their ancestors, or who read but did not become officials. But as long as they can "climb the dragon gate", they are "worth ten times".

It was under this kind of imperial examination system that the descendants of the Wu clan in Shangjin Village studied diligently and diligently, and wanted to become famous in one fell swoop and honor their ancestors. During the Qing Dynasty, he successively obtained or obtained meritorious titles. They are: Gongsheng Wu Junyan and Wu Junpan, Wu Junwu from Jiupin, Taisheng Wu Juntai and Wu Weifang, Yi Itch Sheng Wu Mingying, and Liupin Wu Mingchun. They all have a good record in the Wu family tree, which makes people curious about this village.

Approaching Shangjin Village, you will see an exquisite "Festival of Filial Piety Arch" at the entrance of the village. The archway is constructed of bluestone, the surface is polished and finely carved. On each side of the monument is a squat stone lion. On the top floor there is a "Great Presidential Order" tablet, and on the second floor is inscribed "Xia Shili, the wife of the former Qing Confucian Wu De". In the middle of the stele is engraved Li Yuanhong's inscription "Jie Li Song Jun". There are three layers between the two times, there are double lion balls, peonies, phoenixes, water waves lining the moon, Jiang Ziya fishing and other patterns, most of which are floating and skeletonized, of which the fishing rod and fishing line are made of stone lines, and the facial expressions of the characters are vivid. In front of the square, a stone carved balustrade is erected, the remaining three sides of the stone wall are built, and a "jingbiao stele" is placed in the middle of the back wall. The archway is exquisitely carved and beautifully shaped, and has a certain cultural relics value.

Wu Deyi on the archway was born in the fifth year of Tongzhi (1866) and died in the fourteenth year of Guangxu (1888). He is the son of Gongsheng Wu Junpan. Wu Junpan, whose name was Qin Xin, was born in the eighth year of Daoguang (1828) and died in the twenty-eighth year of Guangxu (1902). Wu Junpan was named Wu Qinxin in the 20th year of Guangxu and was canonized as a gongsheng. Wu Junpan studied diligently since childhood, and after obtaining a meritorious name, he was still very studious, did not leave his hand every day, and respected the mu clan, and was very prestigious among the clan.

Genealogy records that Wu Deyi was studious since childhood, able to understand his father's aspirations, diligent in learning and writing, taking many exams in the forefront, and became a learned Confucian scholar after adulthood. Unfortunately, at the age of twenty-two, he died of illness. Wu Deyi and his wife Xia Shi had a son and a daughter. After the death of her husband, Xia decided to widow him and raise her young children to adulthood. This son is Wu Mingchun, who has the title of six pins.

Wu Mingchun was born in the twelfth year of Guangxu (1886) and died in the nineteenth year of the Republic of China (1930), and received the rank of Liupin. The title of Liupin is the rank title of an ancient official. The six titles of the Qing Dynasty included: Lan Ling Bodyguard, Commander of the Whole Yi, General Manager of Menqian, and General Manager of Yingqian.

In the fifteenth year of the Republic of China (1926), Wu Mingchun, who had achieved meritorious fame, was instructed to establish a memorial arch to commemorate his alma mater in order to show filial piety. He also asked Li Yuanhong, president of the Beiyang government, to write an inscription for his archway.

Li Yuanhong, a native of Huangpi, Hubei Province. When the Nanjing Provisional Government was established, he was elected Vice President. After Yuan Shikai's death, he succeeded him as president. Li Yuanhong is the only person in Chinese history who has two presidents and three vice presidents. Wu Mingchun can ask for his inscription, which shows that he has a certain status.

When I first went to Shangjin, the "Festival of Filial Piety Arch" was still very complete, and from a distance, the exquisite archway loomed in the autumn sun, among the miscanthus, which seemed somewhat mysterious. The second time I went to Shangjin, the archway had been destroyed. Villagers said that the archway was later stolen many times, the top floor of the "Great Presidential Order" tablet and the stone lion were stolen, and the "Jie Li Songjun" inscribed by Li Yuanhong and some of the arches above were also destroyed. Villagers say the most valuable parts have been destroyed.

Continue climbing from the archway, and in a short time, you will reach Shangjin Village. Today's Shangjin Village is close to the Feiyun River, backed by Qingshan, three faces of water, because of the high terrain of the village, standing in the village and looking out, in front of the green mountains and clear water, unobstructed, when it is sunny, the river surface is sparkling, the distant mountains are like Dai; when it rains, it is as gentle and quiet as the water town of Jiangnan. Looking closely, the front of the village is strange and strange, and the chickens and dogs in the village smell each other, like a paradise. Because the village is hidden deep in the mountains and almost isolated from the outside, before the migration, the villagers lived a self-satisfied life. After the relocation, only a few vicissitudes, dilapidated houses and a few elderly people who did not want to leave were left in the village.

Walking into the village, there is a scene of depression and desolation, with crumbling houses and ruins everywhere. Several of the mud-walled houses are unusual, because the villagers relocated, at this time people went to the buildings, and the front and back of the houses were overgrown with weeds. In front of the house, in the grass half a person high, there is still a pair of flagpole clips, and there are horse stones standing next to the flagpole. On an autumn afternoon, the two pairs of flagpole clips are incomplete, but between the quaint houses, they still shine in the wild grass.

The flagpole stone is engraved with the words "Gongyuan Wu Yuchen". Villagers said that this house was the former residence of Gongsheng Wu Junyan. Wu Junyan, whose name was Yuchen, was born in the eighth year of Daoguang (1828) and died in the twenty-seventh year of Guangxu (1901). In the eighth year of Tongzhi, Wu Junyan was canonized as a gongsheng with the register name Wu Yuchen, and there were two pairs of flagpoles in front of the Shangjin Village House. Walking between the barren grass and the dilapidated houses, people go to the empty old houses, which seem to be a little desolate, and only the stones between the houses tell the past of the owner.

Not far from Wu Junyan's former residence, it is the former residence of Gongsheng Wu Junpan. Wu Junpan, register name Qinxin. Wu Qinxin's old house has fallen into ruins due to uninhabited and disrepair, but there are still flagpole clips and horse stones in front of the old house, and the well-preserved flagpole clips are also hidden in the deep grass of qi people and difficult to find. Only by pulling open the wild grass can you see the words carved on the flagpole stone. When you see the collapsed houses and broken walls after the flagpole clip, in an instant, I don't know what to say, the collapse of the house, sometimes like a dusty history, will gradually be forgotten with time.

After that, our group wandered around a few times behind the village in front of the village, and finally found a wooden structure house halfway up the mountainside.

This house is relatively well preserved, it is also very simple, the hollow flower windows on the building and the carving on the beams are very exquisite, the knife work is very exquisite, the characters and flowers and birds are vivid, in the almost deserted village, the house here is a little surprising. However, after the people went to the empty building, the courtyard was covered with wild grass, and the low-rise houses became the places where the villagers raised livestock. As I picked up my camera to take pictures of the house, a yellow sheep stood on a stool, looking at me in the autumn sun, with mournful eyes, so I turned the camera to it. I think that many years later, when I recall Shangjin again, maybe I will forget some of the things in Shangjin, but I will certainly not forget the sheep.

When I left Shangjin, I stood at the entrance of Shangjin Village again and looked at the incomplete archway, which made people regret it. Whether it is the past of an era or the incomplete archway now, Shangjin is like an old man who is attached to his homeland, silently telling its history, carrying the nostalgia of the wanderers far away from his hometown. And I, a passerby who has come and gone, can only record its moments in limited words.

At this moment, when I revisited Shangjin, I heard that Shangjin Village had been emptied, and the houses in the village had been demolished almost completely. Just like our mood at a certain moment, in addition to mourning, there are occasional sorrows!

Travel around, walk the world, visit and enjoy the beauty of the journey! This article is written by Jiali Zhang!