A new story in the old village. Photo courtesy of Sanjie Village, Tong'an Town, Yongtai County
In the middle of winter, the ancient buildings of Qingshizhai in Yongtai County, Fujian Province, are full of lights and joy, and the children in pairs chase and frolic outside the village, and the elderly in the village have gathered in front of this 192-year-old zhuangzhai, quietly waiting for a special moment.
Zhuangzhai is a large-scale residential house with both residential and defensive functions in central Fujian, which was founded in the Tang Dynasty. In history, the total number of Yongtai County exceeded 2,000, and 152 are still well preserved. Qingshi Village, also known as Renhezhuang, has a construction area of 5463 square meters and 378 houses, which is a well-preserved traditional building. In the 1930s, it was converted into a primary school, and in the 1970s, the village was left idle after the primary school was withdrawn and merged. In recent years, with the support of the government and all sectors of society, Zhuangzhai has been renovated and has become a famous ancient building.
How to use the village after the new life? How to revitalize an old building? In order to let the villagers relive their historical memories and let this former primary school continue to assume the function of rural community education, the "Yongtai County Rural Revitalization Foundation", which shoulders the mission of rural culture revitalization, donated a special fund for the installation and environmental improvement of Qingshizhai Academy in 2020 and passed the acceptance at the end of 2021.
According to the person in charge of the Yongtai County Rural Revitalization Foundation, Renhe College will have four functions after its opening:
Rural educational function. Rural revitalization, education is the foundation. Here, the older generation of villagers can relive historical memories, and the new generation of villagers can be indoctrinated and inherited by rural culture and rural history, making it a space for dialogue between yesterday, today and tomorrow in the countryside.
Conversion and connection features. Renhe College also shoulders the function and mission of transforming local natural and cultural resources into educational resources, realizing the flow and deep connection of urban and rural resources, needs and emotions, and promoting the interaction and integration of urban and rural areas.
Carrier and implant function. Qingshi Village condenses the local long and excellent architectural culture, farming culture and rural civilization. The content of study tours, art and cultural creation, exhibitions, academic forums and other contents integrated into the college will become a platform for the integration of culture, tourism and agricultural industries in Yongtai County, promote the global integration and diversified value-added of rural resources, and practice the protection of cultural heritage and the inheritance of rural civilization.
Community building and governance practice functions. As a new form of grassroots social education and governance, rural community colleges may become an innovative attempt to interact between traditional culture and contemporary society in the practice of promoting the modernization of social governance system and governance capabilities.
The old village, the former primary school, in this mid-winter morning, once again sounded the childish and loud reading of children. Hometown is always a place with temperature, no matter how far the children go in the future, the memories of the old village will always accompany them. (Lin Xiaoyu)