In the last years of the Yuan Dynasty and the early years of the Ming Dynasty, the world was in turmoil, the soldiers were in chaos, and the disasters were repeated, so that the Central Plains had tens of thousands of acres of fertile land, but no one cultivated it, which greatly affected the country's taxes. After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, officials in various places complained to the imperial court about the desolate situation in various places, and the Central Plains were full of manpower, which had been deserted for a long time, the labor force was seriously insufficient, the land was largely barren, and the fiscal revenue was a little. In order to maintain the feudal rule of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court decided to adopt the strategic decision of emigrating to Tuntian.
Large locust tree
In this way, a large-scale wave of immigration that has lasted for more than 50 years has begun. So, where do you find people to emigrate? Shanxi, Shanxi due to the closed geographical environment, less suffering from war, dense population, Pingyang Province in the first place, Hongdong County is the population of Pingyang Province, and Hongdong County is located in the traffic artery, through the north and south. Therefore, the Ming court chose Hongdong as a place of immigration.
At that time, the population migration was the act of the government, and people, escorted by officers and soldiers, left their homeland and left their hometowns, and thousands of families staged a heart-wrenching separation tragedy.
Ancestor worship in search of roots
From the first year of Ming Hongwu, that is, from 1368 AD to the fifteenth year of Ming Yongle, that is, 1417. In the past fifty years, the Ming government immigrated from Shanxi eighteen times, with a total of 554 surnames, and the migration destinations spread throughout Beijing, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hubei, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia and other places, especially Hebei, Shandong, Anhui and Henan.
From a sociological point of view, this migration rationally distributes the space for the survival of the population, promotes economic development, and integrates immigrants and local residents to promote the emergence of new civilizations. At that time, the immigration policy stipulated that families who had more fields and less land moved to places with less people and more money, and gave certain rewards to those who voluntarily moved abroad, and those who did not want to move abroad were transferred, and those who did not have land moved out of the house, that is, there was labor force at home, but there was no field in the family to cultivate, in this case, the whole family moved out. Ding Tada less than three dings draw one, five ding draw two, eight ding draw three. The local government arranged for the relocation of the villages, allocated farmland, and distributed cattle, agricultural tools, seeds and settlement fees. But such a large number of immigrants have caused a lot of resentment.
It is said that the word "hand-off" is also directly related to this great migration. When they first immigrated, many people were tied up and escorted to the road by officers and soldiers, so when they wanted to defecate on the way, they had to ask the officers and soldiers for instructions and reports, asking to untie the ropes and let go of their hands. So the current use of hand-untiing, synonymous with the toilet, comes from here.
Ask me where my ancestors are?
Shanxi Hongtong large locust tree
What is the name of the ancestral home?
Old stork nest under the big locust tree
This desolate folk song that was circulated during the shanxi immigration period has since spread all over the country, and has been circulated for more than 600 years, not only has it not been forgotten with the passage of time, but it has been passed down from generation to generation, spread more and more widely, and finally condensed into an indelible homesickness plot among the descendants of Shanxi immigrants.
In recent decades, with the improvement of life and the development of transportation, more and more descendants of immigrants have returned from all directions to Hongdong, Shanxi, the birthplace of their ancestors, and shed tears for the sorrow and pain of their immigrant ancestors.
At present, Hongtong Locust Tree Root-seeking Ancestral Garden is a key cultural relics protection unit in Shanxi and a national five-A level tourist attraction. The scenic spot is divided into four major theme areas: immigrant monument area, ancestor worship activity area, folk custom tour area, and Fenhe Ecological Area, with more than 60 scenic and cultural attractions such as stele pavilion, second and third generations of large locust trees, millennium locust roots, ancestral hall, Guangji Temple, Stone Scripture Building, immigrant relief map, and Chinese surname garden.
The film and television drama "The Great Locust Tree", the movie "Waiting for Love to Return", the documentary "Under the Big Locust Tree is My Home", and the documentary "River" all tell the story of the great migration of the Ming Dynasty