Text: Zhang Mingming, Chen Xuehua
In Nantaihang, there is a village called Jiudu. People who have been there said that the place is very beautiful, not only has a lot of ancient trees, ancient houses, ancient villages, but also beautiful mountains and rivers, known as "Little Guilin in northern Henan". I was curious: How did it come to have such a name? Could it be that it is a ferry on a certain river, and it is the ninth port? An inquiry, uh, yes, Jiudu is the meaning of the ninth ferry, on the bank of the Dan River, is a traditional village, but also an administrative village, belongs to Qinyang Changping Township.
Coming to Jiudu Village for an interview, the first stop, the village party secretary Liu Guilin took us to a natural village called Shanghe. This is his hometown.
The village is on a terrace near the top of the mountain, surrounded by peaks. There is a flat field at the mouth of the village, and there is an ancient locust tree on the field, the cicadas chirp, and the breeze is refreshing. Several old men sat on the stones under the tree to cool off, saw us, and stood up to say hello. I said, "Fellow, it's cool here!" They laughed and replied, "Well, it's cooler than anywhere!" ”
Ancient trees
We sat under the tree and talked to the old men. Among them, there is an old man named Liu Qiying, 79 years old this year, clear-headed and talkative. Speaking of the surrounding landscape and water, he was full of kindness and eloquence. He said that the mountains on the southeast, southwest, and west sides of the village are called "Vulture Mountain", and the five peaks are actually five big Buddhas, each of which has a name. He pointed to the mountains and said:
"That's Maitreya Buddha, this is Amitabha Buddha, that's the Ancient Buddha of the Western Heavens, the tallest one is the Buddha of Rulai, and the easternmost one is the Medicine Buddha..." He said, in addition to these five great Buddhas, there is also a Tianmen Mountain, that is, the one with a big hole on the top of the mountain. Speaking of the history of the village, the old man pointed to the stone temple on the south side of the field and said that there were stone tablets in the temple, and judging from the inscriptions, this village existed at the latest during the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty.
The temple he was talking about was called Chaoyang Temple. Looking at the appearance, the temple looks like an ancient castle, with old stone walls and moss. Entering the temple, above the door is the "dance building", that is, the theater building. When you enter the hospital, you are greeted by a hall, that is, a "watching building", which is a place where gods and people watch plays. Behind the "Kanlou" is the main hall, which enshrines the Buddha, the Bodhisattva, the Taishang Laojun, and Confucius. According to the inscription of the "Three Sects of Jin" in the temple, which was erected in the fifth year of Daming Chongzhen, since the worship of these gods and immortals, the village "has a sense of the three religions of Guomeng and the population is safe." Elder Liu Qiying said that this village has good feng shui, the villagers have been in good health and have a smart mind for generations, and they also produced government officials during the Ming Dynasty.
Out of the temple, back to the field, from here to look down, the village has a panoramic view. Stone yards are arranged in a staggered manner between the stone paths, like beehives growing out of the stones. The courtyards were like mouths, as if they wanted to say something, and finally only let out a breeze. Liu Guilin said that there are 88 stone yards like this. The young people went to work, and only some old people were left in the village, and now most of the courtyards were empty, but the old trees in the courtyard and on the edge of the cliffs were still full of life. The ancient locust, the elm, judged empirically, the age of the tree is about 1000 to 2000 years old. The old people said that these ancient trees had long since become gods and spirits. At the turn of the spring and summer of 1939, the Chinese army fought a battle with Lao Ni here, eliminating more than 2,000 Japanese devils. Not only adults and children help the troops fight devils, but even ancient trees are helping. At that time, the regimental headquarters was located in a courtyard of the village. The devil's mortar came towards the regimental headquarters compound, and the thousand-year-old tree outside the courtyard blocked the shell, and the regimental headquarters and the courtyard were safe and sound. The villagers believed that the ancient tree had manifested its spirit, and came to worship the tree like a hero, burning incense on paper and offering it every year.
In Jiudu, you can see ancient trees that several people can't hold, and all ancient trees have stories and famous halls.
That afternoon, on the way back to Jiudu, I saw a natural village on the side of the road, called "Locust Tree Bottom". The ancient locust tree at the mouth of the village, with a twisted body and bark as old as a rock, is still leafy. This locust tree is very famous, and it can be seen in film and television dramas such as "Medal carved on the stone mill" and "Red Cut Flower".
In fact, in Jiudu, there are many places with stories and famous places. The most attractive thing is jiudu village in the west of the village. This is a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit, also known as "Song Zhai", the locals also call it "Liu Lang Zhai", it is said that Yang Liu Lang built here. At that time, it was the dividing line between the Northern Song Dynasty and the Liao State, and it was also the front line of the anti-Liao resistance. "Liulang Village", which I prefer by this name, stands on a mountain bag on the west side of Jiudu Village, and the Guandi Temple halfway up the mountainside lifts it high like a wide palm, as if to bless it.
Liu lang zhai
This "Liu Lang Village" is a castle made of boulders, and from a distance, it looks like a general with a sword, majestic and tall. Entering along the tall arched gate, there are two-entry two-story stone buildings running east-west and corresponding to north and south, with a hall-style main house at the east and west ends, which together constitute an indestructible castle. Topped by a ring of castles, there is a semicircular fort. Standing on top of this fortress, but seeing that the east side is the mighty Dan River, the west side is a towering mountain, the north is Taihang, the south controls the plain, the attack can be attacked, the retreat can be defended, it is a rare military fortress. Wandering above the ancient village, thinking of the scene when Yang Liulang was guarding the border defense in the wind and rain, his heart surged with pride and infinite reverie. The accompanying village cadre pointed to a pile of stones on the mountainside of a mountain on the other side of the Dan River, east of Liulang Village, and said, "That is the tomb of Yang Liulang." There is a legend in the village since ancient times: Yang Liulang left a will when he was dying and buried him here - he was dead, and he would never take half a step back. ”
Standing on this "Liulang Village", you can see the meandering Dan River, the stone-built water mill, the village compound with white walls and black tiles, and the jagged stone farmhouses. Liu Guilin pointed to the surrounding landscape and said to me: "There is a plan above, there is also a plan in the village, and it is necessary to carry out large-scale development here." According to the plan, a reservoir will be built on this Dan River. After the completion of the reservoir, the place where we stood became a waterfront attraction. At that time, on both sides of the reservoir, the entire village, including the area around the already developed Fairy Cave, is a scenic spot! When the time comes, you will come back to the interview and see what it will look like! ”
As we spoke, we descended the hill to the next natural village. On the road, Liu Guilin has been imagining the prospects of village development. He said: "The task in the village at the moment is to protect our mountains, protect our water, protect our ancient trees, and protect our culture." ”
With that, we reached the ditch. This is a natural village in the southernmost part of Jiudu, originally there were more than a dozen families, and now only Yang Xiumin's family is left.
Residence
Her house was at the mouth of the village, and we went uphill, and we came to her house to cool off under the big locust tree in front of the yard. Aunt Yang was very enthusiastic, handing a fan, pouring tea, and chatting with us with a smile. According to the village cadres, Aunt Yang is 72 years old and an old party member. Seeing that she was straight and clean, I guessed that she must have been very capable when she was young. When she was young, she was the captain of the Iron Maiden team. The village cadre praised Aunt Yang, saying that some time ago, she built an asphalt road here, and she volunteered to send herbal tea to the construction site every day to support the development of the mountainous area. Aunt Yang smiled embarrassedly and said, "That little thing is still on hold?" Watching those dolls sweat on hot days, it hurts. People come to do construction, other help can not help, send some tea is not supposed? ”
Coming out of Aunt Yang's yard and bypassing a stone yard, we came to an ancient village. At this time, the sunset is in the mountains, the surroundings are silent, and the mountain shadows, ancient villages and ancient trees seem to be trapped in memories and meditations. Of course, it may also be looking forward to the day of big development. At this moment, I suddenly felt that I was standing on the bow of a big ship, which was about to set sail towards the bright and brilliant distance.
By the way, this "big ship" is the Jiudu.
And the imaginary scene and image should be called the "crossing of the nine crossings."
(Photography by Zhang Mingming)