What details should a city's cultural memory be traced from?
When we talk about the starry Age of Enlightenment, we think of the salons that flourished in Paris in the eighteenth century, in which philosophers spoke eloquently; when we talk about the far-reaching era of reason, we think of the old British gentleman's club, where the intellectual elite discussed science and philosophy enthusiastically and did not hesitate to intervene in political and economic operations; therefore, when looking back at the cultural past of Guangzhou, can we find a similar place, with the collision of intellectual sparks, with enough cultural and aesthetic taste, Have a quiet strategy, and more far-reaching influence?
Xiguan has always been a place of cultural prosperity, and the watermelon garden where the former site of Guangzhou Daily is located is also a place with deep cultural context, and the wenlan academy, a unique cultural salon in the past, is just a stone's throw away from Wenlan Lane. Feel free to walk into this alley, from the patches of light and shadow of the old hemp stones, you may be able to outline the complete impression of Wenlan Academy.
Wenlan Lane is located in the upper and lower nine blocks of present-day Xiguan.
▍ Dependent arising
Thirteen elements of giants gathered to build a high-level cultural salon
As a well-known "cultural club" that has lasted for more than 100 years, the origin of Wenlan Academy is quite pragmatic, and it has little to do with "culture", its predecessor was the "Qinghao Office" funded by the merchants of the Thirteen Lines, so Qingzhihao is now hidden under the viaduct. At that time, Xihao, starting from Liuhua Lake, snaked south along the Western City Wall (now the west side of Renmin Road), from Taiping Street (now Guangfu South Road) to Xihaokou, and then into the Pearl River. With a total length of about 5,000 meters, Sai Ho Chung Pier is densely packed with sails and shadows, and has the reputation of "rare treasures, Khotanese Qu City". However, such a busy Xihao Surge is extremely easy to silt up, which not only affects freight, but also makes residents suffer from flooding. In 1810, when the merchants of the Thirteen Lines of Xiguan were rich, Pan, Wu, Lu, Ye and other giants voluntarily donated more than a dozen large houses in the Xiajiufu Embroidery Shop (near the present-day Xiajiu Road) and initiated the establishment of the "Qinghao Office". In the same year, the giants expanded the office again, named it "Wenlan Academy", and built a Wenchang Temple behind the courtyard, setting the purpose of "meeting friends with Literature" and gathering a wide range of Guangdong Zhongshizi, so far, although Wenlan College still has to bear the responsibility of "Qinghao", but more importantly, it is transformed into a "cultural club".
The origin of Wenlan College is closely related to "Qinghao", which shows its strong Lingnan characteristics.
Reading this, I wonder if you will have some doubts? Why did the rich merchants of the Thirteen Lines take advantage of the opportunity of Qinghao to change the law to create a cultural club? In fact, it is not difficult to understand how many rich businessmen today try to get involved with the cultural circles, calligraphy and painting circles, and enter various circles to show that they are "not only rich". Besides, the rich merchants of the Thirteen Lines at that time really didn't just look cultured, but really wanted to become cultured. For example, the Wu family, the richest man in the thirteen lines, once spent a lot of money to build one of the largest library buildings in old Guangzhou, and the descendants of the Pan family were also among the many. It is also logical for these "rich and well-written" giants to meet and build a "cultural club" in total. In addition, at that time, although the rich merchants were rich, their status was quite low, and they were listed at the end of the "Four Peoples" (scholars, peasants, industrialists, and merchants), and they were a little short of breath when they saw Xiucai, and their influence was far less than that of Ma Yun and Wang Jianlin today. All kinds of mixed motives gave birth to the unique "cultural club" in old Guangzhou. In fact, if you carefully examine the origins of the famous cultural salons in Paris in the eighteenth century, there are no more reasons than these. The so-called "under the sun, there is nothing new", this is what it says.
▍ Impact
The salon was very popular, and it entered the Wenlan Academy to become the matter of Guangzong Yaozu
Any high-level "club" has an entry threshold, otherwise it is difficult to show a special status, Wenlan College is no exception, in order to get its membership, you must pass the imperial examination, at least you must be a student (that is, commonly known as Xiucai), and it is better to raise people and enter the army. Now when we talk about Xiucai, we can't help but think of the word "poor acid", in fact, at that time, it was not an easy task for readers to be admitted to Xiucai, and the admission ratio was not exaggerated by picking one out of ten thousand, and once admitted, not only could they enjoy the privilege of "tax exemption", but also could sit on an equal footing with county officials, participate in the ceremony of the Temple of Literature, and participate in the governance of many local public affairs, if the status is much higher than that of ordinary businessmen. From this point of view, Wenlan College has set such a threshold, which can also be seen in its intention to recruit Guangdong Zhongshi and expand its social influence.
The qualification of the student is the minimum entry condition, the party only sits on the side to accompany the qualifications, the main seat is as usual to wear the flower plume quite dazzling Hanlin Jinshi, especially the Wenlan Academy pays attention to the "Wen friends", the big gathering in the spring and autumn every year, everyone wins with the artistic conception of poetry and song and the high and low of the Ji Shi Wen, although the prize is not much, the first prize is only 5 silver yuan, the second prize is 3 silver yuan, the third prize is a silver circle, and the other prize is a silk fan scarf, but it is rare to show a face in front of everyone, especially the big people, in the words of "Dream of the Red Chamber", Money is a small thing, it is rare to have this dignity, not to mention the number of times to show your face, maybe there is a legend of "Bole Xiangzhong Maxima", in the words of modern people, called "building connections". Therefore, every gathering of Wenlan Academy is always crowded, and the people who read all over the city regard joining Wenlan Academy as a matter of honoring their ancestors, and those who cannot enter are regarded as regrets of their lives.
According to the record of the second series of "Liwan Wenshi", there was a master surnamed Zhang, who was over eighty years old and had not yet passed the Xiucai Examination, and every time he passed wenlan academy, he had to look up to the sky and sigh, until his son graduated from the higher industrial school, got a "gongsheng" identity, and finally stepped into the door of Wenlan Academy. Master Zhang lamented every day that "a father is not as good as a son", and it didn't take long for him to end up depressed, which shows the magic of Wenlan Academy.
Xiguan Hanlin is a treasure trove of feng shui
Master Zhang's story is the sadness and joy of small people, as far as the academy itself is concerned, of course, more emphasis is placed on heavyweights such as Hanlin and Jinshi, which can be seen from its special reward policy, this award is commonly known as "He Xingui", where the examination of the champion, the award of 30 yuan, the examination of the list of eyes, the flower detector each award of 26 yuan; when the Hanlin, the award of 8 yuan. Coincidentally, in the decades since the establishment of Wenlan Academy, Lao Xiguan has produced many jinshi and Hanlin, and there are no less than dozens of people who have honored their ancestors because of their meritorious names. At that time, domestic readers valued the meritorious name of the examination, and overseas Chinese also valued it, and a new scholar went to the overseas Chinese gathering area in Southeast Asia to show his head several times and write several poems, and the "appearance fee" alone was thousands of silver yuan.
Stone stele of Qinghao Office of Wenlan College (Source: Southern Metropolis Daily)
Since lao xiguan has produced so many jinshi hanlin, it is naturally considered to be a treasure land of feng shui, so overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, rich merchants from Hong Kong and Macao, and Cantonese merchants who work hard in the north have all bought land and built big houses in old Xiguan. They are all proud that their children have obtained the membership qualification of Wenlan College, the influence of Wenlan College naturally rises, and then look at its membership list, Qiu Fengjia, Liang Dingfen, Wu Daorong and other giants of Southern Cantonese culture are impressively listed, and when Ruan Yuan, the governor of Liangguang, first founded Xuehai Hall, he was initially located in Wenlan College, and the influence of this cultural salon that has lasted for more than a hundred years can not be underestimated.
▍ Revisit
The academy does not leave a trace, and the alleys and the city are noisy
There is a Chinese proverb: watch him rise up a tall building, watch him feast on guests, watch him collapse. Used to describe the impermanence of wealth and prosperity, the glory is easy to pass away, and the rise and fall of Wenlan Academy just happens to make a footnote to this sentence. It has been in the old Xiguan for more than a hundred years, snaring a large number of feudal officials, rich merchants and academic giants, the Wenchang Temple behind the courtyard has never been incense, the annual twice-yearly big gathering is even more alarming the city's cultural events, even foreign governors, the first thing to take off the horse is to visit the chief of Wenlan Academy, in order to show respect for the local gentry, and after the Xinhai Revolution, the gentry of Wenlan Academy also greatly affected the establishment of the Guangdong military government. A "cultural club" can do this, which can be said to be unprecedented success. However, in the 1920s, the principal of Wenlan Academy was involved in a lawsuit of "corruption and fraud", and had to hand over the property to the official auction, and most of the millions of silver yuan sold was supplied to the municipal public works bureau at that time for various construction plans.
Today, Wenlan Academy has long been lost, and only the place name "Wenlan Lane" still retains sporadic memories belonging to the college. But walking in this stone alley that can be completed in just a few minutes, I really can't find many traces related to the academy. Fortunately, just when I wanted to look up at the sky and sigh, I suddenly saw a few inconspicuous small flowers on the green brick wall opposite, which were most delicate and moving in the bright sun. Remembering that Wenlan Academy once flourished and eventually returned to the legend of nothingness; looking at the stubborn and inconspicuous little flowers on the green brick wall, I seemed to understand something, and finally I was relieved.
(Note: Part of this article refers to the second series of "Liwan Literature and History".) ）
Text/Guangzhou Daily, Xinhua city reporter: Wang Yuehua
Guangzhou Daily New Flower City Editor: Lin Weilin