A recent notice in Wuxi's Binhu District has reassured Wuxi's ancient architecture enthusiasts: Wuxi's tuberose hall has been preserved.
Tuberose Hall, the name of the place is already a little strange to young people.
But older people know this place.
At that time, a xiucai Zhu shiguang ran a township school, and the beneficiaries were many, one of the students, grateful for his kindness, cut down the trees of half of his mountain yard and gave it to the teacher, hoping to build a place for more people to read, and the tuberose hall was born.
The original Yangshuyuan Village, Changguang Creek and Xuelang Mountain are near here, and the surrounding Jiangnan University and Wuxi National Digital Film Industrial Park were all built later.
Now Yangshuyuan Village is gone, and most of the residents' houses have been demolished, leaving only the tuberose hall. A hundred years of ginkgo biloba, Nanmu beams and pillars, everything is telling the vicissitudes of history and family.
Across a Qingyan Road, opposite the Tuberose Hall is the magnificent Wuxi Film Capital "Hualaiwu".
The matter of tuberose has been discussed for some time.
As early as the beginning of this year, some of the old houses in the Banqiao community of Xuelang Street were demolished, and at that time, some netizens proposed that they hoped that the relevant departments would retain the "Tuberose Hall" because it was one of the few old houses in Wuxi in the early Qing Dynasty.
Considering the demands of the people, the Binhu District also gave a response at that time: it will define the scope of protection of the historic building as soon as possible and determine the protection method.
Recently, there has been a clear development in the matter: "Tuberose Hall" has been identified as an "immovable cultural relic" and is protected in situ.
Some industry insiders tell us that the tuberose hall was not originally among the national, provincial and municipal cultural protection units, and although there are relevant laws and regulations for the protection of such special buildings, it is more difficult to implement, and it is more appropriate to identify immovable cultural relics and implement in situ protection.
Some experts also revealed to us that the survival of the "Tuberose Hall" does not produce much economic benefit, and its greatest value is actually the study of ancient buildings.
Because buildings like the "Tuberose Hall" built in the early Qing Dynasty are relatively rare, it was built in the 41st year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1702), with a history of more than 300 years.
Why does Wuxi attach so much importance to the protection of cultural relics?
PART 1｜壹
In fact, Wuxi's emphasis on the protection of cultural relics can be looked forward to twenty years.
In December 2005, Wuxi finally took the title of Jiangsu Provincial Historical and Cultural City into its arms. Two years later, Wuxi once again passed the assessment of a national historical and cultural city.
At that time, the whole of Jiangsu was in a stage of rapid economic development, and it was not easy for Wuxi to do a good job in inheriting and protecting history and culture while increasing the economy.
At that time, most cities in Jiangsu were carrying out the transformation of old cities, "demolishing the old and changing the new", and many of the demolished buildings were historical buildings.
In the 1990s, the vast majority of citizens lived in old houses, many of which were built during the Republic of China and Qing Dynasties, but people at that time had a good feeling for buildings, and generally felt that living in buildings was happy - clean, quiet, and don't take the washbasin to catch water when it rains.
Therefore, at that time, many cities were undergoing transformation, coupled with the urban development of one hand to "do increments", the other hand also had to "grasp the stock", at that time many historical and cultural buildings were demolished.
But Wuxi didn't do that at that time - alleys, ancient houses, ancient wells, ancient trees... In Tin City they are still a symbol of the charm of the city.
Looking back at history, in terms of cultural relics protection, Wuxi has not slackened for a moment.
In 1988, the State Council announced the third batch of national key cultural relics protection units, when a total of 258 were approved in the country, and Wuxi only occupied one seat, which was Jichang Garden.
In the newly announced eighth batch of national security and provincial security lists, Wuxi has added 3 national key cultural relics protection units and 10 provincial cultural relics protection units such as Langkou Huashi Laoyizhuang, Jiangyin Silkworm Breeding Farm, and Yixing Xu Ancestral Hall, ranking the forefront of the province.
With the implementation of the "Three-year Action Plan for the Protection of Cultural Relics in Wuxi (2018-2020)", it can be said that the protection of cultural relics in Wuxi has entered the best period in history in recent years: the special fund for the protection of cultural relics at the municipal level has been expanded to 85 million yuan, driving nearly 400 million yuan of cultural relics repair funds at all levels.
The investment of 400 million yuan is to let the people of Wuxi really see the inheritance and continuation of culture:
In May 2019, Longguang Pagoda was newly unveiled as the leading project of the second phase of the restoration of Huishan Ancient Town, and just two months later, Xiaolou Lane was officially opened;
Located in the center of Wuxi, Xiaolou Lane is one of the four major historical and cultural blocks, and is known as one of the oldest, largest and most well-known alleys in Wuxi City. Therefore, the repair work is also particularly arduous, this repair has been repaired for ten years - in 2009, Wuxi officially launched the Xiaolou Lane protection and restoration project on the principle of overall protection and repair of the old;
There is also the Myoko-ta Pagoda of Nanzen-ji Temple, which belongs to the "City Security". In December 2019, the repair of the Myoko Pagoda was completed, and the eight-cornered seven-story pavilion-style pagoda reappeared, becoming a scenic line in the scenic area of Nanchan Temple;
In huishan ancient town, nearly 40 cultural relics and buildings were repaired...
85 million yuan of special funds, 400 million yuan of repair funds, the results of these investments are visible at all times: in the past three years, Wuxi has completed more than 150 repair projects such as national security and provincial security units, and the integrity rate of the city's cultural security units and cultural trace control units has reached more than 80%.
PART 2｜贰
When it comes to the protection of cultural relics in Wuxi, the support of the government is on the one hand, on the other hand, Wuxi has "people".
When the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War was defeated, a group of "young people with lofty ideals" realized that the development of industry was the key, and it was under such thinking that the Rong brothers of Wuxi became the "king of flour" and "king of cotton yarn" in Wuxi.
They have done a lot of charity in Wuxi. The earliest restoration of the Myoko-ta Tower mentioned above was done by the Rong brothers.
Nanchan Temple's Miaoguang Pagoda was built during the Yongxi period of the Northern Song Dynasty, and was burned during the Xianfeng and Guangxu years of the Qing Dynasty, leaving only the roofless pagoda. In 1926, Rong Zongjing and Rong Desheng donated 5,000 silver dollars to help repair the Miaoguang Pagoda, when the eaves, platform and parapet of the tower were converted into reinforced concrete structures.
In 1947, Rong Desheng actively donated 500,000 yuan to repair the Donglin Academy, a historic site in Wuxi.
In 1947, two sets of "charity overtures" were intertwined in Wuxi at the same time.
Ding Xiongzhao, the "King of Illumination", returned from Hong Kong to his hometown of Huishan Luoshe in that year to build huaxi private primary school, and according to records, the timber that was built in that year was transported from Fujian and planted by the Ding family himself.
Today, Huaxi Primary School is the only preserved site of the school in Wuxi during the Republic of China period, and has been announced as a cultural relics protection unit in Jiangsu Province.
Ding Wushou, the son of Ding Xiongzhao, also continued his father's affection for his hometown, and in 2001, he invested 4 million yuan to build a new Huaxi Primary School, taking over his father's investment in xingxue. To this day, every year and a half Ding Wushou will return to Luoshe Huaxi, and each time he always takes photos in the old site of Huaxi Primary School, the newly built Huaxi Primary School, and the former residence of Ding Xiongzhao.
▲ Ding Wushou (pictured) took a group photo with everyone at Huaxi Primary School
Sixty years from the beginning of the 21st century, there are philanthropists such as the Rong brothers and the Ding family who are concerned about their hometowns, and then look at the next ten years, and there are not a few modern entrepreneurs who want to contribute to the protection of the city's cultural relics.
In the early days of reform and opening up, Wuxi Huishan gave birth to an enterprise - Lanli Machine Tool Factory, the founder is called Hu Jie. Now that the company has done a good job, in addition to his entrepreneurial status, he is also known as a "cultural volunteer" from the commercial sea.
It is said that Hu Jiezu was also a famous theorist of the Northern Song Dynasty, And it may also be that the "cultural factors" accumulated from childhood made him have a different feeling for valuable local culture.
On the banks of the Wuxi Canal, there is such a village, known as "Tiantian Village Front", and now some people also call it "Treasure Village".
It is called "Treasure Village" for a reason: a small village of more than 50 acres, which contains 99 Ming and Qing Dynasty architectural relics, as well as 21 cultural protection units such as the Centennial Bell Tower, the Century-old Ji Barn, and the Hushi mengxuetang, which are known as the "Open-air Museum of Rural Architecture".
▲The century-old barn in the village in front of the village
Good looks, thick foundation, chickens and dogs smell each other, and books are everywhere. For six hundred years, it has been like a paradise, attracting countless tourists.
Hu Jie is a native of the village, has feelings for his hometown, with the advancement of urbanization and demolition, the village is very likely to face the fate of the entire village demolition. At this time, Hu Jie took the lead in initiating the establishment of the Hu Yuren Research Association, and repeatedly put forward a proposal of "Cultural Wetland - Protection of Cultural Relics related to the Former Residence of Hu Yuren and the Ancient Village in Front of the Village" at the "Two Sessions".
Thanks to Hu Jie's efforts, the government, including the media, has noticed this ancient village, and a number of valuable historical and cultural relics in the village have been included in the third national cultural relics census list, changing the original demolition road.
In 2013, Hu Jie personally invested nearly 10 million yuan to restore the grain barn, Mengxuetang, Rainy Playground, Hu Yuren Tomb and other cultural relics sites were officially completed and opened - the ruins of the past are gone, replaced by antique green brick wood buildings and pink walls.
Today, the village has also ushered in a "new life".
Last year, "Tianshang Village" was selected as the "Jiangsu Province "14th Five-Year Plan" Period Cultural Protection and Inheritance Utilization Project", and it is also one of the key projects in the "14th Five-Year Plan" period of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt in Wuxi, and it is expected that by the end of this year, the ancient village of Cunqian will once again unveil her mysterious veil.
PART 3｜叁
In our view, the foundation of Wuxi's history and culture is very thick.
It can be seen from the fact that Wuxi won the first national historical city in 2007.
At that time, urban development and economic development had entered the fast lane, in this case, there must be many cultural protection buildings that were demolished, but when Wuxi began to realize that "urban culture" was the "difference card" in urban economic development, Wuxi began to strengthen its emphasis on the protection of cultural relics.
After "demolishing the old", Wuxi is still a "cultural treasure house":
Donglin Academy, Rong's Plum Garden, Nanchan Temple Miaoguang Pagoda, Jiangyin Huangshan Fort Site, Yixing Yingyuan, Ninja Grass Temple, Longguang Pagoda, Zhang Wentian's Former Residence, Maoxin Flour Mill Site, Taibo Temple, Liyuan Garden and Fishing Estate... More than 100 ancient buildings are listed as cultural protection units.
Some ancient architecture enthusiasts and we say that he believes that "cultural relics protection" is only the first step, "cultural continuation" should not only lock cultural relics in the warehouse to keep a strict watch, the best should be to let cultural relics "come alive" and let them return to people's lives in a certain form of display.
In fact, in our country's "14th Five-Year Plan" cultural relics protection plan, there is a special chapter on "how to make cultural relics come alive", which has six aspects, extracting two of the more important points:
1. Strengthen the open utilization of cultural relics and buildings, and promote cultural and cultural institutions to become characteristic tourist destinations;
Second, encourage the participation of many parties in society, open up channels, cross-border integration, and increase the development of cultural and creative products.
According to this planning regulation, Wuxi's performance is remarkable.
For example, the Donglin Academy, which everyone in Wuxi knows.
In 2002, Donglin Academy was reopened to the public after a comprehensive restoration – a school visited by Ming and Qing dynasty students once again and became a cultural landmark of modern Wuxi City.
As one of the top ten reading promotion bases in Jiangsu Province, Every year Donglin Academy organizes cultural publicity activities to attract experts and enthusiasts of Traditional Chinese Studies to participate.
The original "Donglin An", a relatively closed hall of the academy, has now been built into a branch of The Donglin Academy of Wuxi Municipal Library, and combined with the characteristics of the Donglin Academy, the "Donglin Yaji" has been created. Now, "Donglin Yaji" has become a cultural brand activity in Xicheng, and the number of tourists in Donglin Academy is also rising year by year.
Some old Wuxi people must know the Xizhang silkworm breeding farm, which was founded in 1926 and is the largest silkworm breeding farm in Wuxi and the last silkworm breeding farm in southern Jiangsu.
In 2008, the former site of the Xizhang Silkworm Breeding Farm was announced as a municipal industrial heritage by the Wuxi Municipal People's Government, and in 2019, it was recognized as a provincial cultural protection unit.
After being listed as a cultural protection unit, Xizhang Silkworm Breeding Farm continued to complete its mission - there is a good platform for the inheritance of endangered sericulture skills in Wuxi.
In 2021, the 40 acres of planting field in the Xizhang silkworm seed farm began to reproduce the familiar scene of picking mulberry silkworms and pulling silk cocoons, and a group of cultural volunteers who love farming culture and sericulture culture are here to resume the sericulture business.
At present, the sericulture breeding experience area and the Xizhang Sericulture Museum together constitute a landscape to promote sericulture culture, and from time to time, we jointly organize various sericulture culture public welfare science popularization activities with surrounding schools.
PART 4｜肆
From 2018 to 2021, the end of the three-year action plan of Wuxi Cultural Protection also heralds the beginning of a new round of cultural protection actions in Wuxi.
This year, the Wuxi Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism has studied and formulated the "Three-year Action Plan for the Revitalization and Utilization Project of "Hundred Houses and Hundred Courtyards" in Wuxi City (2022-2024)", which proposes that by the end of 2024, more than 100 models of revitalization and utilization will be created.
In Sima Street, Jiangyin City, Jiangsu Province, there is an old house in the style of the Ming and Qing dynasties, with pink walls and tiles, and brick carved gatehouses.
This is the former residence of Mr. Cao Yingfu, a famous TCM clinician from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, the Jiangyin TCM History Exhibition Hall.
Nowadays, it has been transformed into Cao Yingfu Medical Center, where more than 10 TCM experts have come here to provide consultation services for the public, and it has become an important window for TCM in Xicheng to benefit the people.
This template is one of the main ways to activate and utilize the plan.
How will it be built?
Relevant leaders told us that in these houses, we may open cultural auditoriums to create a platform for inheriting excellent traditional culture, or develop regional characteristic industries to meet the requirements of modern life:
★ For key cultural relics protection units with high popularity, they are open to the public in the form of comprehensive and thematic museums or memorials.
★ Carriers such as cultural relics and cultural relics and monuments attract and organize tourists to visit and highlight the function of scenic spots.
★ Some cultural protection units have become educational bases in combination with theme exhibitions, historical events and celebrity commemorative activities.
★ It can create office space for creative industries such as cultural, artistic and fashion design offices, research institutes, studios, etc., and traditional villages, historical buildings and industrial heritage with low cultural protection levels or concentrated pieces, and can appropriately develop leisure and service industries.
According to different areas and different characteristics of buildings, the future model of "revitalization and utilization" will also highlight the personality of the plate:
For example, the repair of the Shaw Ancestral Hall in Yixing and the memorial hall of the Taihuan Anti-Japanese Base In southern Jiangsu will create a venue with a "sense of historical and cultural experience";
Zhang Wenzhen Ancestral Hall of the Municipal Cultural Tourism Group organically combines material culture and intangible cultural heritage;
Zhu Dachun's former residence in Liangxi District, and other 5 places, have built a model of compound revitalization and utilization with the traditional style of canal water town streets and lanes and unique historical and cultural characteristics...
After reading these specific measures of "revitalization and utilization", it also reminds us of a place: Wuxi Mashan.
There is a former residence called "Meiliang Xiaoyin", which was listed as a cultural relics protection unit in Wuxi City forty years ago.
The person who lived here during the Southern Song Dynasty was called Xu Shuwei, and was listed as one of the "Eight Great People for the Study of Typhoid Fever in the Song Dynasty".
Obviously, the value and significance of this "famous doctor" who has important value for the binhu traditional Chinese medicine industry and the cultural tourism industry have not been better excavated.
Combined with the "development of regional characteristic industries and adapt to the requirements of modern life" proposed in this action plan, is it possible to help the Chinese medicine industry in the entire Binhu District by exerting the influence of Xu Shuwei's former residence?
Life medicine and green health care are a major sign of Mashan, taking the opportunity of "activation and utilization", on the one hand, to enhance the influence of the famous doctor Xu Shuwei, on the other hand, to expand the local medical influence of Mashan and become a chinese medicine business card that radiates surrounding cities.
Of course this is just a small piece of advice.
It can be seen that from the three-year action plan that began in 2018 to the "hundred houses and hundreds of courtyards" proposed this year, Wuxi has made great efforts in the protection of cultural relics.
In 2018, the Huai'an Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics was awarded the title of Advanced Collective in the National Cultural Relics System. This year, a new round of selection has begun, and it can be seen that the Wuxi Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau wants to rush the advanced collective.
However, we also want to say that regardless of whether Wuxi has obtained advanced collectives this year, the work wuxi has done in the protection of cultural relics in recent years is real, which is worthy of recognition.
Here, the courtyard, the horse head wall, the slope roof, the corridor, the old factory building and the new experience place, the cultural space have been constructed into a new scene: the street photographers dressed up, the tourists hanging around in Hanfu, and the old people sitting in the sun, everyone coexists in the same picture, the new and the old coexist, and it is very harmonious.
(The pictures in this article are from the network)
Reference materials:
1. "The Small Village by the Wuxi Canal, Why Is It Called "Heavenly Village Front"", China Grand Canal
2. "Jiangnan Philanthropist Family: The Virtue of a Thousand Bridges" Rong Desheng, 360 personal libraries
3. "Live! Fire up! "Hundred houses and a hundred courtyards" will be more eye-catching! " The Paper