People know the "three absolutes of Hengshui" - the palace goldfish, the Houdian brush and the inner painting snuff bottle. When it comes to "court goldfish", people often think of another golden signboard- Goldfish Xu.
Speaking of goldfish Xu, it is a famous name, and even the Qianlong Emperor more than two hundred years ago knew that "Goldfish Xu" was personally sealed by his old man. Counting the generation of the old ancestor of the Xu family who was ordered to enter Beijing, the name of goldfish Xu was passed down from generation to generation, and it was already the eleventh generation that passed down to Xu Hong's generation.
Let's first talk about the history of the Goldfish Xu family.
Xu Laozu was a native of Ningjin County, Shandong Province, and his grandfather was originally a folk craftsman of the pot and bowl, and often walked around the streets to solicit business. By chance, his grandfather met a goldfish seller, watched various colors and different forms of goldfish swimming around in the water, loved it very much, and bought several without much thought. As a result, due to the lack of understanding of the life habits of goldfish, several goldfish died in a short period of time. Although his grandfather had some regrets, he did not stop there, but he liked goldfish more and more, or his desire for goldfish farming was getting bigger and bigger. In the days that followed, he bought goldfish when he encountered them, and if he died for a short time, he continued to buy them. In this way, with the increase of breeding time, he also gradually explored the habits of the life of goldfish, accumulated more and more experience, and even raised the goldfish. This gave his grandfather great encouragement and confidence, and on this basis, he began to try to raise "life" - artificial breeding under the premise of raising "live" - artificial breeding. Kung Fu pays off. He did it! He can not only make the goldfish multiply, but also be able to change the characteristics of the goldfish through technical means - regardless of color or shape, so that the color and shape of the goldfish are more and more abundant, which is really colorful and varied.
To this end, his grandfather gave up the original craftsmanship of the hammer pot and the bowl and became a specialized goldfish craftsman. It's a business, and it's a good business. Later moved to Jinan, perhaps the time and place are favorable and have both reasons, goldfish farming in Jinan became famous in one fell swoop. Later, the Qianlong Emperor said that he had seen a beautiful red fish in Jiangnan and lamented that there was no one in the palace. At this time, the Liang eunuch nominated the famous goldfish farmer in Jinan Province, Xu Shi. The Qianlong Emperor specially ordered Xu Shi to enter Beijing and raise fish in the palace. This is the origin of today's so-called "palace goldfish", and after that, the Qianlong Emperor inscribed the "Goldfish Xu" gold plaque, which is not only a praise for Xu's goldfish, but also a recognition and praise for his superb breeding skills. The titles of "court goldfish" and "goldfish Xu" began to circulate.
The old man Xu Licai is the tenth generation of "Goldfish Xu".
When Xu Lao's family was in Beijing, and later the state advocated that intellectual youth go to the mountains and go to the countryside, Xu Licai came to Hengshui, And Xu Lao's father said, We Xu family and Hengshui have a relationship! "Heng" and "Xu" are all next to "double", and the two words "Hengshui" have both water and fish, so let's get it right.
Xu Licai old man fished for fish and insects in the early morning.
The elderly Xu Licai proudly said that his grandfather had concentrated the characteristics of five different fish on one fish at a time. Of course, Elder Xu lived up to the expectations of the public and came to the top. He inherited the inheritance of his ancestors and created personal wonders, so that the "court goldfish" became famous internationally. He undertook the ancestral tricks, and at the same time, according to the principles of modern genetics and reproduction, he selected several pure tones and body standards from thousands of goldfish for special breeding and nursing, and then through mating and reproduction, and then in the complex process of several years of "child-old backbringing" and "child-child interbreeding", a new variety was introduced. Ancestral experience has concluded that the male is out of the head and the female is out of the tail, so he used the "red dragon eye ball" and the "black peony" to cross and cultivate the "ink robe red ball" with the ink color all over the body and the two red balls on the head trembling and majestic, flowing and generous... In this way, since 1982, Xu Lao has continuously groped and struggled, carefully cultivated, and his craftsmanship has become more and more refined, and the new varieties and rescued varieties have been cultivated successively: red-headed wangtian, tiger-headed blister eyes, agate eyes, white jade crowns, etc. At present, there are more than 160 species of goldfish in the world, and there are more than 70 species of goldfish ornamental gardens in the Chinese court where Xu Lao is located.
The picture shows that changing the water for the goldfish brush tank is also a hard job.
The picture shows Xu Licai selecting broodstock in the fish pond and preparing to cross breed new ones.
To our delight, there are successors to the "court goldfish". Xu Hong, the daughter of Elder Xu, took over the baton from her father and became the eleventh generation of "Goldfish Xu".
The eleventh generation of goldfish Xu: Xu Hong, known as the goldfish grid of the goldfish family.
Xu Hong's craft is ancestral, see no, the old man Xu Licai is teaching by hand.
A few years ago, Xu Hong's mother soon underwent craniotomy, and Xu Licai had no helpers around him, which made Xu Hong germinate the idea of raising fish. Xu Licai disagreed. The work of raising fish is not light, let's say fishing for fish worms, that is a job that can only be done by experience and physical strength, and the average strong boy can't do it, let alone a girl. The Xu family's goldfish need about 200 pounds of fish worms every day, and Xu Licai personally goes out to fish all year round, and the thunder does not move. Look at xu Licai's photos of fishing for insects, and you will know how hard this work is.
Fishing for fish and insects is not only tiring, but also very dangerous. One year Xu Licai found a lot of fish and insects in a large puddle, he was fishing vigorously and suddenly felt a little empty under his feet, with years of experience Xu Licai immediately stood there without moving, he turned the rod in his hand upside down, probed ahead, no bottom! Xu Licai hurriedly stuck the pole deep into the bottom of the water under his feet to prevent slipping, slowly retreated, and went up to the shore to know that he was just standing on the edge of a large ditch, and if he took another step forward, he would be dead! It's a hanging matter! Let's not talk about Xu Licai's cold sweat at that time, let's just say that those of us who listen to the story are afraid for Mr. Xu!
In addition to the tired work of fishing for fish and insects, there are also brushing baths and baths, which kind of leisure? In more detail, fish farming is an engineering that integrates multiple disciplines such as natural science, biology, genetics, and genetics. Can a girl do it?
Xu Hong has loved goldfish since he was a child and has a special affection for the goldfish cultivated by his family. Since she had the idea of fish farming, she had secretly read the professional books on goldfish farming from her father, and communicated with fish farming experts and goldfish lovers on the Internet, accumulating a lot of professional knowledge. Xu Hong's persistence touched Xu Licai, who made an exception and agreed to Xu Hong's fish farming, and taught the True Scripture of Fish Farming by hand.
We believe that with the efforts of Xu's father and daughter, the cause and influence of "Palace Goldfish" will be more brilliant!
Source: China Goldfish Public Account
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