When I first knew Nanwa Village, I was in the year of the Lu Dynasty, Meng Chun, walked into the Digital Village History Museum of Mucun Ancient Town, and listened to the special recommendation of accompanying friends; I first got to know Nanwa Village because after visiting the Digital Village History Museum of Mucun Ancient Town, I drove into Wangjiagou Township and approached Nanwa Village. An ancient village, hidden in the depths of the mountains of the Loess Plateau, built on both sides of the loess ravine, with the mountain situation, staggered, antique, pure and elegant. Rows and rows, buildings composed of courtyards or triad courtyards, very visually impactful, as if stepping into the paradise, the whole village is like a quiet and lonely book, full of words of vicissitudes of time, evoking beautiful memories of homesickness... Here, I see the boutiques, feel the shock, and think of the shock.
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Nanwa Village is located in the northwest of Liulin County, Lüliang City, the southwest edge of West Wangjiagou Township, and 2.5 kilometers south of Wangjiagou Village. According to historical records, Nanwa Village was founded in the seventh year of Hongwu in the Daming Dynasty (1381), showing a long history of 642 years. According to the "Lüliang Gazetteer", because Nanwa Village lives in Yangwa, hence the name. After the village group was abolished in 2002, the village administered Sha Tsui Tau and Li Jialiang Natural Village. In December 2012, the village had 1,000 mu of arable land and a population of 1,150 people, and in 1998 compiled and printed the "Nanwa Village Record".
Nanwa Village, a little-known small mountain village, belongs to the hilly gully area of the Northwest Loess Plateau, bordering the east bank of the Yellow River, connected to the moraine mouth, between the Qiangxiao ravine and the river valley stage, the Qiangxiao Gully collapse is the basic feature of its terrain, which can be described as the epitome of the agricultural civilization of the Loess Plateau. According to legend, from the beginning of the construction of the Erkong cave here in the seventh year of Ming Hongwu (1374), the ancestors have multiplied and prospered day by day. During the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, some people of insight in the village went to Moraine Kou Ancient Town to do business and trade, and at its peak, there were more than 30 merchants in the village. In the long years, generations of Nanwa people have relied on hard work and hard management, living an agricultural life of "facing the loess with their backs to the sky, and sweating with all their strength". Later, after some merchants developed and became prosperous in business, they returned to the village to build a large number of civil works, built their own courtyards and courtyards, and gradually built more than 100 courtyards and courtyards, and finally made Nanwa Village a relatively large village famous far and wide. It is understood that there are 54 ancient courtyards in the village, most of which are well preserved, becoming the epitome of the farming civilization of the Loess Plateau. This small mountain village is known as "Little Beijing" because of its magnificent architecture, large courtyards, continuous eaves, clean streets, gray buildings and tile buildings, and vigorous prosperity.
In 2010, 16 courtyards in Nanwa Village were declared as key cultural relics protection units in Liulin County; In November 2014, Nanwa Village was included in the third batch of Chinese traditional village list; In January 2017, Nanwa Village was selected as the fifth batch of famous historical and cultural towns and villages in Shanxi Province; In January 2019, Nanwa Village was selected as the seventh batch of Chinese historical and cultural villages.
On this trip, our group of 3 set off from Liulin Mu Village Ancient Town and drove to Nanwa Village. The whole journey is 35 kilometers, passing through the 248 provincial highway, traveling along the winding mountain road, through the ravine, climbing the mountain beam, over the mountain, about 50 minutes, climbing a mountain beam, and then entering Nanwa Village. Standing at the commanding height of the village, overlooking Nanwa Village, the most shocking thing is that there is an antique and staggered ancient residential complex in the mountain hollow. Walking into the village, casually viewing and reading, you know that these old courtyards have both the typical Loess Plateau architectural style and the architectural characteristics of the Ming and Qing dynasties, strolling through the rows and buildings of the courtyards and courtyards, leaving a glorious historical witness of the people of Nanwa Village. According to local villagers, there are 54 ancient courtyards in the village, some intact, some ruins, and some herbs, a bleak scene, fortunately most of the ancient buildings are well preserved. These houses are built on the mountain, and many of them have the architectural style of light and dark, highlighting the local characteristics of the residential architecture of the Loess Plateau.
It is understood that as early as the early years of Daming Hongwu, the ancestors of Nanwa Village immigrated here, and the first to build a two-hole cave and settle down, named Nanwa. Later, because it was close to Moraine Kou Ancient Town, many villagers ran to do business and trade, and gradually the business was prosperous and the grain was abundant. After becoming wealthy, most Nanwa village merchants did not forget to return to the village to build buildings, build houses, and shine on the lintel. During the viewing, I found that the ancient buildings of the village are concentrated in the old village, and there are almost no new buildings mixed in it, and many courtyards have completely preserved the original appearance of the past. Today, there are still villagers living in the old village, with a rich life atmosphere, coupled with the proximity to the Moraine Kou National Scenic Area, with convenient transportation. The village has gentle hills, no cliff dangerous road, only 2.5 kilometers along the Yellow Tourist Highway, buses can enter the village, providing good conditions for the development of rural cultural tourism. In recent years, under the care of party committees and governments at all levels, Nanwa Village has organically combined the repair and protection of ancient villages and ancient buildings with cultural ecology and natural ecological restoration, so that the ancient villages are increasingly "renewed", so that traditional ancient villages can develop rural tourism in the protection and help the revitalization of beautiful villages.
See traditional ancient villages and taste the ancient buildings of private houses. According to the "List of Immovable Cultural Relics of Lüliang City", there are houses Nos. 1-13, as well as houses No. 77 and No. 113 in Nanwa Village, from which it is inferred that there are at least more than 100 houses in the ancient village, the exact number is unknown. Looking at the ancient residential buildings in Nanwa Village, it can be roughly summarized as the following characteristics: first, it is built by the mountain, with the mountain situation, staggered, simple and elegant; Second, the founder and date of the ancient building are unknown, but the existing main building structure is Qing Dynasty style; Third, most of the ancient building layouts are based on courtyards and triad courtyards, generally the central axis is built with the main kiln and inverted seat, and the north kiln, gate, horse shed, etc. are built on both sides; Fourth, the ancient residential caves are generally arched brick caves, the gate is a brick coupon arch door hole (round or square) with the wall door, and the outward is a single-eaves hanging mountaintop hugging building, or a single-slope hard hilltop and other shapes; Fifth, there are stone jies on the forehead of the general door, such as "Fushou Kangning", "Ji Dechanghou", "Yuben Dunlun" and so on.
Here, let's take a look at some of these residential buildings:
Nanwa No. 4 Residence, located in Nanwa Village, sits west to east, 28.75 meters east-west, 25.69 meters wide from north to south, covering an area of 738.59 square meters. The year of creation and the person who founded it is unknown, and the main structure of the existing building is in the Qing Dynasty style. It is divided into two courtyards, north and south, only the main kiln remains on the central axis of the north courtyard, there are wing rooms on the north side (only three rooms remain, two deep rafters, single slope hard mountain top), and there is a gate in the northeast corner; On the central axis of the south courtyard, from east to west, there is a horse shed (the top has collapsed, only the gate and the door are engraved with "Wuben Dunlun"), and on the south side there is the south kiln (brick arch cave cave three holes). The main kilns of the north and south courtyards are three-hole brick arch caves, which are built at the same time, and there are steps in the middle that lead to the top of the main kiln. The kiln is equipped with eaves, a single slope hard hilltop, and a door and window. The gate of the north courtyard is a brick arch through the hole, and there is a gallery in front, one wide face, one deep rafter, single eaves hard peak, and two panel doors.
Nanwa Village No. 5 House, located in Nanwa Village, sits north to south, with a length of 32.27 meters from east to west, a width of 28.18 meters from north to south, and an area of 909.37 square meters. The date of its creation and its founder are unknown, but the existing building is in the Qing Dynasty style. It belongs to the layout of the triad courtyard, with the gate, moon gate and main kiln from south to north on the central axis, the east kiln (five-hole brick coupon arch cave) on the east side, and the west kiln (five-hole brick coupon arch cave) on the west side. The main kiln is a five-hole brick arch cave, with a cornice, a deep rafter, a single slope hard hilltop, and doors and windows.
Nanwa No. 6 House, located in Nanwa Village, sits west to east, with a length of 30.55 meters from east to west, a width of 23.12 meters from north to south, and covers an area of 706.32 square meters. The year of creation and the person who founded it is unknown, and the main structure of the existing building is in the Qing Dynasty style. The layout of the second courtyard, the central axis from east to west is built with an inverted seat, a second entrance door, and a main kiln; On the north side, from east to west, there is a gate, the north kiln of the first entrance courtyard, and the north kiln of the second entrance courtyard; On the south side, from east to west, there is the south kiln of the first courtyard and the south kiln of the second entrance. The main kiln is a five-hole brick arch cave, with a gallery in front, six mallet doors and mallet windows. The north and south kilns of the second entrance courtyard are two-hole brick caves, and there are corridors in front of the kilns. The gate of the second entrance is a brick arch gate hole, with a single eaves hanging from the top of the hill, and the inscription on the forehead is covered with mud.
No. 8 private house in Nanwa Village is located in Nanwa Village, Wangjiagou Township, Liulin County. Sitting west to east, it is 22.8 meters long from east to west, 18.45 meters wide from north to south, and covers an area of 420.66 square meters. The year of creation and the person who founded it is unknown, and the main structure of the existing building is in the Qing Dynasty style. The layout of the courtyard is based on the inverted base site and the main kiln on the central axis, and the north and south sides are the wings and gates. The lower part of the main kiln is a brick platform, 0.6 meters high, which is a four-hole brick coupon arch cave, and the entrance of the cave is equipped with a mallet door and a mallet window. The gate is a brick ticket door hole, with a gallery at the back, three deep rafters, a single slope hard hilltop, 2 panel doors, and 1 stone jie on the forehead, and the Yang engraving "Fushou Kangning".
Nanwa Village No. 11 House, located in Nanwa Village, sits east to west, with a length of 20.42 meters from north to south, a width of 18.11 meters from east to west, and covers an area of 369.81 square meters. The founder and the date of construction are unknown, and the existing main building structure is Qing Dynasty style. The layout of the courtyard is built on the central axis from west to east with an inverted seat and a main kiln, and the south wing, north kiln and gate are built on both sides. The main kiln is a brick arch cave with three holes, and a parapet wall is set in front of the kiln roof. The inverted seat is three rooms wide, two rafters deep, and a single slope has a hard peak. The south wing is three rooms wide, with two deep rafters, a single slope hard hilltop, a porch structure in front of three purlins, a mallet door in the bright room, and a four-touch lattice window in the second room. The north kiln is a brick arch cave with two holes, and a parapet wall is set in front of the kiln roof. The gate is a brick square doorway, with a panel door in the middle, a three-purlin galleryless beam structure, and a single-eaves hard peak.
Nanwa Village No. 13 Private House is located in Nanwa Village, Wangjiagou Township, Liulin County. Sitting west to east, it is 27.15 meters long from east to west, 8.7 meters wide from north to south, and covers an area of 236.21 square meters. The year of creation and the person who founded it is unknown, and the main structure of the existing building is in the Qing Dynasty style. The layout of the courtyard is built from east to west with an inverted seat (the middle is the gate) and a main kiln. The main kiln is a two-story brick coupon cave, the first and second floors are two-hole brick arch kiln caves, and the second floor is equipped with a gallery in front, six hammer doors and four mallet windows. The inverted seat is three rooms wide, two rafters deep, and a single slope has a hard peak. The east of the inverted Meima is the gate, which is a brick square door opening with the wall door, and a brick eaves outside. On the forehead of the panel door is a woodcut with the four characters "Ju'an Senior".
Nanwa Village No. 77 House, located in Nanwa Village, sits east to west, 33.31 meters long from north to south, 18 meters wide from east to west, covering an area of 599.58 square meters. The founder and the year of its creation are unknown, and the existing main building structure is in the Qing Dynasty style. The layout of the courtyard is built with a main kiln and an inverted seat on the central axis, and a north kiln, a gate and a horse shed are built on both sides. The brick foundation of the main kiln is 0.15 meters high, the brick kiln has six holes, each hole is 3.1 meters wide and 7 meters deep, the front eaves is inserted into the corridor, one rafter deep, the single slope is the top, the pillars are applied with decorative buckets, and there are mallet doors and windows in front of each cave. The north kiln is a brick cave with two holes, a front eaves gallery, and a single-slope hard hilltop. The gate is a brick structure with a single eaves hanging from the top of the hill.
Nanwa Village No. 113 Residence, located at No. 113 Nanwa Village, sits east to west, with a length of 25.97 meters from north to south, a width of 18.23 meters from east to west, and an area of 473.43 square meters. The founder and the year of its creation are unknown, and the existing main building structure is in the Qing Dynasty style. It belongs to the layout of a courtyard, with the main kiln in the east and the inverted seat in the west, and the gate (horse shed) and the north kiln are built on both sides. The main kiln is a brick cave with five holes, each hole is 3.2 meters wide and 5 meters deep, and there is a corridor in front of the cave, which is connected to the kiln corridors on both sides, and the single slope is the top; the gate is a brick coupon arched door hole with the wall door, and the single eaves hanging from the top of the mountain hold the building. The west side of the horse shed is a brick cave hole.
Nanwa Village Theater, located in Nanwa Village, sits south to north, with a length of 8.6 meters from east to west, a width of 8.7 meters from north to south, and an area of 74.82 square meters. The date of its construction is unknown, and the existing building is a Qing dynasty relic structure. The theater stage is a single brick and wood mixed building, the lower part is a stone foundation, 0.8 meters high, divided into north and south parts, the south is the north and south arch brick cave (for the dressing room), the north is the performance room, three wide rooms, two deep rafters, a single slope hard hilltop, and the bricks of the pier head are carved with animals and flowers.
Walk into the ancient village of Nanwa Village, pass through the time and space tunnel, gain insight into the vicissitudes of the world, step into the antique courtyard of the house with the quaint atmosphere that comes to the face, and marvel at the ingenious architectural style that combines ancient and modern in the courtyard; In the meandering corridor, the gaze is full of vivid and dazzling architectural art, and the cultural essence and spatial memory of harmonious coexistence between man and nature are touching.
Traditional villages, also known as ancient villages, are generally formed earlier, have rich cultural and natural resources, and have certain historical, cultural, scientific, artistic and social values. In fact, traditional villages contain rich historical information and cultural landscapes, and are the greatest legacy left by China's agricultural civilization. In a sense, traditional villages inherit a nation's civilizational genes and cultural memory. The natural ecology, stories and legends, ancient buildings, folk art and folk customs in the village are all important contents that need to be protected and inherited. It is understood that there are 75 "traditional Chinese villages" in Lüliang City, which are not only pearls embedded in the land of Lüliang, but also the root veins flowing in the Yellow River Valley, and they are also the traditional cultural codes that come from the depths of history, and the endless fireworks around the people.
Time flies for hundreds of years, walking into Nanwa Village, a traditional Chinese village, historical and cultural village, feeling the rings of the years, touching the traces of time, standing at this end of the time and space corridor, the workshop courtyard with mottled wall tiles seems to be able to feel the breath of the year, and the buildings covered by weeds seem to be able to hear the noise of the people. With 642 years of history, 642 years of inheritance, and 642 years of exploration, this mysterious and ancient Nanwa village residential group has truly lifted its mysterious veil and is known to the world. 642 years of the turn of time, the warm and simple Nanwa village people are opening their hearts to welcome guests from all over the world, Nanwa village is with its thick history and unique charm, long-term splendid culture and the moving stories in this land compound, constantly recording and writing the glory and legend belonging to the people of Nanwa village, Nanwa village, a traditional Chinese village, Chinese historical and cultural village, not only has become a unique ancient residence on Lüliang Mountain, has become the first choice for Lüliang people to travel and relax and experience farmhouses. It has also become a living fossil for experts and scholars from all over the world to investigate ancient buildings.
【Reference materials for this article】"Lüliang District Chronicle", "Lüliang City Township Record" (Liulin Volume), "Lüliang City List of Immovable Cultural Relics" (Liulin Volume), "Liulin County Record" and some graphic materials scattered on the Internet about Nanwa Village, etc.
【About author】Xie Dehui, born in 1962, from Jiaokou County, Luliang City, Shanxi Province. The screen name is "Tranquility and Distance". Member of Shanxi Writers Association, member of Lüliang Writers Association, director of Lüliang Culture and Tourism Association, member of Fenzhou Cultural Research Association, writer of Xiaoxiang Literature Society, member of International Photography Association, member of Lüliang Photographers Association, member of Lüliang Civil Literary and Artist Association, consultant of North Wudang Mountain Cultural Research Association, etc. I like to visit ancient times, feel the landscape and humanities, and adhere to the "three degrees" of "excavating historical thickness in the choice of subject matter, finding spiritual height in red culture, and exploring artistic vividness in real life"; Insist on walking in the great beauty of Luliang, inheriting history and humanities. Since 1989, he has published more than 300 articles in newspapers, periodicals and news media such as Study and Research (Central Committee), Guangming Daily, China Township Forum, Shanxi Daily, Shanxi Economic Daily, Forward, Shanxi Work, Shanxi Agricultural Classic, Government Legal System, Shanxi Legal Daily, Lüliang Literature, Centennial Red Seal (Lingshi), Lüliang Daily, Lüliang Evening News, Cultural Jinzhong, Palm Lüliang, Lüliang Release, etc. He published 2 books, "Red Lü Liang" and "Impression Leaving the Stone", which were collected in "Lüliang City Library" and "Jinsui Soldier and Civilian Museum"; The book "Yunmeng Fengya" (Xinhua Publishing House) includes 19 articles written by him. "Lüliang City Chronicle" "Art Essay", including the article "Reading Moraine Ancient Town" written by him. Launched the WeChat public account of "Walking Da Mei Lu Liang" (individual), and has published more than 340 articles.
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