Touch the old city and explore the warmth and respect of the mysterious history and culture
Author/Sun Shuheng
One
Recently, the lilacs in the streets and alleys of Hohhot are in full bloom, and the faint fragrance is refreshing. They are the elves of the city and the city flower of Hohhot.
Among the lilac trees that are all over Hohhot, there are four famous ones. They are located in the General's Office, known as the "First Mansion of Monan". It contains a special magic, planted in the eighteenth year of Qing Daoguang (1838), and has been 186 years old. It was Stick Chu Ke Celeng who served as the 48th general of Suiyuan. His wife came to Hohhot with him. The general's wife was in weak health, and several lilac trees were planted in the residence of the original capital, and the lady's ignorance and vomiting gradually improved. Later, General Stick Chukcelen made great achievements in a campaign to annihilate robbers, and the emperor learned that Long Yan Dayue wanted to give him an official knighthood. At this time, the general was obsessed with his wife's illness, so he wrote to the emperor to ask for a high-ranking official in exchange for a few lilacs in the emperor's garden. The love of the general's "iron-blooded tenderness" has lasted for a long time, and it has remained as fragrant as the fragrance of lilac branches for a hundred years.
I have been here for 30 years, and I have been to the General's Office many times, and I have been moved by this story and have a deep feeling for the context of Hohhot. In ancient times, it belonged to Yunzhong County and Dingxiang County, and stories such as "Hufu Riding and Shooting" and "Zhaojun Out of the Fortress" are closely related here. During the Wei and Jin dynasties, the "Northern Capital" was set up in this place, called "Shengle City", and the folk song of the Northern Dynasty "Song of Eile" said that "the sky is firm, the wilderness is vast, and the wind blows the grass and sees the cattle and sheep low", which depicts the scene full of vitality here. Therefore, in the Liao, Song, Jin and Yuan dynasties, it was called "Fengzhou", and the trade exchanges between the grassland and the Central Plains were further expanded. In the east of Hohhot, there is the Wanbu Huayan Jing Pagoda built in the Liao Dynasty, also known as the "White Tower", the first government of the Qing Dynasty in Monan, the "General's Office", which is the largest existing scale, the most complete preservation, and the highest status level of the Qing Dynasty frontier garrison general's mansion in the mainland.
Keep history in mind and be more calm. Recently, I have listened to the story of Hohhot told by the famous writer and scholar Deng Jiugang in the live broadcast of "My Hometown, My City". "1581 was an important turning point in Hohhot, and Sanniangzi officially built a naturalized city here, so Hohhot used to be called Sanniangzi City. Mr. Deng Jiugang sorted out the characteristics of Hohhot, a famous historical and cultural city, from the perspectives of Zhaocheng, shopping mall, camel city, and harmonious city.
Since the founding of Hohhot, people of all ethnic groups have lived in harmony here. In the famous "Tea Road" in history, Hohhot is a transit station on the tea road. Flourish in the blending of exchanges.
Although the city has only a history of 400 years, it is a famous historical and cultural city that has carried thousands of years, witnessed countless years of change, and left behind a rich historical and cultural heritage.
Two
In order to fully understand a city, it is necessary to be completely close and fully feel the touch of the heart, this city that is both familiar and strange. For Hohhot, I not only heard that I want to go for a walk, put myself in my shoes, recently I went to the old city a few times, and when I looked at them, for a moment, everything was alive and talking to me.
Whether it is in Dazhao Square or Xi Litu Zhao Square, looking out, you can see a group of people in the square, which really responds to the Buddha's saying that "all living beings have Buddha nature". Thinking of the grandeur and majesty of the city when it was founded 400 years ago, Alatan Khan and his wife "Three Niangzi" believed in the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism (Yellow Sect). There are nearly 100 large and small temples inside and outside the city, there are seven major calls, eight small calls, and 72 continuous calls, so the naturalization city was once called the call city. Among them, Dazhao Temple, Xi Li Tuzhao, Wusu Tuzhao, and "Guanghua Temple" Lama Dongzhao are the most famous.
In the 35th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1696), Kangxi personally conquered Galdan through Hohhot to the Great Summoning Buddha, and in the same year, the Dalai Lama Tuoyin II of Hohhot used his temple warehouse property to preside over the repair of the Great Call, and asked the Kangxi Emperor to replace the green tiles of the Buddha Hall with yellow glazed tiles and change them to the Imperial Temple, so the Great Summons did not have the reincarnation of the living Buddha. To the east of Dazhao Mountain Gate, there is a side gate, "the first spring" is the jade spring well on the south side of Dazhao, there is the beautiful legend of "Yuma Shaved Spring" when Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty went west to conquer Geldan and stationed in the naturalized city...
In the ninth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1582 AD), after the death of Altan Khan, his son Seng Ge Duleng inherited the throne. After he came to power, he followed his father's example and decided to invite the Third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso, to spread religion in the right-wing ministries of Inner Mongolia. In order to welcome the arrival of Sonam Gyatso, in the thirteenth year of Wanli (1585 AD), the monk built this small lama temple for him next to Dazhao. In his later years, the Third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso, had been preaching the Dharma in Mongolia, and Xili Tuzhao was an important place for him to stay. Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty made the imperial system "Pingding Galdan Ji Gong Monument" in the front of the main hall.
Alatan Khan not only founded Hohhot, but he also made a major contribution related to trade. Alatan Khan and the Ming and Qing dynasties got along, the two sides carried out mutual trade, attracted foreign merchants to travel long distances, came here, relied on grinding tofu, selling cloth, opening grocery stores and other businesses, began to embark on the road of "wild goose merchants" and "Mongolian merchants", started business, and strengthened the strength of the city's development.
Three
In the old city, for the older generation of Hohhot, it is not strange, and it is not far away. Most of the Han people here are from Shanxi, and they came from the west exit. After the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia opened customs and exchanged markets, these military defense passes became treaty ports for Han and Mongolian trade, two of the most important of which were Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province, known as Dongkou, and the other was Killing Tiger Pass in Youyu County, Shanxi Province, called Xikou. Some people say that "Xikou" does not specifically refer to the mouth of the tiger, west of Zhangjiakou, the border of northern Shanxi, northern Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia along the Great Wall are called "Xikou", calligrapher, scholar Dong Maoyun said, go to the west mouth should be the river meander. There is a song that also sings "Hequ Baodezhou, ten years and nine years do not collect, men go outside, women dig wild vegetables." However, killing the tiger's mouth was a necessary route for residents of central and northern Shanxi Province to reach the central and western parts of Inner Mongolia (Suiyuan Province). In 1893, the Russian and Mongolian scholar Pozdenyev wrote during a trip to Inner Mongolia: "I have seen many times in Guihua City that the place name marked on the transport vehicles of the official family is 'Xikou', and this name also appears on the livery of the local garrison. As the saying goes, "from the east exit to the west exit, the lama temple to Baotou." It refers to the journey from Zhangjiakou to Guihua City, Duolun to Baotou. Walking on the local streets, you can always find traces of the naturalization city, I met three painters in the "Nanfang Gallery" on Dazhao South Street, Zhuang Yao who painted camels, Yuan Yuzhen who painted fish, and Song Fengying who painted flowers and birds, the painters were the most imaginative. They told me that there was a picture in the old city: in Guihua City, there were more camels than people, and in Suiyuan City, there were more horses than people. This is because, a long time ago, most of the Jin merchants were in Guihua City, while the Manchu Eight Banners were mainly in Suiyuan City.
They said that in the old city, the taste of the time-honored brand is the heaviest, from the name of the street and lane, the language, to the archway, although some of them are one-size-fits-all, covering the old traces, they can still find the imprint of Shanxi in the ordinary alleys, the old taste is always unforgettable, the language can not disappear, the dialect is also ethnic integration, there are Mongolian language, Hui language, and "Beijing dialect" is also the expression of ethnic integration. Those time-honored brands, including Lao Suiyuan, Cui Blacksmith, and Hui Spoon Noodles..... But it has become an indelible memory in the city. The taste of roasted wheat and roasted food has lasted for a long time, and one or two roasted wheat and a pot of tea are still the leisure methods of the old people in the old city.
Four
At 18 Desheng Street, after 270 years of Dashengkui.
The rich country, Asia's No. 1 business, and the great Shengkui who opened up the tea road are always reminiscent. With Hohhot as the center, Dashengkui radiates the surrounding areas and directly reaches the grassland trade, building a bridge between farming culture and grassland civilization, and establishing the status of Hohhot as an international business capital. Da Shengkui's military supply and trading, grassland credit business, and poor loans, etc., are also the "trust game trade" established between people. It is the loan business, the printing business, and the barter on credit that mainly deliver the tea, sugar, salt, cloth and other commodities needed by the herdsmen through the "Danmenqing", that is, the grassland sellers, and deliver them door-to-door and keep accounts in exchange for sheep and horses. The spirit of "righteousness for profit" has added a new interpretation here. Writer Deng Jiugang wrote in the book "Da Shengkui Firm" that the three businessmen began to do business in partnership, forming the prototype of the shareholder system, and then forming the shareholders' meeting system. It also tells people that after ten years of apprenticeship, a businessman with one tongue has just enough food and clothing, a businessman with two tongues earns a lot of money, and a businessman with three tongues earns a lot of money.
Wang Yongzhen is the bookkeeper of the famous Jin merchant time-honored brand "Da Shengkui", and he is also a calligrapher. Xi tried to summon Bodhi to pass through the door of the hall with the plaque of "Yinshan Ancient Temple", the plaque of "the first spring of the nine sides" of the Dazhao Temple came from his hand, and the plaque of "the first spring of the nine sides" was also the "drinking water of the source" of more than 400 merchants at that time, and was grateful for the funds raised by the Yuquan Well. This not only shows the strength and brand of Dashengkui, but also has an impact on Inner Mongolia on the Tea Road and Wanli Tea Ceremony. The new generation of Dashengkui people Song Zhiguo, Qi Juan, and Zhao Zhengwei are full of ambition, revitalize, protect the cultural heritage of the brand, and let Dashengkui shine again.
Five
Walking to the west exit, a large number of Shanxi businessmen because of the success of doing business in Hohhot (Guisui), since then the formation of China's unique business group, to promote the sense of community of various ethnic groups, economic and trade exchanges, Jin merchant culture and grassland culture integration, gave birth to social change, formed a unique culture and soul.
Pan Zhaodong, former chief researcher of the Inner Mongolia Academy of Social Sciences, said, "The core spirit of Xikou culture is pioneering, harmony and prosperity. Most of the people who set foot on Xikou Road are people with lofty ideals who are not afraid of risks and have the courage to open up. In the process of going to the west exit, a harmonious spirit of solidarity and mutual assistance and pluralism was formed. The grassland culture is an open culture, and a large number of people from the interior have come to Saibei, which has promoted the prosperity of agriculture, handicrafts, commerce, towns and cultures, and formed a complex Xikou culture through economic and cultural exchanges and integration. The concept of "reproducing the style of the grassland commercial capital and creating the cultural glory of northern Xinjiang" was proposed.
As a famous historical and cultural city and a transit station for the tea ceremony, we should increase the protection of "intangible cultural heritage", make every effort to expand and strengthen the cultural industry, create high-quality cultural projects, and continuously improve the cultural level of the city. Let the intangible cultural heritage be integrated with the people's life and modern life, forming its own characteristics and highlights. Effectively activate the cultural and creative market, find creative inspiration from the 'Qingcheng cultural context', find the industrial product identification symbols from the 'Yellow River Bay and Eilechuan', build up the 'urban spirit', and reflect the cultural and creative products of 'beautiful Eilechuan, wonderful Yellow River Bay'.
The famous writer Haswula once suggested that "through this experimental holding of the "Mongolian Milk Tea Culture Live Display" and various "tea parties", the "Milk Tea Culture Festival" in Inner Mongolia should be established as soon as possible, so that this meaningful activity can be inherited and carried forward. "Regard milk tea as a mother's entrustment and milk tea as a source of strength, is this something that ordinary drinks can bear?" Hohhot starts from tea and is served in tea, so as to replenish the vitality of tea as soon as possible and bring back the "fireworks gas". It shows the historical and cultural charm of Hohhot and Inner Mongolia on the Wanli Tea Ceremony.
I suddenly realized that the scene in front of me was like a replay of a movie, reminiscing about the city I lived in for a long time. And more or less, there is an emotion of joy and longing intertwined.
(Author's file: Sun Shuheng, pen name Hengxin Yongzai, a native of Naiman Banner, Inner Mongolia.) Member of China Financial Writers Association, Member of China Essayists Association, Member of Inner Mongolia Writers Association, Member of Inner Mongolia Poetry Society, Member of Western Essayists Association, Deputy Secretary-General of Inner Mongolia Popular Literature and Art Research Association, Senior Researcher and Deputy Secretary-General of Inner Mongolia Poetry, Calligraphy and Painting Research Association)