Bakouzi, into the first village of Wanli Camel Road
Author/Sun Shuheng
One
Teacher Deng Jiugang, a writer, said that he should go to the first village of Wanli Camel Road to see it. I talked about the ancient nature of this village, with ancient trees, ancient theaters, ancient streets, ancient castle ruins, and some legends, etc., which made me quite interested in this village, and how many times I went to Wuchuan County when I didn't care, what a pity.
Yesterday afternoon, the weather was hot, and I took bus No. 33 to No. 108 to arrive at Bakouzi at the foot of Beidaqing Mountain.
Bakouzi is at the southern foot of Daqing Mountain, this is an ancient village, Bakouzi Village is an important post station on the ancient white road, the Han Dynasty and the Northern Wei Dynasty all built a city here, the name is "Baidao City".
As early as more than 2,000 years ago, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent the general Meng Tian to lead an army of 300,000 to drive the Xiongnu north, and it was from the Hetao area to the larger mountain passes along the line to enter the northern foot of Yinshan Mountain, which shows that Bakouzi was an extraordinary strategic place at that time. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, friendly exchanges between China and Persia were frequent. Four Persian Sassanid silver coins have been unearthed in the village.
Therefore, judging from the physical currency transactions on the Grassland Silk Road, it proves that the economic and trade exchanges between China and Iran have been continuous since ancient times, and it also shows that the Grassland Silk Road is very prosperous.
Due to the geographical location, many businessmen saw business opportunities and gradually gathered here, some drove horse shops, some opened restaurants, there were mills, wineries, oil mills and camel merchants. In its heyday, it used to have the most camels, with more than 200,000 peaks. At that time, regardless of the grassland, desert and even West Asia, almost all the logistics on the 10,000-mile camel road were mastered by Hohhot's camel transportation. The dam mouth is the beginning and end of the most important camel roads to the north and west. After centuries of commercial prosperity, Bakouzi Village has become famous. Every time the camel caravan sets off or the camel caravan returns, the shopkeeper and the family members of the camel driver have to go to the dam mouth to see off and greet them, which has become a perennial scenery at that time.
As the main passage from north to south of Yinshan Mountain, it has witnessed the rise and fall of thousands of years of history, and Bakouzi is a historical place.
The first thing that catches your eye is a stone tablet, which reads "The First Village of Camel Road". People often say that standing at the mouth of the dam to see the city, the whole city is in full view. According to this, Bakouzi Village is well-deserved as the first village of Wanli Camel Road. Bakouzi Village is backed by Daqing Mountain, and when you enter the village, you can see ancient trees, ancient stages, and ancient wells, which are still vivid.
Two
I stood at the head of the village, the modern wind coming from the traffic on the national highway, and the ancient wind from the depths of the village sweeping across the ground.
I was struck by the fact that there are still a few ancient trees around this bustling city, which is not easy. Each ancient tree is hung with a sign of "National Key Protection Ancient and Famous Trees".
The ancient tree has been worshipped as a sacred tree, and the ancient tree is covered with prayer flags and hata, and there is burning incense under the tree.
There is a beautiful legend about ancient trees. It is said that when the Kangxi Emperor went west to conquer Geerdan, he once passed by this place and saw that the mountains and rivers here are beautiful, the streams are murmuring, and the scenery is pleasant, so he ordered to stop drinking horses and enjoy the beautiful scenery. As a result, the soldiers put branches in the pit that the horses' hooves stepped on, and then gradually grew into towering trees.
There is an elm tree with a label that says it is 230 years old. Xue Xiaoxian, a professor and scholar at Inner Mongolia Normal University, told me, "This tree was planted in 1794 AD, the year of Jiayin in the Chinese lunar calendar, the year of the tiger in the Chinese zodiac. The era name is the 59th year of Qianlong of Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty. In 1794, Emperor Qianlong exempted all provinces from grain on the grounds that he had been on the throne for 60 years. "It seems that this tree came into being.
I stood under the ancient trees, which were full of wind, sun, and rain, and they also held too many unspoken words. Let me have a compassionate heart, not to talk about prosperity, only to talk about vicissitudes. Teacher Xue Xiaoxian told me that these are a few old trees that have gone through the vicissitudes of wind and rain, how many sorrows and hatreds in the world are deduced by its side, and how many changes in the world will be reflected in its annual ring scars......
Next to the ancient tree is the ancient stage in the village. The ancient stage is a brick and wood structure, sitting in the south and facing north. The wooden cornices on the front of the stage are carved with the shape of a dragon, the dragon's head is high, and the dragon's mouth, dragon's eyes, and dragon's whiskers are all faintly recognizable. Now, the ancient stage has been listed as a key cultural relics protection unit in Hohhot. I walked around the ancient stage for a week, and there was nothing in it, only two windows open, and no one sat down.
There is also an ancient spring pavilion, because there is a "magical" spring water, so people gather to live, and moisten the surrounding people.
I don't know what makes me feel like I'm crossing, as if the road is crowded with camels, camel bells ding, some drinking water on the well, some going away, some walking, the sound of hooves and the hustle and bustle of people ushering in, the small stage babbling and singing, from time to time there are people's cheers, a busy scene.
I gazed at the new shoots on the branches, cast some shadows, and a big horn on the tree, pulled me back to the present, time passed, Bazikou Village has long since changed, but history will have its own echo.
Three
Writer Deng Jiugang was the first to enter "Camel Gang", "Camel Death", "Camel Road", "Camel Village"... He said that in the long river of time, we tend to ignore and lose some precious things, just like the commercial miracles created by the camel village and the camel driver that once shocked China and foreign countries, and gradually faded out of people's memories in the washing of time. "It is worth mentioning that as the international business road 'Wanli Tea Ceremony' is more and more valued, as an indispensable and important element of the 'Wanli Tea Road', camel road, camel village, and camel man, it has also become precious. ”
"It is no exaggeration to say that it is hundreds of camel villages and tens of thousands of camel drivers who have lifted Hohhot's once-remarkable commercial achievements. ”
Writer Li Cherry's "Into the Last Camel Village", it took more than two years to finally find the information of the 200,000 camels that were once active in the "Wanli Tea Ceremony". The 200,000 camels once traveled in Hohhot in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Urumqi in Xinjiang, Mongolia, and Russia. The route taken by camels or caravans that travel in these areas is called the "camel road". Li Cherry found the former starting point of camels, Bakouzi Village, Hohhot City, the first village of the Tea Road, Mahuaban Village, Hohhot City, Changhanban Village, Hohhot City, and Wulu Village, Hohhot City, which has a large camel breeding household. In the interview with the camel village, the camel, the camel driver, and the camel village are used as the starting point to find the stories and legends on the "Wanli Tea Ceremony". It reminds us that we are standing on the shoulders of the giants of history.
Four
The village was quiet, the roads were clean, and the traffic on the adjacent national highway roared, kicking up puffs of dust that almost covered the entire village.
I was walking in the village, only the bungalow under the tree had a supermarket, and there was a factory nearby, but there were not many people, a few puppies looked at me, and ran away without barking.
I saw a cleaner come over, and I asked her, why is the village so quiet, the bungalows are empty? She said that they have all moved to the relocated buildings, and there are not many people left in the village. Only the big horns in the trees sometimes sounded.
The village is empty, who does the sacred tree bless?
Where did Wang Shimin, the big camel farmer in writer Li Cherry's "Into the Last Camel Village", go?
Where did the offspring of the pulling camel go to Thursday Mao and Mashan?
tells where Wen Jibao and Li Genwang went on the village stage......
I called Secretary Zhao and Village Chief Zhang of Bakouzi Village, and they introduced that there is a village history museum, a new party and mass activity service center and a large stage of the cultural and sports center in the village to meet the needs of the masses to carry out various cultural and recreational activities. Supporting and encouraging the village's literary and art lovers to set up literary and artistic clubs such as the party member choir, the two-person Taiwan literary and artistic team, and the Tai Chi performance team, it is also the inheritance of the cultural context of the first village of Wanli Camel Road. Not to be disappointed by history.
Suddenly, a hero-like person appeared, riding a horse, holding a knife, splitting the lonely village little by little, a few dogs surrounded him, a car followed the film, and what kind of martial arts film, I was on the image of pulling a camel away, which matched the first village of the camel road.
A few young people got out of the car and went to the tree to light incense, bowed reverently, and saluted, perhaps they were the descendants of camel drivers, or the descendants of Mongolian merchants, or they had some personal wishes.
It was already sunset, and I saluted the village,
I watched a few magpies land on it and peck at it, and I heard and understood the quacking sound they made.
I turned away and walked towards the bus stop sign.
My friend Bai Aimin left a message on my circle of friends, "Look at my brother's heat, the high temperature is 28 degrees today! But visiting the 10,000-mile camel road must be full of harvest and worth it." ”
What kind of scene is it compared to the camel driver and camel of the Wanli Tea Road, that is, the Wanli Camel Road, trekking in the mountains, rivers, Gobi Desert grasslands, climbing ice and lying in the snow in summer. Purgatory, for what?
(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)