Aerial photography of the old county seat of Gaoyuan.
"Gun Dragon Bridge, Knock Down the Well, Grey Vegetable Pillar, Skyscraper Ridge." Shunwang Thorn, Maju Bay, Kong Shengwen Temple, Longfeng Mountain. "I don't know when the Eight Views of Gaoyuan were compiled by local villagers and widely circulated." The words "Gunlong" and "Shunwang" alone are literal enough to arouse people's interest in finding out, and perhaps some people have guessed it. For Gaocheng Town, the reporter has visited twice in June and October, and each visit has felt worth the trip.
People who know the history of Gaoqing know that the name "Gaoqing" is a merger of the names of the two counties of "Gaoyuan" and "Qingcheng". At that time, Gaoyuan County was roughly located in the current Gaocheng Town of Gaoqing County. In the high town, many of the relics left behind still tell the stories and legends of that year.
The former moat wall is no longer as tall and majestic as it was then.
Magical Gun Dragon Bridge
"The bridge was renovated in 2010 and is now much taller than the original, with a parapet." On the afternoon of June 4, Gao Chengang, a 68-year-old villager in Beimenli Village, told reporters that his home was not far from the north end of the bridge, and people often came to see The Gonglong Bridge.
Restored Gunlong Bridge.
Gunlong Bridge is located in the south of Beiguancun Village, Gaocheng Town, Gaoqing County, and is connected to Beimenli Village in the south, running in a north-south direction across the moat in the north of the former Gaoyuan County. According to the "Chronicle of Gaoyuan County", "The Gunlong Bridge was outside the north gate of the (Gaoyuan Ancient City), originally built of earth, and Wang Ning of the Mingyi people rebuilt it into stone." The bridge has a single hole, the roll arch is trimmed with longitudinal masonry, the span of the roll plate is 2.2 meters, the vault to the bridge deck is 1.45 meters, the bridge deck is paved with bluestone slabs, the length is 5.8 meters from north to south, the width from east to west is 6.2 meters, the four corners have a circular stone foundation, and the stone on the east side of the bridge is carved with the words "Gunlong Bridge".
Regarding the legend of The Dragon Bridge, many people in the village can say it. "The name of the Gonglong Bridge is related to song taizu Zhao Kuangyin, and it is said that Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin lost a battle to pacify the world, and ran to Gaoyuan County alone, and there was a bridge on the Jishui River in the north of the county seat, and Zhao Kuangyin urged the horse to prepare to cross the bridge to the north, but the horse lost its front hoof, and Zhao Kuangyin rolled down his horse and fell into the river beach under the bridge." Gao Chen just told reporters the story that was circulating in the local area, and the villagers next to him also added in tongues: "Zhao Kuangyin is a real dragon tianzi, and the dragon rolls down from the bridge, but is it not a 'rolling dragon', it may be that the word "rolling" is indecent, so he used the homophone "Gun". ”
The river beach is full of thorns, but Zhao Kuangyin was not injured by thorns, and legend has it that the thorn god made the thorn needle grow upside down to avoid harming the Son of Heaven, and the thorns here were also known as shunwang thorns. The reporter carefully inspected several trees on the north side of the moat and found that most of the needles were bent from the roots, and the tips of the needles seemed to be artificially bent, growing inward, although sharp, but not easy to hurt.
"In the early years, there were children playing by the bridge and accidentally fell down, and nothing happened. Others fell into the river drunk and suffered some skin trauma. This is a 'blessed land' in our high town. A villager said with a smile. The beautiful legends have cast a mysterious color on the Gonglong Bridge, and as to how many of these legends are true, it is impossible to verify. Nowadays, these legends can only be used as a little after-dinner talk, but the local villagers are willing to believe that these stories have really happened, because it proves that the local area has a long history.
Tilt the down well
There is a distinctive stone block on both sides of the bridge hole on the east side of the bridge, and nearby villagers said that this is the stone block originally engraved with the name of the bridge, but due to the serious weathering, the handwriting has long been blurred. Directly above the bridge hole, the three words "Gunlong Bridge" newly engraved at the time of renovation are very eye-catching, as if looking at the "downwell" not far to the east.
The downwell is tilted from the wellhead to the well body.
The downwelling well is located in Beiguan Village, Gaocheng Town, Gaoqing County, east of Gunlong Bridge. The diameter of the head of the knocked-down well is 0.85 meters, and the entire wall of the well is small and large, oblique, and the lower round brick is carved with patterns. In 1999, it was listed as a county-level cultural relics protection unit, and in 2010, it was listed as a municipal cultural relics protection unit.
In the summer heat, on the way from the "Gunlong Bridge" to the "knock down well", there is a cherry-like fruit on the side of the road, and the red fruit hides in the green leaves like agate, which is very tempting. Not knowing whether it was edible, the reporter picked a few and asked the villagers he had just met. They told reporters that this fruit is called hair cherry, which can be eaten, but the taste is average. The reporter took a closer look at the fruit, and there was indeed a layer of soft hairs on the outside of the peel, which was not as smooth as the cherries commonly found in the market. Put it in your mouth and bite open, the taste is sour and sweet, slightly a little bit of a small cherry texture.
On the way from the Gunlong Bridge to the knockdown well, there is a small forest of hairy cherry trees.
Not far from the "cherry forest" is the "Down Well", and it is said that the origin of the name "Down Well" is also related to Zhao Kuangyin. According to historical records, Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty, led his troops to conquer Gaoyuan, and when the weather was dry and the people and horses were thirsty, a brick well suddenly appeared in front of them, the well water was crystal clear, and the soldiers were all looking forward to it. However, there are many people and many people, and there is no way to draw water. Seeing this, Taizu said in his mouth, "If the heavens are huai rende, why don't you help me?" So he used divine power to pull down the well and poured out the spring. All the people were astonished, and all knelt down to praise, and took water to drink, and the thirst of the people and horses was immediately quenched. After that, Zhao Kuangyin led his troops to continue to conquer, swept through the Central Plains, and the hegemony was finally achieved. Taizu thanked Theoji for his help and gave him the name "Bring Down the Well". Because the well is named Tianzi Imperial Seal, it is also known as the "National Well".
The terrain around the well is high in the northeast and low in the southwest, and the well body is inclined downwards, which is very distinctive. The carved mural on the north side of the well is vividly telling the story of the Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin and the soldiers who pulled the well to fetch water, and some people in the picture are holding knives and guns, and some people are holding bows and arrows, each one is heroic. The murals are magnificent, recreating the historical features of the Gunlong Bridge and the Knockdown Well, and more intuitively telling the mysterious legends related to them.
Floor plan of Gaoyuan City
During the interview, the same Gaocheng town government staff told reporters that a villager in Guyuan Village in the jurisdiction once hand-painted a simple plan of the historical monuments of Gaoyuan City, which can more intuitively understand the past of Gaoyuan City.
After several rounds of inquiry, the reporter and his party came to the home of Bai Xuetie, a villager in Guyuan Village. After indicating his intentions, Bai Xuetie took out from the cupboard his elaborate plan of Gaoyuan City.
Villagers say it is the foundation site of the ancient city wall.
Because the drawing was rolled up for a long time, Bai Xuetie carefully unfolded it and put a paperweight around it to keep the drawing as flat as possible. "This picture was compiled by me based on the memories of that year and based on the stories of many elderly people over the age of 90 in the village, and it took more than three months." Bai Xuetie told reporters. In order to restore the layout of Gaoyuan City to the drawings as much as possible, Bai Xuetie visited and consulted a large number of historical materials in many ways, and changed the draft three times, so that future generations can better understand the history of Gaoyuan City.
Bai Xuetie briefed reporters on the layout of buildings in the city.
For the walls of Gaoyuan City, Bai Xuetie has such a note in the drawing: "In the fourth year of the Ming Dynasty Jingtai Zhixian Cai Cheng began to rebuild the tucheng city, the circumference of the tucheng is five huali, the height is three zhang, there are four gates, the south is Guqing Gate, the north is the Gongchen Gate..." In the floor plan, Bai Xuetie also clearly marked the location of schools, merchants, village residences, temples and other buildings. From the map, the moat protects the entire Gaoyuan City tightly, only the four gates of the east, west, south and north can be passed, and in the four corners of the city, there are four inlets of different sizes as water reserves for use in the city.
The glazed tiles collected in the home of a villager are said to have been left behind when the county was demolished.
In Hecun, Nan County, Gaocheng Town, the reporter found a remnant of the ancient city wall site. It is said that the ancient city wall is actually more like a tall mound, surrounded by weeds, and the only thing that can prove its identity is the stone stele next to it - the ruins of the Gaoyuan City Wall. In Guyuan Village, there is also a remnant of the ancient city wall hidden in the woods, although this section of the city wall is not as tall as the former, but the rammed earth layer is more obvious, although it has experienced hundreds of years of wind, frost, rain and snow, but it is still strong.
At this time, the reporter remembered what Bai Xuetie and other villagers had said: The circumference of Tucheng is five miles, and the height is three zhang... During the occupation of Gaocheng by the Japanese invasion of China, they used to patrol the city walls on bicycles...
On October 25 this year, the reporter came to Gaocheng town again and met the legendary "Wang Zi House". Named after the "King" shaped from the air, the Wang Zi House was once the school building of a provincial middle school, although it is not very old, but it is very distinctive. The reporter used a drone to overlook the Wang Zi House from the air and found that it was generally east-west, with a small row of houses at the east and west ends and in the middle, thus combining into a "wang" character.
From a high altitude, the lines of the roof of the Wang Zi House show a distinct "Wang" glyph.
Today, Wang Ziwu has become an archaeological practice base jointly built by Gaoqing County and Shandong University. This old building, which has a sense of age, is still exerting its residual heat.
During the visit, the reporter also saw the glazed tiles left behind when the county government was demolished in the villagers' homes. Many locals once said with great emotion: If the county court of that year can be preserved, it is definitely a very interesting building. Yes, perhaps it is precisely because of this regret that we cherish these relics left behind today.
Dazhong Daily Zibo Rong Media Center reporter Wang Xiaoming Wang Bing Pu Qiqi Han Kai correspondent Li Yanze