Editor's Note: On July 1, 1941, he set out with Dr. Zeng Zhaozhuo of the Republic of China and his "Chuankang Scientific Expedition" to see the humanities and scenery of Sichuan, Yunnan during the Republic of China. 本文摘自《滇康旅行记》。
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Wood fall village
Seeing the lively situation of the new shop, remembering that the distance here will not be more than a hundred miles, we originally thought that the new shop would advance, and the road must be full of agricultural flourishing areas, and safety would not be a problem. That's not the case. On this road, there are some places that are actually quite desolate, so it is inevitable that they will be dangerous.
We learned this not far from the new shop. On a sunny day, at seven o'clock, we left the new shop. After leaving the village, walk across the river stone bridge outside the village. At this time, the water is heavy after the rain, but the sunny day is shallow enough to be waded.
All the way to Muluozhai. Muluozhai is a large village on this road, and there is a "county Muluozhai Junior Primary School" in the village. The street length is about the remaining mileage. Since the new shop, I walked here in one breath, and did not rest for twenty miles, and only then did I drink a bowl of tea. The new shop to Yangjia Village section, the ground is particularly desolate, it is said that there are often robbery cases. Along the way, I can't help but feel suspense in my heart. Later, fortunately, I met an old man who also went to Muluozhai. He volunteered and was willing to be a volunteer guide for us before he put his mind at ease.
Yangqiao River
Advance from Muluozhai until about one o'clock in the afternoon before reaching the Yangqiao River. "Yangqiao River" is the name of a small river. In summer the river is not small. Because the flow is slow, the mud is particularly muddy. To go to huili avenue, cross the river through a large wooden bridge across the river; this bridge is called "Yanghe Bridge". Here the river flows northeastward. Cross the river to the north bank, a little up the slope, there are three small shops selling food on the left side of the road, the place name is also called "Yangqiao River". It is about twenty miles away from Muluo village and about 45 miles away from Xinpuzi (陳iyun 45 miles), which is the dining station on this day's journey.
Walking to the Yangqiao River, I was hungry. This very poor village, although there are only three huts in total, we still have to try to get something to eat here. Boiled water made of muddy water, drank a lot. Bean blossoms, cold rice, buckwheat baba, eat a lot of randomly, finally filled the stomach.
Thunder tree
After lunch, at 1:49 p.m., we set off from the Yangqiao River.
To a hut. Located about twelve miles from the Yangqiao River, it is the usual resting place for the sentries who guard the thunder tree, and the locals call it "the pine wool grass shed under the thunder tree", because this shed is made of pine hair and branches. Ordinary pack horses crossed the thunder tree, mostly at noon. After that, the sentry came down.
By the time we arrived, it was already three o'clock in the afternoon. The sentry came down from the whistle, and was in the shed, preparing for lunch. There were only two sentries we saw. A single old man in the shed is cooking for them.
Hearing that the Thunder Tree was one of the most dangerous sentries, we had to plead with the two sentries to give us a ride.
At first they were completely reluctant, saying that the whistle was too dangerous for one or two people to go. There were more than twenty sentries guarding this post. Usually take turns guarding the guard. But at least six or eight sentries at the same time at a time, that is, afraid of bandit attacks. The rest of the sentries who were not on the sentry were also waiting in the shed here, and when there was a call, they should respond, and everyone could join forces to annihilate the bandits. In order to meet the needs of business travel, most of them usually go up before noon and come down at about three o'clock in the afternoon. Now that everyone is scattered, they really dare not go. We are willing to give them more money, or dare not. After saying a lot of good things, I finally promised to send us over after eating.
When the sentry was eating, we bought some bread at a stall outside the shed. After talking to the sentry, they complained about the hardships of life. They said that the sentries were all hired by the township magistrates and were paid only eight yuan a month. Food is provided by the public, and the shed is subpacked. Every day, I ate vegetable rice (as seen today, and sure enough), and I only ate meat once every seven days. Under such conditions, they are desperate! (It is common for sentries to kill bandits.) ）
At about four o'clock, he was escorted by sentries and marched towards the Thunder Tree Pass.
Before reaching the mountain pass, there is a place on the right where you can walk down the mountain. The sentry pointed out to us that under the cliff was the bandit's residence. Walk through the Leidashu Pass (about seventeen miles from the Yangqiao River, commonly known as fifteen miles) and be safe. Two sentries, two dollars sent away, they already felt very satisfied.
Go to Zhang Guanchong and find the primary school accommodation. It didn't arrive until six o'clock in the afternoon, and it was soon dark. This stop road, although relatively flat and easy to walk, but the distance is not close. Coming from the new shop, the road took almost eleven hours in total, and after arriving rather tired.
Zhang Guanchong
Zhang Guanchong, also known as Zhang Guanchang, is about seventy-three miles (commonly known as seventy miles) from the new shop, slightly next to the main road. It is said that the original residents of this village were mainly surnamed Zhang, so they had to have this name. Now most of them are surnamed Liu. The village is not large, and it is said that there are seven or eight in the village. There is only one main street, which is generally from west to east, with a total length of more than 200 meters, but the street is not narrow. It is said that on the day of "every scene", this place is quite lively. We came here on a leisure day, arrived late, the street was deserted, and we could hardly buy anything.
The primary school is located on a small hillside outside the west gate of the village, and its full name is "Huili County Zhangguanchong Primary School". The school site was originally the Liu Family Temple. Like the Yunnan region, the family temples of large households in this area, in addition to the tablets of the Emperor, are mostly dedicated to Guanyin, the god of wealth and other Pusa, while the ancestral spleen position is instead relegated to a secondary position, and the most prominent part of the main hall is occupied by Pusa for example. Although this temple has been converted into a primary school, the statue of Pusa on the main hall has not been removed.
The principal of the primary school, of course, is also surnamed Liu. He is not in school at the moment. After arriving, it was entertained by a steward Liu Mou. In addition, the only person left in the school is an elderly school worker surnamed Liu. This old man's ears were completely deaf; but Liu Deaf's honesty and reliability were in contrast to the oiliness of the steward. The steward told us that the treatment of this school was too low, and the principal and teachers could not do things with peace of mind and wanted to do other things. Principal Liu immediately took the place of the local dignitary Captain Liu Da (a local tycoon who also had an errand in the county government) and sent his horse to Yunnan, so Xiaosheng took a leave of absence and could not study. This horse, worth twelve thousand yuan, was brought as a gift to the commander of the Wei battalion in dianjing, meaning that he wanted to exchange two hundred central bullets (the local tycoon had bullets, of course, he could run amok.) At the same time, Principal Liu also wanted to take this opportunity to go to Commander Wei to seek an errand to make a living; so he did not borrow the respect of the principal and bent down to become a horse escort. As for the future of elementary school students, it is in fact irrelevant.
The steward also said that besides Captain Liu, the most respected person in the village was a former Qing old Gongsheng in his seventies. This name is Liu Qiongfu, and everyone in the village respects him as a "teacher" but not a name. He added that Liu Qiongfu was his uncle; at this point, his face was full of pride.
We came to Zhang Guanchong, because it was too late, rice and vegetables could not be bought, I felt very embarrassed, and at the same time people were tired and really unwilling to move. At this moment, Liu Mou, the steward of the long-shirt class, volunteered to buy rice and oil for us. We were grateful for this kindness. Later, when I inquired on the street, I learned that he had reported a lot of money, and the original purpose was just to get some oil. Inside the school, there is not even equipment for cooking. We cooked rice and stir-fried vegetables, so we had to find a nearby family to do it.
It was the next day again, and we were ready to arrive at huili in half a day, so at six o'clock in the morning, we were impulsive from Zhang Guan. From the elementary school down, less than half a mile road, you will go to the "road" at the mouth of the village. This old slate-paved avenue leads us to Huili City. Follow the road through the hills.
At twelve o'clock in the afternoon, we arrived safely at Huili and entered the city through the east gate. After passing one level after another, after passing through several dangerous situations in the middle, we finally walked from Kunming to Huili in ten and a half days. The first part of the journey is considered to be a smooth end. In hindsight, this experience really seemed like a Tang monk learning from the scriptures. After passing through the desolate areas of northern Yunnan, when I arrived at Huili, I only felt that the city was unexpectedly prosperous.
Will make an impression
Huili is a typical Sichuan county, although it has now been assigned to Xikang, from the perspective of people, streets, buildings, shops, customs, and other aspects, our impression is like this.
The city is not small, about a kilometer square. A drum tower, located in the center of the city. From there, the four avenues, east, west, south, and north, stretch out in four directions. To the east of the castle, there is a large river called the "Huicheng River" or "Huichuan River".
The Xixiang Highway, on the east bank of this river, against the city wall, is displayed to the north.
Xixiang Highway construction scene
Editor's Note: Xixiang Highway starts from Xichang City, Sichuan Province, and ends in Xiazhuang, Xiangyun County, Yunnan Province, with a total length of 548.7 kilometers, a section of 260 kilometers in Sichuan, and a section of 289.4 kilometers in Yunnan. The existing highway connecting Xichang to Chengdu runs west along the Anning River Valley from Xichang to the west, passing through present-day Dechang, Huili, and Panzhihua, and entering Yunnan Province. In Yunnan, the highway line passes through the four counties of Yongren, Dayao, Yao'an and Xiangyun, leaps out of the pine forest of Xiazhuang Village, enters Yunnan Yiba, and merges with the main line "Stilwell Highway" on Xiazhuang Street. This line was also initiated and supervised by Stilwell, the general of the Us War of Resistance against China. The whole line meanders and extends in the lofty mountains and large river canyons, over dozens of mountains above sea level of more than 2,000 meters, across the Anning River, Jinsha River, Yupao River and other rapids and rivers, the two banks of the Jinsha River are still typical mudslide-prone areas, the route drop is large, from the riverside Lacha Village to the other side of the river aisle Yakou, the altitude difference is nearly 1,500 meters, the project is very arduous. However, the anti-Japanese battlefields in various localities are in urgent need of materials to aid China, and this road must be built as soon as possible to ensure that the materials for aiding China from the west will pass through Sichuan and be continuously transported to various battlefields. Therefore, like the "Stilwell Highway" that built the main line, the construction of the northern line also adopted the method of "unified survey, local recruitment, sectional construction, and county and township contracting", and the responsibility was extended to the county and township. Taking Xiangyun County, Yunnan Province, as an example, in January 1941, the county magistrate was put in charge and set up the "Xiangyun County Xixiang Highway Recruitment Office", instructing every three households to send one strong worker, recruiting more than 1,000 migrant workers, bringing their own grain and vegetables and road opening tools, and driving to the construction site. The various nationalities recruited, with bitter hatred for the Japanese aggressors, actively threw themselves into the intense and orderly construction of the project. It was largely completed in 1941.
Close to the city roots, there is a narrow moat around it. Geographically, huili city is located at the western end of the dam, and its western wall is close to the foot of the low mountain.
Like other cities in China, the low mountains within a few tens of miles near the city are almost all bare laterite slopes.
Even if it is placed in the middle of the county towns in Sichuan Province at present, it will be regarded as an unusually neat city, and at the same time, it is a relatively large one. Not only are there four main streets, all made of lime triad, but several side streets are also made. The main street is ordinary and wide, but the road surface is unusually smooth, and the middle is raised, which is particularly beautiful; but it is too slippery after the rain, and it is a little careless, and there is a great danger of falling.
Today's huili ancient city wall
There are many alleys in the city. Although the alley is narrow, it is mostly well-paved cobblestone street. Most of the house buildings are old-fashioned Chinese buildings, and most of them are very neat. The appearance and content of the store are not much different from ordinary Sichuan cities. All kinds of shops, of course, are available. There are many foreign goods and goods produced in Shanghai that are shipped through Kunming.
After the construction of the newly built Xixiang Highway, some goods were transported directly from Myanmar via this route. Despite this, the commodities seen on the market still account for the vast majority of local goods.
The bustle of Huili was really unexpected. Originally, in my mind, I thought that this city that was approaching the border must be quite cold, similar to the rich people and Lu Persuasion. When we arrived here, we were amazed to see such a lively scene. Not only are the counties outside Yunnan far from being comparable, but there are not too many counties in the hinterland of Sichuan that can catch up with the meeting.
In the Qing Dynasty, Xichang was the prefecture (宁遠府), and Huili was the prefecture. However, it was much more prosperous than Xichang.
It is said that before the Passage of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, goods transported from Shanghai and foreign countries to Yunnan were transported from the Yangtze River to Chongqing, and then from the Sichuan Provincial Economic Association to Kunming. At the same time, after traveling west from Huili to Sanduizi, it traced the Jinsha River upwards, which was the road from Ning to Dali at that time, and from Dali to Burma.
After the French built the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway at the end of the Qing Dynasty, foreign goods and Shanghai products were diverted to Haiphong, and through this road into Yunnan. Therefore, it will manage business and greatly reduce the color. However, after the goods transported by haidao to Kunming, some of them were transported into Sichuan Province by Huili, so the importance of Huili did not disappear. However, compared to the previous time when the Yunnan Crossing Road was not open, it was inevitably dwarfed.
That is, at present, the market here is bustling, still better than Xichang, and it is a commercial city. On the other hand, Xichang has become a rear military and transportation center since the establishment of Xichang Xingyuan, chairman of the Military Commission in 1938. At the same time, because of the frequent abundance of agricultural products in Ning, the Xikang provincial government also attaches great importance to this place. Xichang Street, full of government offices, full of civil servants, is another flavor.
There are quite a few good houses in huili, which is also beyond Xichang's reach. Temple mansions, there are some grand scale. Most of them are left over from the heyday before the Passage of the Yunnan Road.
In addition to the county government and the county party department, there is a post office and a telegraph office in the city. Chuankang Copper Management Office of the Resources Committee of the Ministry of Economic Affairs has an office here.
There is also a park in the city, which was converted from a private garden in the past. The interior is quite spacious, and the layout is particularly tortuous and elegant, which is very commendable. Among them, there is a pond and a pavilion, which is a typical Chinese garden. There is a public education hall attached to the park. The large number of soldiers and the large number of announcements are the two characteristics of Huili City.
All the way from a secluded country place, the formal army has not seen each other for a long time. As soon as I arrived at huili city, I suddenly felt that there were many armed soldiers, and I met them everywhere. At that time, all the twenty-fourth army was stationed here. The costumes are quite neat. We came all the way here, the straw shoes were short, the clothes were quite ragged, and when we entered the city, the guards at the city gate looked at us, but there was no trouble.
Walking to the Drum Tower, I sat down to drink tea in a tea house, only to see that the walls of the Drum Tower were plastered with various notices. The streets are crowded with people, bustling, just like rushing to the streets elsewhere. On the north and south streets of the city, commerce is the most prosperous. In addition, the Street outside the North Gate (known locally as "Beiguan") is also very lively, even more than the most lively part of the city. In these most lively streets, people are crowded like this every day. One thing worth noting is that yiren are rarely seen on the street; although the east of the county seat is still not far from the Yi district.
There are no electric lights at night, which is a disadvantage for this city. Therefore, the night is much quieter, but on several lively streets, the night market is still in full swing, especially the food stalls. At night, the shops are lit with either vegetable oil lamps or foreign oil lamps, but unfortunately most of them are not lit. There are slightly paper lanterns hanging from the doorway; but walking on the street at night, even if it is on the street, half of it must also be touched.
Although business is prosperous, when we walked here, there was no bank in Huili, and foreign exchange depended on the post office and the money house. (At that time, only the Xikang Provincial Bank set up branches here.) Half a year later, there were several banks on the street. ）
In terms of entertainment, the Society has not yet set up a cinema. There are two theaters. In a family in Beiguan, Sichuan opera is sung at night until a good night. Until now, Huili has not let go of the alarm, let alone the enemy planes, which is a fortunate thing. Life here used to be very low. In the last year, it has only risen sharply. When we passed, the locals said that the price of goods here has increased by three or four times compared with half a year ago. General goods, as well as food, were about one-third higher than kunming at that time. Some things, more than double as tall.
There are quite a few schools in the city. The largest of them is the prefectural high school. The site of the school, which was originally the Temple of Literature, was exceptionally spacious, so we came to spend the night at the school. Opposite this school, there is a central school (elementary school), which is also very large, and the west city is an area where schools are concentrated. The Wanshou Palace in Beiguan is one of the largest temples in the county seat.
The soap candle factory run by the Resource Committee here is located there. In addition, the organ that borrowed this temple is the Preparatory Office of the Sugar Factory of the Senior Management Committee, and the "Yue Yuen Mining Company" jointly established with an official and businessman. The company's business, for the mining of gold in the mountains near Tong'an, was presided over by the young geologist Mr. Chang Longqing. Mr. Chang is a graduate of Peking University, the first Chinese scientist to enter Liangshan in recent years, and we also want to pass through Liangshan. When I got here, I went to him and talked about the situation in Liangshan. Mr. Chang was very polite and was sure to invite us to the "Sichuan Hotel" to dinner. I haven't eaten a good dish for a long time, and as soon as I arrived at the restaurant, our group, just like the one released from the hungry prison, twenty dishes, like a wind and clouds, were completely empty in a moment.