Out of the winter melon village Deang homestay "shangju". Photo by Yang Bangqing
Zhao Lahui poured the sour tea into the bamboo tube to prepare for fermentation. Photo by Yang Bangqing
Dehong Dai Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture is located in the west of Yunnan Province, bordering Myanmar, with a border of 503.8 kilometers, and is a well-known overseas Chinese township in Yunnan Province. According to incomplete statistics, there are about 90,000 overseas Chinese in the whole state, mainly distributed in 25 countries and regions; more than 80,000 returned overseas Chinese dependents. As the capital of Dehong Prefecture, Mangshi has 10,749 returned overseas Chinese dependents, mainly from Myanmar and Vietnam.
A few days ago, the reporter walked into the Donggua Village of The Deang Nationality Township of Santai Mountain in Mangshi City, Dehong Prefecture. In this village, there is a "spokesperson" of the Deang ethnic group, who brings the world closer to the Deang tribe in the mountains and also makes the Deang tribe go to the world.
A cup of sour tea that you can't forget after drinking
Sandaishan Township is the only Deang nationality township in the country, and Chudonggua Village is the oldest Deang ethnic village in the township, which has a history of more than 500 years.
"Tourists come out of Donggua Village to play, what are the must-punch items?" "Pin De Ang sour tea, eat De Ang food, live in De Ang homestay!" Zhao La's three words did not leave the Deang clan.
Who is Zhao La? Zhao Lahui, 36, is a villager in Chudonggua Village. It is surprising to say that it is this farmer who has built a bridge between the Deang tribe and the world. Many people understand the Deang culture, starting from Zhao Lahui.
The reporter was impatient to hear the story between Zhao Lahui and the Deang clan, but he slowly brewed a pot of sour tea. The slowly overflowing tea aroma spread in the room, and when you taste it, there is really a hint of sourness in the aroma!
The soup color of sour tea is golden and translucent, the taste is very unique, in addition to the rich tea aroma, there is also a taste of sour plum, the taste is refreshing. The first brew is drunk to the end, and the sweet taste gradually takes over. "This is called sour tea drinking a sweet taste!" Zhao La said with a smile.
Tea is the key to understanding the culture of the Deang people. The Deang people are a people with a long history of growing and drinking tea, and are known as "ancient tea farmers". The China Deang Museum, located next to the Santaishan Township Government, records the origin of the Deang ethnic group, and the most recognized of the Deang people is the origin of the tea tree. In the folk mythology of the Deang people, the ancestors of the Deang tribe are incarnated by 102 tea elves in the sky. The Deang people are changed by tea, and tea is the root of the Deang people.
"Since ancient times, drinking tea has been the most important living habit of the Deang people, especially sour tea. However, later the production skills of sour tea gradually lost. Zhao Lahui said.
The imminent loss of sour tea reflects the embarrassing situation of the Deang culture. In Zhao La's memory, although his hometown is beautiful, his life is poor. Later, the people of the village went out to work, earned money and came back to demolish the old houses and build small western-style buildings, and the traditional Deang people's houses became less and less.
For the villagers' practices, Zhao Lahui can understand: "If you can't eat enough food, what kind of culture do you care about?" However, Zhao Lahui, who grew up around the fire pond and listened to his grandfather talk about the history of the Deang ethnic group, had a deep affection for the Deang culture, and he could not bear to see his own national culture disappear in the long river of history.
A signature product that can be used in hand
In 2009, Chudonggua Village was selected for the "Chinese Culture and Development Partnership Framework" project funded by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Fund. Zhao Lahui, who served as the group accountant, was elected as the village coordinator. This gave him the opportunity to follow the project team to Beijing, Sichuan, Guizhou and other places to investigate and train. This outing has become a turning point in the development of Zhao La's retreat and even out of Donggua Village.
"In Miaozhai in Guizhou, after repair and reinforcement, the traditional houses are both neat and clean and retain their national characteristics, which can be used for tourists to eat and sleep." Zhao Lahui saw that the local Miao people were weaving brocade and weaving Miao characteristics into bags and clothing, which was very popular.
The experience of going out to investigate made Zhao Lahui make up his mind: to excavate and inherit the culture of his own nation, and let it carry it forward again. Coincidentally, Zhao Lahui received teachers and students from Yunnan University for Nationalities who came to study the Deang ethnic culture, and the exchanges with them not only made Zhao Lahui strengthen his confidence in developing national culture, but also clarified the goal of development - the organic combination of national culture and rural tourism.
Zhao Lahui believes that in order to do a good job in rural tourism, it is necessary to have three elements: one is the beautiful natural scenery; the other is the rich national cultural heritage; and the third is the distinctive industrial products. "Out of the winter melon village is surrounded by mountains, there are 100 acres of tea gardens, natural scenery is not said." As the only Deang nationality township in the country, we do not lack the background of national culture, and what we lack is a 'national product brand' that can be taken. At this time, Zhao Lahui already had a plan in mind.
The first shot to carry forward the culture of the Deang ethnic group started from sour tea.
The unique flavor of sour tea is derived from the unique production technique. Zhao Lahui found Yang Lasan, an old man who could make sour tea in the village, and spent more than a year learning the art of sour tea making. However, due to the complexity of the sour tea production process, Yang Lasan's production skills are also passed on by word of mouth, and the process is not fine.
Taking one of the most important fermentation processes as an example, the reason why sour tea smells sour is because the tea leaves are put into bamboo tubes after being kneaded and twisted, buried in the ground for fermentation, and the fermentation for several months produces a large number of lactic acid bacteria, which is also the secret of sour tea "acid".
However, due to the imprecise process, the initial fermentation is only to put the tea into the bamboo tube, press it with your hand and bury it in the soil for fermentation, and the gap between the tea leaves is large, but it is easy to mold and smell. Zhao Lahui improved the process, compacting the tea leaves layer by layer, sealing them with banana leaves, and then burying them in the ground for fermentation. At the same time, in terms of fermentation time, he has undergone many tests and found that the sour tea fermented for 6 months has a more mellow taste.
The quality of the improved sour tea has been significantly improved. In 2017, the Deang sour tea making technique was selected into the fourth batch of Yunnan Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Zhao Lahui is the inheritor of this skill. Driven by his promotion, sour tea has become the signature product of Santaishan, and in 2019, there will be an income of more than 30,000 yuan in a year of selling tea. Not only that, he also took more than 10 apprentices. The popularity of sour tea made Zhao Lahui realize: "National culture can only have vitality if it is in line with the market." ”
A tourist cottage with ethnic customs
The success of sour tea did not satisfy Zhao Lahui, and he started the idea of a homestay again. As the only Deang ethnic township in The country, Sandaishan Township has attracted the attention of many ethnic scholars, film and television teams, international friends and tourists. "People always have a place to live when they come, and since they come to the village of the Deang ethnic group, they must live in the characteristic homestay of the Deang ethnic group." Zhao Lahui introduced that the biggest feature of the traditional houses of the Deang people is the design of the roof "four eaves out of the water", which looks like an official hat from a distance.
There is a moving story about the deang people's houses. Legend has it that Zhuge Liang led an army on a southern expedition, was attacked through the Deang Cottage, and was rescued by the brave and kind Deang girl Arnold to be able to overcome the danger and turn the crisis into safety. When Zhuge Liang, who had a heavy responsibility on his shoulders, parted, he left his hat to Arno as a souvenir. After Zhuge Liang's death, Arno did not eat or sleep for thirty-three days, and after a heavy rain, Arno disappeared, and where she stood, a house identical to Zhuge Liang's hat appeared, which was the house where the Deang people later lived.
In December 2018, Zhao La's "upgraded" Deang style homestay inn "Shangshangju" opened its doors, which not only retained the national customs, but also integrated modern fashion elements. "Shangshangju" is located in the most beautiful high place of the winter melon village, pushing the door to look far away, is a nearly 100 acres of tea garden, the fragrance of tea leaves comes to the nose. "ShangShangju" has 5 rooms, which can accommodate 12 people at a time, suitable for families and friends to gather. Tourists who come to "Shangshangju" can not only experience the fire pond culture of the Deang ethnic group, but also eat the unique Deang cuisine, taste The deang sour tea, and see the Deang ethnic water inspiration...
In 2019, only one homestay, Zhao Lahui earned 50,000 yuan, and there were travel agencies that took the initiative to find him to seek cooperation. Villagers who saw the sweetness also began to consciously protect their traditional houses. Fewer and fewer villagers demolished old houses to build Western-style buildings, and even people from surrounding villages came to Zhao Lahui to "learn from the scriptures."
At the same time, the local government has also introduced policies to encourage farmers to strengthen and repair, with a subsidy of 30,000 yuan per household. At present, more than 20 traditional houses in the village have been protected and repaired, and more and more Deang people have eaten fragrant "tourist meals" and embarked on the road to prosperity.
In 2018, Zhao La retired as the vice chairman and secretary general of the SantaiShan Deang Nationality Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese. The great changes in the village of Chudonggua have attracted many Overseas Chinese of the Deang ethnic group living in Myanmar to return to their homeland. It is understood that at present, 8 families of returned overseas Chinese from Myanmar have settled in the village of Chudonggua, and there are 146 families and 486 people living in the families of returned overseas Chinese, accounting for 22.9% of the total population of the village.
In Zhao Lahui's WeChat address book, in addition to tourists and scholars, there are also friends from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, South Korea and other countries. In Zhao Lahui's view, the village of Chudonggua has benefited from the closed cottage to the well-known Deang ancient village at home and abroad, benefiting from the organic combination of ethnic culture and rural tourism. "Let the Deang culture fly out of the mountains and go to the world, this is my lifelong pursuit." Zhao Lahui said. (Reporter Ye Chuanzeng)
People's Daily Overseas Edition ( April 16, 2021, 11th Edition)
Source: Overseas Network