Former Baimao Village, Shantang Town, Xun County: A monument of benevolence that records the ruling on drainage disputes during the Qianlong period

Partial view of the front of the Monument of Charity

[Hebi News Network News -- Hebao Rong Media Reporter Yue Ke Wen/Photo] There is a Dragon King Temple in the southeast direction of Xingfang Village (part of the former Baimao Village) in Shantang Town, Xun County, and there is a stone stele in the temple. Strange to say, this stone stele is neither a tombstone nor a merit stele, so why should such a stele be erected?

A stone monument erected for the patrol

On September 1, this reporter found the Dragon King Temple on the southeastern field of Xingfang Village in Shantang Town, and the front wall of the temple was embedded with this stone stele. The stone stele was erected in the nineteenth year of the Qianlong Dynasty (1754 AD), and the front of the stele is engraved with two rows of large characters: "The Right Attendant of the Military Department and the Right Deputy Governor of the Metropolitan Inspection Yuan, Yushi Inspector Of Henan and Other Places, as well as the Title of Viceroy to Control the Military Affairs of the Province and the Benevolent Monument of Jiang Da, who also managed the river channel."

Under the stele there is a "bì xì) stele, and the head of the stele is "Dragon" entangled, and the specifications are relatively high. The two lines of large characters on the front of the stone stele are mostly official names, and the full name of the Inspector of Henan during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty is "The Right Attendant of the Military Department and the Right Deputy Governor of the Imperial Household of the Imperial Household of the Imperial Household inspector of Henan and other places." According to historical records such as the Guide Chronicle, in the nineteenth year of Qianlong, the then governor of Henan was named Jiang Bing.

Jiang Bing, zi Xiaocang, a native of Yanghu, Jiangsu, was a native of Yongzheng Bingwu (1726 AD), and served as the governor of Henan from March 1752 to May 1755. In this way, this stele was erected during Jiang Bing's term of office. However, Jiang Bing's is not from Baimao Village, nor is there a clear record that he was buried in Baimao Village after his death, and Baimao Village is not the seat of state, government, and county government, so why should Jiang Bing be erected as a monument when he is alive?

The answer is on the back of the tombstone, which is engraved with a monument to the reconstruction of the Three Forks Canal, which records a matter about drainage that prompted the villagers to erect a monument to commemorate it.

Baimao Village, which has suffered from floods

The area where the Dragon King Temple is located today is no longer called Baimao Village, and in terms of administrative divisions, there is only one Xibaimao Village nearby. According to Chu Zhenyong of shantang town government, the historical Baimao Village is composed of the current three villages of Lifang, Guofang and Xingfang. Because the population of the original Baimao Village was prosperous, once exceeded 10,000 people, it was very inconvenient to manage. After the founding of New China, in the 1950s, the state adjusted an administrative division, divided Baimao Village into three, and established three administrative villages for management. However, these three villages are geographically closely linked, and the villagers are accustomed to calling themselves Baimao villagers (hereinafter referred to as Baimao Village is the general name of the three villages now).

In ancient times, the junction between the two places was often disputed over territory, jurisdiction and resources, and if it was located in the junction area of the three places, it was a frequent problem. Shantang Town is located in the northeast of Xun County, and the eastern end of Shantang Town is the area of Xibaimao Village and the former Baimao Village area of Guofang, Lifang and Xingfang, which is exactly at the junction of Junxian County, Neihuang County and Huaxian County. In almost all the dynasties, Baimao Village has clashed with villages and towns in neighboring counties, and the cause is drainage problems.

Baimao Village is low-lying, the rain is very easy to accumulate, whenever the rain is heavy, the village will be soaked by the water, the villagers suffer from floods. "I remember when it rained heavily in 1963, the village blistered." Qiao Juncai, 70, of Lifang Village, said that due to the topography, the water from several neighboring villages would be collected here, then discharged into the three forks of the canal mentioned in the inscription, and finally merged into the Nihe River, which flows through Neihuang County and Huaxian County.

The inscription records that the Three Forks Canal "opened from the thirty-eighth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, and the Daming Canal of the Inner Huang Yongfeng Canal ... It is about fifteen miles long, one foot wide and two feet wide, and eight feet deep." The role of the three forks canal is also clearly recorded, "to eliminate the slope of the water", the three forks of the canal is very single, only the function of drainage. Outside the rainy season, the Three Forks Canal can be said to be a dry river ditch with basically no irrigation function. In order to discharge the accumulated water into the Nihe River, the Three Forks Canal is bound to flow through the boundaries of Neihuang County and Huaxian County. It can only drain water and occupy cultivated land, and the three forks canal have caused dissatisfaction in neighboring county villages. Due to the drainage, the disputes between Baimao Village and villages in neighboring counties are difficult to count.

The adjudication of the drainage dispute is marked by a monument

The "Monument to the Rebuilding of the Three Forks Canal" inscribed on the stele records that around the nineteenth year of Qianlong, Jiang Bing, then the governor of Henan, mediated and adjudicated the drainage dispute. The inscription records that in June of the fourteenth year of Qianlong, a local official was instructed to go to the tomb of the second emperor of the Zhuān xū (zhuān xū) Emperor (kù) passing through Baimao Village, "seeing that the water was mighty, because he knew that the old canal was silted, he should dredge it to avoid flooding", and reported the matter to Jiang Bing, the governor of Henan. When Jiang Bing arrived at Baimao Village, he found that "... Witnessing the water not disappearing, inquiring about the people's suffering, the villagers briefly recounted the original reason."

The inscription clearly states that the Three Forks Canal "benefits the people and is harmless to neighboring counties.". This sentence is tantamount to a ruling on the dispute, that the three forks of the canal should be dredged and should not be blocked, which makes the people of Baimao Village rejoice. The inscription records that the county magistrate at that time assigned conscription to the townspeople "... Digging, whether there is land or no land, one husband.". The inscription also records that in order to commemorate this ruling, "temples and monuments should be erected." At the end of the inscription, there is also a person surnamed Hu surnamed Hebei Daotai, the prefect surnamed Wang and The Zhixian surnamed Wu, as well as several local protectors. Out of gratitude to Jiang Bing, the people erected this stone monument here.

Nowadays, in the mouths of the villagers, the last three words of the stone stele are affectionately called "Benevolent Monument". The stone stele has been relatively well preserved so far, except for some damaged by natural weathering, the inscription is still clearly visible, the stele body is almost not damaged, but other ancient stele in Baimao Village have different degrees of human damage. The reason is that the existence of the Ren'ai Monument is directly related to the safety of the village, once the three forks of the canal are blocked, and then encounter heavy rain, Baimao Village will be affected by the water.

Many elderly villagers still remember that during the Republic of China, Baimao Village had several disputes over drainage and neighboring counties, and there were sporadic disputes in the 1950s and 1960s. At that time, Xun County was still under the jurisdiction of Anyang, and once the dispute staff rushed to Baimao Village to find this stone stele and take pictures as one of the bases for mediating the conflict.

After 2000, with the change of climate and the decrease in heavy rainfall, coupled with the gradual improvement of water conservancy facilities, the rivers in Sanchaquhua County and Neihuang County have been filled in by local villagers and turned into fields. This makes many elderly people in Baimao Village worried: in case of heavy rain, the river is gone, and Baimao Village is flooded again?

The village of Bai mao is named after the white cat exorcising demons

This ruling of Jiang Bing, the governor of Henan, solved a major problem plaguing Baimao Village, and the people naturally praised him. Although the villagers have long been unable to remember Jiang Bing's original name, the engraved old master Jiang on the stele is "well known to everyone."

Qiao Juncai of Lifang Village said that legend has it that Baimao Village originally believed in the god of fire, and when Jiang Bing came to Baimao Village for field investigation, the incense in the Fire Temple was very exuberant. "There is a 'god' in the fire temple, and legend has it that the world responds to everything." Qiao Juncai said, "Although it is very magical, the 'immortals' ask for a lot of tribute every time. ”

After hearing about this, Jiang Bing, who was inspecting Baimao Village, came to the Fire Temple and planned to worship this "immortal". "As soon as Grand Master Jiang fell to his knees, the 'immortals' in the Fire Temple ran away." Qiao Juncai said, "It turns out that it is not a god at all, but a big horse monkey who has become a spirit." Legend has it that this is because Jiang Bing was carrying an official seal on his body at that time, and the official seal has the effect of suppressing demons in folklore, and the spirit of the big horse monkey is too heavy, "can't stand the worship of Grand Master Jiang."

When the ancients named villages, they either pinned their hopes on good hopes, or they were inherited from history, and more often they were named after the places where surnames gathered. Compared with the village names of Daoxiang, Longwo, Wangzhuang, and Lizhuang, Bai Mao is really a bit peculiar. In traditional culture, Mao is not a word with a good meaning. So, why is Baimao Village called this name?

He Cunji, 67, of Baimao Village, said that when he was a child, he had heard his fathers tell that the name of the village was actually called "White Cat Village". "Once upon a time, the village was the south pass of Linhe City." It is reasonable to say that the village should be relatively safe so close to the city, but somehow, there are monsters in the village and a rat spirit.

The rats were a disaster, eating a lot of livestock and chicken dogs, and even a few pedestrians who walked at night were killed, and for a time the whole village was panicked. Later, when the people in the city found out, they sent a high official to exorcise the demon.

The official went straight to the entrance of the village, and he shook the wide sleeves of his robe, "A big white cat jumped out." Soon the white cat bit the rat essence to death." After that, the village returned to its former tranquility.

In order to commemorate this incident, Nanguan changed its name to "White Cat Village". With the passage of time, I don't know when everyone called and turned, and it became the current Baimao Village.

Chief Duty: Jin Lina