What happened at Laowang Lake in Xiao County during the Qing Dynasty?
Write couplets at night under the lanterns of autumn, and pour warm and cold wine under the snow in spring.
The green Pihu Lake loves the flying white gulls, and the clear water of Suihu Lake loves the fat red carps.
(Tang. Bai Juyi)
Today, Pihu Lake has long since disappeared, mainly due to the change of course of the Yellow River and the drop in the water level of Pihu Lake. Only a part of the original Pi Lake remains in the southeast corner of Xiao County, which is called "Laowang Lake" due to the low-lying terrain. The "Pi Lake" in the poem is today's Laowang Lake.
According to the "Tongzhi Xuzhou Prefecture Chronicles", "... Jiuding Mountain, five miles to the east of Zhangshan (today's Zhangshan Collection in Suzhou), is the Lingbi Boundary Mountain, five miles to the south is the Great Temple Fair, and there is Qingdao Mountain in the south. There is also a lake on the west bank of Zhong Lake, and it is connected to Laowang Lake in the south. There is an island in the middle called Caojialou, there is a three-boundary monument in the east, there is Lingbi in the northeast, there is Su in the southeast, and Xiaoye is in the west."
The Republic of China. During that period, Laowang Lake was the boundary lake between Xiaoxian, Lingbi, and Suzhou.
According to legend, at the end of the Chu-Han conflict, the two armies of Liu and Xiang faced off at Laowang Lake (called Pi Lake in ancient times). On a ten-mile battlefield and ambushed on all sides, Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, was defeated at Gaixia (Gaixia, an ancient place name, today's Yuji Township, Lingbi County) on the south bank of Laowang Lake, and finally committed suicide in Wujiang River. Heroes die young, beauties age easily. Liu Bang cherished heroes and buried Xiang Yu with the courtesy of Lu Gong. He also buried Xiang Yu's concubine Qingji on the bank of Laowang Lake. To this day, there is still a pool of water on the north bank of Laowang Lake called Qingzhong Lake. In order to commemorate Xiang Yu, later generations built Bawang City on the south bank of Laowang Lake, across the lake from Qingzhong on the north bank of the lake. Although the city is now lost, place names such as Chengdong Village and Chengxi Village still exist.
The soil and water nurture the people.
Laowang Lake, with rippling blue waves and soaring egrets, is surrounded by mountains on three sides and is filled with blooming flowers. It is so beautiful...
In my memory, Laowang Lake is very magical and is home to many celebrities. In this place, in the Ming Dynasty there was Zhang Tiqian, a member of the Ministry of Household Affairs; in the Republic of China, there was the famous anti-Japanese general Fang Xianjue; today there is the great calligrapher Li Bairen.
It is said that a drought occurred in the Wanghu Lake area in a certain period of the Republic of China. The rivers and ponds dried up and the well water dripped. Lakeside villagers have taken water from Laowang Lake to irrigate their fields and fight drought to protect seedlings.
Because Laowang Lake is the boundary lake between Xiaoxian County and Lingbi County, villagers from the two places often staged dramas to compete for water.
What's the matter with grabbing water? This usually happens when there is drought and no rain, and villagers on both sides of the strait rush to pump water to their fields. If the pumping is slow, the water in Laowang Lake will flow to the other side, and gradually the water will be drained, and your crops will dry up and die, and there will be no harvest.
On this day, it was time to grab water again. Both sides organized some of the strongest labor forces in the village or neighboring villages to participate, and a scramble for water began early in the morning.
One day, a wandering Taoist priest passed by here. Seeing such a fiery scene, he couldn't help asking a scholar-looking person next to him: "What's going on? It's so lively?"
The scholar shook his head and said: "Master Taoist, I don't know what happened here this year. There was a locust plague a while ago. It hasn't rained for several months now. God has caused a drought again! On both sides of the lake, we are fighting to grab The water is fighting the drought, and there is almost a fight..."
"Oh! So why don't you go grab the water?" The Taoist priest looked at the scholar and asked.
"I am a scholar. I am weak and cannot compete with them." The scholar poured a bowl of tea and handed it to the Taoist priest, and then said, "I can only boil some tea for the villagers and send it to them." Quench your thirst."
The Taoist priest took the tea and said, "I think you are a very blessed person with a handsome face and a kind heart!"
" Shame on you!" The scholar said, "I have read many books and studied hard for many years to become a scholar!"
"Oh! Not bad for being a scholar at such a young age!" Where do you live?”
“I live in Fangjiazhai, a village in the north. My surname is Fang.
"The scholar pointed to the village on the north side of Hubei and said, and then sighed and said, "Hey, everyone says that the terrain here is low and the geomantic omen is not good. It is either flooded or drought..."
The Taoist priest After listening, he looked at the air, looked at the sand, and tasted the water, and then the other scholar said: "No! The soil here is fertile, the springs are sweet, the lakes are beautiful, and the mountains are beautiful. It is a place where dragons and tigers hide! Within a few years, someone noble will appear!
Fang Xiucai was dubious after hearing this. He scratched his head and asked with a smile: "This Taoist priest, I have heard that Taoists know astronomy and geography. Can you give me some calculations about the official career?" ? ”
“Life and death are determined by fate, wealth and honor are determined by heaven! "The Taoist Master looked at Fang Xiucai for a while. The other Xiucai gave a thumbs up and said meaningfully, "When people do good deeds, don't ask about the future! "
After that, the wandering Taoist priest went into the mountains to collect medicine.
This is a beautiful legend spread in the Fangjiazhai area...
This Fang Xiucai is Fang Weibao.
Fang Weibao, named Congshan, lives in Fangjiazhai by Laowang Lake.
Fangjiazhai is a beautiful small village surrounded by mountains on three sides. , surrounded by Laowang Lake in the south, with beautiful mountains and clear waters, chirping birds and fragrant flowers all year round, and customary folk customs.
To the east of Fangjiazhai is Jiuding Mountain, which is known as the "No. 1 Stone in the World".
To the west of Fangjiazhai is Zigong Mountain. Legend has it that during the Spring and Autumn Period, Zigong, a disciple of Confucius, signed an alliance with the Wu State in the south on behalf of the State of Lu. Zigong was nostalgic for the mountains and rivers here and lived there for a long time. It got its name.
Next to Fangjiazhai is Zhangshanji. Speaking of the origin of Zhangshanji, there is a legend.
In the Spring and Autumn Period, the Zhangshanji area belonged to Lu State, and the south of Laowang Lake is the border of Wu State. At that time, Lu and Wu had ceased war and established diplomatic relations for many years. At that time, Confucius, the founder of the Confucian school of Lu State, had three thousand disciples, among whom seventy-two were the sage Zi Zhang. He came here three times to give lectures and teach apprentices, and spread Confucianism as a teacher. There were often hundreds of students here. Since then, Confucianism has been spread and developed here unprecedentedly, and it has also promoted the integration of the thoughts and cultures of Lu and Wu.
In order to commemorate Zizhang, later generations named a mountain near Zhangshanji "Zizhang Mountain", and built a Zizhang Temple at the southern foot of Zizhang Mountain where Zizhang lectured and preached. There was constant incense and an endless stream of pilgrims. . Over time, a market town was formed here, called "Zhangshanji". Today, the villagers here still adhere to Confucianism, everyone is hardworking and kind, and the people everywhere are simple. Every family is proud to obtain fame and serve the motherland (according to the old man Zhangshan). There was indeed a Zhang Temple before Ji, also known as the Buddhist Scripture Tower, but it was destroyed during the wars before and after liberation.)
Fang Weibao was born into a scholarly family and was influenced by Confucianism since his childhood. He could memorize the Three-Character Classic, but he was not recognized for his talents. Although he took part in the provincial examination many times, he was only selected as a scholar in the late Qing Dynasty.
Fang Weibao adheres to the ancestral motto of the Fang family of "patriotism and benefiting the people". Because he is kind and generous, every spring is famine. Jing, he used his family's grain to help poor farmers. The locals praised him as a "good man."
Fang Weibao married a Kang family and had five sons. His wife was virtuous and his son was filial, and he was very happy. /p>
Fang Xianjue, the third of Fang Weibao's five sons, was the most optimistic.
Fang Xianjue was smart and lively when he was a child. When he was studying in a private school in the countryside, his grades were very good, which was very flattering to Fang. Wei Bao likes it.
Every year after the Lunar New Year, there is a temple fair in Zhangshan. At this time, people from all over the country come to join in the fun. The biggest attraction of the local temple fair is the social opera.
This social opera is usually performed by a troupe hired by wealthy businessmen from Zhangshanji area for more than half a month.
At this time, the people have just celebrated the New Year. , there was no farm work, and everyone came to support it. It was a huge crowd of people and it was very lively.
Fang Xianjue was the happiest when the social opera was performed, because he had loved listening to operas since he was a child, especially "Sun Bin Dao Pang Juan" and "Sun Bin Da Da Po Pang Juan". Plays such as "Guan Gong and Cao Cao" and "Yue Fei's Fight against the Jin" worship heroes such as Sun Wu, Guan Yu and Yue Fei.
Fang Weibao hopes that his son will become a dragon, and Fang Xianjue is particularly optimistic about it. He hopes that he will study hard, inherit his ambition, obtain some kind of fame in the future, and honor his ancestors.
However, one day when he came home from the opera, Fang Xianjue cried and made a fuss not to go to the private school, but wanted to practice martial arts. In his opinion, "In strategizing, victory can be won thousands of miles away; in commanding thousands of armies." "Horse, you can do whatever you want on the battlefield" is called promising.
In the land of China at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the practice of martial arts was prevalent. Huo Yuanjia, a hero from Jinmen at the same time, and Huang Feihong, a great master in Lingnan martial arts circles, were all representative figures of that era.
The Xiaoxian area at that time was also affected by the social atmosphere, and the number of people practicing martial arts was also increasing day by day. However, most of the martial arts practitioners were because their families were not very prosperous and their families were small. They were afraid of being bullied by others, so they were forced to do so by their parents. Send him to a martial arts school to learn some boxing and kicking skills for self-defense.
More than 90% of the people in Fangjiazhai are named Fang, and they are a famous family. Since there is no one to bully a big family, there is no need to practice martial arts. Also considering that Fang Xianjue was lively and active and loved to fight against injustices since he was a child, Fang Weibao was worried that he would often fight and kill in the future and cause trouble, so he rejected the idea of Fang Xianjue practicing martial arts and only encouraged Fang Xianjue to continue Hanchuang. Study hard in order to gain some kind of fame in the future. How can it be better to be a scholar than to use a gun or a stick?
Fang Xianjue has been obedient since he was a child. Since his father disagreed, he had to give up after crying for a few days.
After years of hard study, Fang Xianjue lived up to his father's expectations and rose to prominence. He was admitted to Nanjing No. 1 Industrial High School and the College of Engineering of Central University.
Perhaps because of his love of fighting injustices since he was a child, and his deep hatred of the ugly phenomena of feudal society, when he learned the meaning of the word law while studying, he set his ambition again: I want to be a lawyer!
Subsequently admitted to the Law Department of Shanghai University of Law and Politics.
However, Shanghai at this time was not the legendary "Oriental Paradise". Shanghai gangs (Qinghong Gang and Ge Laohui) specialized in oppressing the people and doing all kinds of evil. Foreigners occupied the concessions and were arrogant, especially in that area. The big sign "No Chinese or Dogs Allowed" deeply hurt Fang Xianjue's heart.