Guyan Painting Village
Some alumni recently visited our hometown. I don’t know if the scenery in Lishui is pleasing to the eye, and I don’t know if other things besides the scenery are moving. I believe that everyone has a deep affection for their hometown, so they always want to show their best side to visitors from afar.
To be honest, there are three places worth visiting in our Ancient Yan Painting Township. Arched dam, stone letter (water overpass) and weir regulation stone tablet (farmland water conservancy management regulations).
As we all know, the famous water conservancy projects in ancient my country are: Sichuan - Dujiangyan (damless water diversion project), Ningbo - Tashanyan, Shaanxi - Zhengguo Canal, Guangxi----Lingqu. And our Lishui-Tongjiyan (arched overflow dam project) also occupies a certain place. Among the national key cultural relics protection units, there are about 9 water conservancy projects, among which shipping is the main one. At present, most of them have been in disrepair for many years, but there are only a few that are still functioning as irrigation. On March 22, 2015, at the working meeting of the National Irrigation and Drainage Committee of China, the Lishui Tongjiyan Irrigation Project was awarded the first batch of World Irrigation Engineering Heritage List. In the 1980s, not long after China and Japan established friendly diplomatic relations, more Japanese came to visit the ancient weir. Therefore, in my childhood impression, it was very strange that ordinary weirs and dams could attract Japanese people. Far away from my hometown, as I grew older, I realized that just as the Japanese respected Bai Juyi, the dam must have its greatness.
Let’s talk about the location of the dam first.
Looking down from the air, you can clearly see the topography and topography of the dam:
Our Bihu is a basin surrounded by mountains. In the Bihu Plain, Yantou Village has the highest terrain, with an altitude of 73 meters. Songyin River merges into the main stream of Oujiang River 500 meters upstream, which can avoid the impact of water flow when the two streams merge and the resulting rotating water flow. So the ancients chose this location. There is also a folk legend of "white snake showing signs". Our parents have told us these stories since we were young.
Besides, the main body of the dam is arched and curved, and the water is released in two places.
From a mechanical point of view: lengthen the dam body and reduce the impact force per unit area. If it is a straight dam, it cannot withstand the impact of water flow during flood season.
In terms of practicality: there are two water discharge places, one is built through the ship lock and the other is built through the sand lock. The latter has the function of discharging sand, removing sand and silt, and keeping the water quality upstream clear. The former can go directly to Baoding Village (this is the village where I was born). The water flowing through the ship lock is mainly used for irrigation of farmland in the Bihu Plain. The water flowing through the sand lock is mainly for ships, which can go to Dagangtou. Since it is called a gate, it can naturally be adjusted day and night according to the amount of water. In addition, a "general barrier" is built 100 meters upstream of the dam, which can slow down the impact of water flow and protect the dam to a certain extent.
Next, look at the construction time of the dam:
Lishui----Tongjiyan Arch Dam? 505 AD
Spain---- Ergian Arch Dam in the 16th century
Italy----Bandardo Arch Dam in 1612?
In comparison, the dam is more than 1,000 years earlier. Therefore, the wisdom of ancient Chinese still makes people proud and confident.
Having mentioned the dam, let’s look at the second scene:
Millennium Stone Letter (Water Overpass)
In 1111 AD, the first year of Zhenghe in the Northern Song Dynasty (Song Huizong Wang Ti, then magistrate of Lishui County (Zhao Ji), built it based on extensive investigations and adopting private suggestions.
The two bridge piers under the diversion bridge are separated by three holes, which our locals call "three holes bridge".
The lower layer of the bridge is the canal water from Tongjiyan, the middle layer is the pit water flowing down from the mountain, and the upper layer is for pedestrians.
This is the earliest water overpass built in the world. The Magdeburg Water Bridge in Germany was built in 2003, more than 1,000 years later than ours. Therefore, I personally like to quote Wang Anshi's words to describe this seemingly inconspicuous stone letter.
"It seems ordinary and the most extraordinary, but it is easy but difficult to achieve."
Finally, let's talk about the Tongji Weir Regulations Stele (Farmland Water Conservancy Management Regulations)
In the third year of Qiandao in the Southern Song Dynasty (1167), 41-year-old Fan Chengda was appointed as the magistrate of the prefecture. He served for more than 2 years and formulated 20 regulations for Tongji Weir.
This is also the earliest weir regulation. Since then, the village has still had this special occupation - protecting weirs. Weir protectors have been passed down from generation to generation. Protecting embankments and weirs is not a new occupation in modern times. Thanks to the wisdom of the Mongolians, our generation has benefited from it to this day. If you are interested in calligraphy, laws and regulations, and water conservancy, you can stay longer and study a few things.
I forgot to mention: Wenchang Pavilion and Ancient Zhangqun
Yantou Village, where Wenchang Pavilion is located, is the settlement of the Ye family, after the Taoist Ye Fashan of the Tang Dynasty. For generations, the Ye family has worked hard, studied hard, managed the family with etiquette, and kept a low profile. During the Qianlong, Jiaqing, and Daoguang years of the Qing Dynasty, the Ye family continued to achieve success, producing five Jinshi in a row, and was allowed to build Wenchang Pavilion to worship Emperor Wenchang. The site is located at the end of the village, locking the "household" to intercept the Feng Shui meaning. It is also located on the only road that the official road must pass, and it also provides a place for passers-by to take shelter from the rain. (Speaking of Ye Fashan, there is a sentence about Ye Fashan in "The Furong's Daughter" written by Baoyu for Qingwen in Dream of Red Mansions.)
Most of the large camphor trees are hundreds of years old, and they were actually planted during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. Because of its long history, we are also called the Millennium Ancient Camphor.
A couple of years ago, I wrote a couplet, which was revised by teacher Wu Yaqing:
"The ancient camphor has protected the embankment for thousands of years, and the dam has four seasons of water flow."
There is also a local custom in our country. If there is "no wood in the five elements", most people will regard Gu Zhang as their godmother to ensure that the children's life is safe and smooth.
Let’s talk about returning to Guyan Painting Village.
Ancient weirs paint towns, ancient weirs paint towns, there are ancient weirs, and there are also painted towns. The painting town is at the head of the big "gang". Oujiang is the second largest river in Zhejiang Province, and among the 800 miles of Oujiang, it is the only one with the word Hong Kong. This also illustrates the status of Dagantou’s “golden waterway” from the side.
Qing Dynasty poet Zhu Xiaotang lt; Dagangtou Chunwanggt; had a poem specifically describing this place, which also shows that it was a pearl at that time.
"The river is a green belt, and the water is like a jade hairpin", "The river is naturally flat here, and a variety of scenery gathers here." "The Lijiang River in East China" is all praised by this river - the Oujiang River. Dagangtou is the beginning of the middle reaches of the Oujiang River. The upper reaches are rich in Longquan swords, Qingyuan mushrooms, Songyang tea and porcelain. They are transferred here and then transported downstream and sold all over the world. I have a former colleague who majored in Chinese language and literature. She is from the north, and her undergraduate thesis was about our Oujiang River. Write about the influence of Oujiang shipping and porcelain. The girl in her twenties put me in my forties to shame, and my face is always red to this day.
A few years ago, when I accompanied an old classmate to Dagantou, I wrote impromptuly:
The river is wide and the sails are sailing, and the two streams are crossing the ancient rivers.
Yunqing Mountain is also far away, and visitors are drunk in the golden autumn.
After all, I am from Lishui.
Guyan Painting Township is the place where I was born.
It is the place where I will always wake up from my dreams no matter how far I go.
Every plant and tree here, every mountain and water here,
For me, they are all called hometown.
I hope you will miss your hometown too!