The past and present life of Wufujian

In April 2021, I saw the measures to protect cultural relics in the Yuanqu County Museum: the stones carved from local cliffs were stored. After studying the inscriptions on the cliffs, I found that there are several places near Wufu Stream. I got an impression of the place name Wufu Stream and simply explored the history of Wufu Stream.

According to "Yuanqu County Chronicle": Yuanqu County, "Yuan" refers to Wangwu Mountain, the mountain shape is like a wall; "Qu" refers to the meander of the river, and the county is one of the nine meanders of the Yellow River. The county got its name because "it is surrounded by mountains and the central wall is like a song." The county's terrain is high in the north and low in the south, surrounded by mountains and rivers. The highest point is Shunwangping with an altitude of 2,321 meters, and the lowest point is Xiyang Hekou with an altitude of 167 meters (the lowest point in the province).

The Yellow River flows from Wengkou of Xia County to Yuanqu County, passing through Wufujian, Anwo, Hedi, Guanjia, Xitan, Zhaili, Dongtan, Dongzhai, Ruicun, and Yaotou to Mawan flows into Jiyuan City, Henan Province, and is the natural boundary between Shanxi and Henan provinces.

The main rivers in Yuanqu County include Haoqing River, Dianxi River, Banjian River, Xiyang River, Wufujian River, etc., all flowing into the Yellow River from north to south. Wufujian River also runs north-south, 63 kilometers long, and finally flows into the Yellow River. The beachhead where the river merges into the Yellow River is one of the 19 dangerous shoals in the Yellow River. It was later called Wufutan and is also a ferry of the Yellow River.

One of the cliff stones I photographed in the Yuanqu County Museum is an inscription not far to the west of Wufujian Village. There is a sentence in the inscription: "In the ninth year of Chongzhen's defense of Wuhujian Gate, more than a thousand soldiers were killed. This is the end of the ice battle in the main hall of Yuanqu County/This is the ice battle of the capture hall Li." In the Ming Dynasty, Yuanqu was affiliated to Pingyang Prefecture. More than three miles east of Wufujian Village, there is the ruins of the Huilong Palace temple in the Ming Dynasty. There is still a fragment of the monument "The Creation of Huilong Palace" erected in the 25th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty. The inscription on the monument reads: "The southwest of the wall is four miles away. Ten Miles is called Wuhu Stream... The stone tablet is signed: Pingyang Guards defended Wufu Stream and suppressed Zhuxi." These all show that in the Ming Dynasty, the name here was "Wuhu Stream".

So what was the name here before?

I found Volume 4 of "Shui Jing Zhu" written by Li Daoyuan of the Northern Wei Dynasty: "From the bottom of the main pillar, there are more than five households, and there are a hundred and twenty miles in between. The rocks in the river come out, and they are connected to Xianglu, covering Yu also dug a hole in the river to connect it, and suspected that this was a river. Although the mountains were widened, the currents were still turbulent, causing rocks and clouds to scatter, and the waves to overflow. There were nineteen shoals in total, and the water flow was as fast as the Three Gorges, damaging boats and ships. It has been a problem since ancient times... The construction of the river beach can be seen in the "Wuhu Temple Inscription". "Shui Jing. River Notes": "Wuhu, the beach is also named. It is also called Wuhu General. I don't know why." Also. ”

Sanmenxia was called Sanmen Mountain or Dizhu Mountain in ancient times. It is located in the canyon of western Henan. The Yellow River passes through Tongguan and flows eastwards for 113 kilometers, reaching here. Sanmen Canyon has water on both sides, thousands of walls, jagged rocks, and dangerous terrain. There are two stone islands in the middle of the river that divide the river into three streams, which are called "Human Gate", "Ghost Gate" and "Shen Gate" respectively, so it is called "Sanmen Canyon". Sanmenxia". The mainstay is facing the three gates. The river rushes out of the gate and rushes straight into the mainstay. Then it flows around the mainstay and passes by, so it is called "the mainstay". This is the world-famous three natural dangers. One hundred and twenty miles east of the mainstay of Sanmenxia is Wuhu Stream. "Taiping Huanyu Ji" of the Song Dynasty records that "Yuanxian; Wuhu Temple is located seventeen miles west of the county." The former seat of Yuanqu County was near the ancient town.

The above explains that from the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, this place was called "Wuhu Jian".

There is a local legend: This place was first called Wugu Jian, which was named after the presence of Wugu springs. I think this is credible! This naming theory is the most simple, straightforward, vivid and accurate. This place was originally called "Wugu" because of the landforms. Later, probably because it was too straightforward, the literati may have nicknamed it "Wuhu Jian". It is also possible that there were indeed five families living next to the ferry at that time, running the ferry business, so people commonly called it "Wuhu Jian", and it gradually passed down.

So when did it change its name to "Five Tiger Stream"? Why is it called "Five Tiger Stream"?

County annals record: Wuhu Stream is located in Wufujian Village, 65 kilometers south of Yuanqu County. The county annals also recorded: ...the original name was Wuhujian. Five brothers killed a tiger and named it Yongzhi. Legend: In ancient times, tigers often appeared on the ant hills, either hurting people or animals, which made people panic. They dared not walk during the day or go out at night.

One day, a family of hunters came. An old man and his five sons came to subdue the tiger. The family settled down, and the old man took care of the house. The five sons went up the mountain, armed with swords, guns, bows and crossbows. After tracking, trapping, luring, firing crossbows and fighting, the tiger was killed. The locals boasted that these five brothers were all tiger cubs, and five cubs killed one big tiger. So the village was named Five Tigers. The stream was named "Five Tigers Stream", and the beach was named "Five Tigers Beach" accordingly. This is the legend of the positive image.

There is also a legend, which is a negative story: In ancient times, there was a family here and a couple gave birth to five sons. These five brothers were all powerful and violent. In this village, they bullied men and women and did all kinds of evil. They covered the sky with one hand. If you harm your neighbors, the people will be angry but dare not speak out. They thought this land belonged to their brothers, so they changed the name of the place to "Wuhujian".

I once collected an old tiger hunting photo for my work unit. It was about 1932 when a hunter in Yuxiang County killed a tiger and posed for a picture of the tiger's body lying down. Yuxiang County is located in the current Yongji County of Shanxi Province and belongs to the Zhongtiao Mountains. There were still big tigers there in 1932, so it is normal for several tigers to appear in Yuanqu County, also in the Zhongtiao Mountains, during the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Therefore, I think that around a certain year, there were a few tigers living in Zhongtiao Mountain. They often came to drink from the stream here and even hurt people, so they were called the "Five Tiger Stream". Of course, the tiger was later eliminated, and evil people like hungry tigers appeared here, so everyone told the story of the five brothers.

The Wanli version of "Shanxi Tongzhi" records: "Thirty miles southwest of the county, Qingshui River is fifty miles southwest of the county, and Wuhu Stream is fifty miles southwest of the county." It also contains: "During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, Qian Zong was placed in "This is to prevent miners." Jiaqing's "Qing Yitong Zhi" records that "Jiangzhou; Wuhu Stream is located fifty miles southwest of Yuanqu County."

It shows that until the Jiadao period of the Qing Dynasty, this place was still called "Jiangzhou." "Five Tiger Streams".

There is a local legend about the renaming of "Wufutan": after several dynasties, someone suggested that "Five Tigers" was not an auspicious name, so people followed the ancient book "Shu·Hongfan"; "Five Blessings; the first is longevity, the second is wealth, the third is well-being, the fourth is good virtue, and the fifth is longevity" was changed to "Five Blessings".

When did it change to "Five Fortune Streams"?

County Chronicles: In the fifth year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1879), there were Jimin Ferry (Dongtan), Dongzhai Ferry, Limin Ferry (Zhaili), Shengcun Ferry, Xitan Ferry, and Guanqu. Jiadu, Wufujian Ferry, Yingzui Ferry, and Ma Tiwo Ferry. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, there were only five ferries remaining: Jimin, Dongtan, Xitan, Dongzhai and Madiwo. After the Japanese invasion, all ships and ferries were blown up.

Does this mean that this place was renamed "Five Fortune Stream" during the Guangxu period?

There is also a legend: During the Anti-Japanese War, the Eighth Route Army Commander-in-Chief Zhu De went from the Taihang Mountains to Yan'an for a meeting. Passing here, General Zhu learned about the origin of the place name and punished the five bully brothers. He also saw that the terrain was located on the Yellow River. On the shore, it is adjacent to the river, and the water is the dragon. The dragon and the evil tiger are fighting. The disharmony between heaven and earth makes the people uneasy, which is a taboo. So according to Zhu De's suggestion, the place was renamed "Five Blessings", which means the country is peaceful and the people are safe, and the five blessings are coming to the door. So far, the name "Wufujian" has been used to this day.

I think this comment seems to have been made later! First of all, the five evil brothers were not punished until the war of resistance. They had been committing evil for a long time, right? Secondly, Mr. Zhu’s theory of terrain and Feng Shui is like a Feng Shui master; Furthermore, during the Anti-Japanese War, during the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, there were as many as 200,000 national troops gathered here, including more than a dozen generals, and not a single one. The general suggested changing the name. Is Mr. Zhu Xian the only one who cares about civil affairs? If it was really Mr. Zhu who changed the name, why should the relevant local documents not be allowed to record it and spread it widely? Therefore, Mr. Zhu’s claim that the name was compiled later is completely untrustworthy.

In short, the "Five Fortune Stream" area (river, stream, beach, ferry) is very ancient and has a long history. The pronunciations of Gu, Hu, Hu and Fu are similar, Wugu, Wuhu, Wuhu, later took the meaning of "longevity, wealth, honor, peace and happiness, many children and grandchildren, five blessings", "Family inherits the Five Blessings", and evolved to be called "Five Blessings" ", and call it a river, a stream, a beach, and a village.

The Xiaolangdi Reservoir, built in 2001, is located in the south of the county.

It was originally thought that Wufujian Village had been submerged by Xiaolangdi Reservoir and no longer existed. Looking at the map, I found that "Five Fortune Streams" were printed there. Now, the Wufujian, Wufutan and Wufujian villages have really been submerged in the Xiaolangdi Reservoir. The Wufu villagers have moved to the area between Wangmao Town and Huafeng Township and established new villages. Name, people started a new life.