Hometown Book Series No. 11: The Ke Family Old House, the Nine Ancient Villages Worth Seeing
The old house of the Ke family is in Jinhe Village, Mugang Town. This Jinhe village was originally called Jinhe because there were two natural bays here: Jinguidun and Hezishu. Later, the two bays were combined and named "Jinhe". Originally there were two surnames: Ke and He. Later, the population of Ke surname increased. As the number increased, the population of He surnamed was scattered and they slowly moved out. The village is at the southern foot of Mubu Mountain. A river that flows all year round runs through the whole village. This river is called Jinhe.
Walk south from Mugang Street and along the winding village road. After about half an hour's journey, the road passes through a small hill. This small hill is called Golden Turtle Mound. There is an ancient tomb of He surnamed here. The cemetery is very large and the tombstones are beautifully carved. This golden turtle mound was originally the Feng Shui treasure mountain of the Ke family, but why were the ancestors of the He family buried here? There is a story that is widely circulated. It is said that the ancestors of the He family asked a Feng Shui master to see it, and they were attracted by this blessed land and wanted to make their own cemetery, but the people named Ke did not allow it. He taught his descendants face-to-face instructions, and at midnight every day, he dug a hole near his family's field near Jinguidun. The hole led all the way to the underground of Jinguidun. The entrance to the cave is very hidden, usually covered by short shrubs. On the night of his death, his family poured several loads of roasted peas through the hole. On the day of the funeral, a fake cemetery was chosen, and a road sacrifice was made at the hidden hole of the golden turtle mound. When carrying the coffin, the descendants surnamed He pretended to be careless and the coffin slipped down. Fried peas were spread beside the hole. The coffin slid down and disappeared quickly. Everyone talked a lot, saying that this was God's will, otherwise why would he have fallen into the hole? In this way, He's ancestors made a cemetery here. Every Qingming Festival, descendants of the He family come to the Ke family’s old house to visit the grave and express their condolences.
We came to the Jinhe Village Committee. In front of the village committee, there are two "sister flower" maple poplar trees that are more than 400 years old. According to villagers, there are hundreds of such trees in the village, mainly osmanthus trees, camphor trees, and maple poplars, which were planted by our ancestors when they immigrated from Jiangxi and settled here.
The best preserved ancient residence in Jinhe is the Ke family old house. The old house of the Ke family is now the location of Jinhe Primary School. The old house is now a provincial cultural relic protection unit, covering an area of more than 3,500 square meters. It is a typical Huizhou style residence. The gate is engraved with the four characters "Shuang Zong Liu Fang", and the house is painted with beams and carved pillars. It is said that there are 36 patios. It was the leading wealthy family in the area at that time. Due to years of disrepair, many roofs have collapsed. This time, taking advantage of targeted poverty alleviation, the Yangxin County Government listed the Ke family’s old house, the Guoshifu, and the Kan family’s old house as one of the government’s top ten practical projects in 2016. The old houses are about to be renovated. There is an ancient well on the southeast side of the old house. The well is surrounded by stones and a large bluestone is pressed at the wellhead. The well water is clear and unfathomable. It was originally a special drinking well for the Ke family's old house.
Walk forward along the southeast direction of He Zishu. At the end of the cement road is the dirt road going up the mountain. There is a newly renovated reservoir of about 50 acres lying here. On the water, water birds are flying happily around. The mountains on both sides are lush with fir forests planted in recent years. After walking through a mountain col, an ancient pavilion stands here. Villagers traveling together told us that this road was the only way for old Xingguo merchants to travel to and from Jiangxi. The pavilions were used for people to take a rest, and it could be called the Ancient Tea Horse Road in ancient Xingguo. In the pavilion, there are three stone tablets embedded in the wall. After reading the records, we know that the pavilion was first built in the fifth year of Qianlong's reign. It was overhauled once in the eleventh year of Tongzhi. It was last renovated with donations from local people in the thirty-sixth year of the Republic of China. Walking from the old house of the Ke family towards the ancient pavilion, there is an ancient wine shop in the middle. The large word "wine" on the wall comes into view, which is powerful and powerful. Come to think of it, in the past, there were always businessmen or literati resting here beside this ancient tea-horse road, drinking wine in the wind and composing poems in the flow.
In the Bianwu Group, there is an inconspicuous old bluestone bridge, hidden among the trees. According to old people, this bridge has a history of more than 300 years. The entire stone bridge is made entirely of bluestones without any adhesive. The largest stone weighs more than a ton. It still stands despite wind and rain. You have to admire the architectural wisdom of ancient craftsmen.
Directly opposite the old house of the Ke family is a hilltop that is not too high. In the past, there was an ancient bunker here, which stood condescendingly and guarded the traffic hub at the foot of the mountain. ". Now only the ruins and some rubble remain. In 1934, the famous Battle of He Zishu took place here. According to historical records: In order to restore the lost Soviet area, the Southeast Hubei Road Committee and the North Road Command organized the Mushi Port Campaign in February 1934.
This battle is divided into three stages: first, eliminate He Zishu's enemies, second, attack Hu Tianfan, and third, attack Mushi Port together. Yuan Fengming commanded more than a thousand people from Ke Xing's Northern Gan Division and Shi Daqi's Longhu Rui Guerrilla Brigade to cooperate with the Third Red Division to attack He Zishu's enemies first. This battle was very difficult. In order to blow up more than a dozen enemy bunkers, Yuan Fengming commanded the commando team and took the lead. When he was about to enter the village, he was unfortunately seriously injured. More than a hundred martyrs are buried here.
In the northeast corner of Shangshaping Natural Bay, there is an ancient adobe house, which was a workshop used by people in ancient times to extract rapeseed oil and sesame oil. One stone roller weighed more than 500 kilograms and required a strong ox to pull it. People sit on the stone roller cart, shouting at the old cow, and walk around in circles. The roller grinds rapeseed, sesame, and tea seeds into powder. After steaming them, they make oil cakes and put them in the belly of the oil press. Inside, they are arranged neatly, with wedges next to the oil cakes. Two or three people hit their heads together, shouting slogans, and slam the wedges in hard, and the oil is squeezed out. This ancient method of extracting oil makes the extracted cooking oil original and taste good. Nowadays, wood oil presses are rarely seen, but they are still well preserved here. Next year, taking advantage of targeted poverty alleviation, an ancient workshop base will be built here: oil press workshop, oil noodle workshop, Zhezi noodle workshop, etc. Soon, a traditional agricultural product processing experience workshop will spring up here. In front of the ancient workshop is a half-moon-shaped lotus pond. Beside the lotus pond is a huge maple poplar tree, like the angry hair of a golden lion king fluttering in the wind. Beyond the lotus pond is a mountain with many century-old camphor trees growing there. A hiking trail will be built here in the future and it will become a base for Yangxin's photography and sketching.
Ancient roads, ancient pavilions, ancient bridges, ancient wells, ancient trees, ancient houses, ancient tombs, ancient workshops, and ancient battlefields can be summed up as the "Nine Ancients". These "ancient" resources are all in Jin. River villages gather together to form the quaint Jiuguqi Village.
The sun sets in the west, the water flows over the small bridge, and the west wind blows from the ancient road. In front of me, the golden river in the old house of the Ke family is flowing endlessly. Looking back at the hills on one side, there is a scene like a beautiful woman wearing a veil lying in the arms of the mountains. Her jade arms, breasts and legs are so delicate and lifelike that people call it "the beauty of a beautiful woman". Thinking about it, this old house of the Ke family is like a woman staying in a boudoir, waiting for you to lift her mysterious and beautiful veil.
The Ke family’s old house is a Jiuguqi Village worth seeing, quietly waiting for your visit.
I stayed home late on January 29, 2016.