Walking in the Village: Jingxi Long Mai Yanjiatai
? Yanjiatai Village, Qingshui Town, Mentougou, which was founded in Yuan Dynasty, is a veritable ancient village. Judging from the unearthed Shang Dynasty shell coins, people lived in groups as early as 3 years ago.
? The village faces south, surrounded by mountains, and each peak has a name. There is an ancient Great Wall on the north slope of the village, and there is a mountain pass called "Laopokouzi", which is a battleground for military strategists.
? Yanjiatai was once called Erlongtai, because Yan family first settled here, and later it was called Yanjiatai. Yanjiatai Village is introduced on the wooden sign at the entrance of the village, with the subtitle of "Long Mai in the West of Beijing". Because the East and West Longmen Streams meet like two Youlong in front of Yanjiatai Village, the village is surrounded by them, just like "two dragons playing with pearls". As the old saying goes, Feng Shui is excellent.
? The most eye-catching building in Yanjiatai is the street building at the entrance of the village, with red walls and gray tiles and antique appearance. It was originally thought to be a well-preserved old building. Later, I heard from the villagers that it was "antique" and was built to beautify the village when water conservancy was built in 1958.
? Although the street building is not an ancient building, the two stone tablets embedded upstairs (above) are the remains of the immortal view of the ancient temple. Tongxian Temple is a "historic site of Han and Tang Dynasties", which is dedicated to "the old gentleman of Taishang", and it was of great scale in that year. The old man in the village said that in the early years, there were many Yanjiatai temples, including Tongxian Temple, Mountain Temple, Longwang Temple, Niangniang Temple, etc., and there were several mountain temples alone, praying for the mountain gods to bless the lush forests and the safety of people and animals.
? Today, there are basically no temples in the village, but there are still many old houses in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
? Some of the ancient courtyards in the village are very well preserved, mainly quadrangles and small three-way courtyards. The gatehouse, screen wall and stone steps are readily available. Some houses have beautifully carved doorposts and drum-hugging stones next to them. There is a screen wall across the mountain in the door, a clear water ridge with carved patterns on the roof, and stone carvings, brick carvings and wood carvings on the gatehouse, which are simple, elegant and ethereal.
? Courtyard No.155 is a binary courtyard. The pillar (corner stone) is engraved with "the family road is peaceful and prosperous" and "the door is clear and auspicious", and the two square doorstones are engraved with "Hong" and "Jubilee" respectively.
? Courtyard 178 is also an old house. The gatehouse is clear water ridge, scorpion tail, wall ground brick butt joint, and four steps of bluestone. Zhao Dashuan, the hero of Ding Ling's novel The Sun Shines on the Sanggan River, whose prototype Zhao Yongcheng originally lived in No.178 Courtyard.
? Yanjiatai streets are not wide, but criss-crossed, with many forks. Walking on the bluestone road, I occasionally hear dogs barking. The old house enjoys the cool in the lush shade. Although most of the houses are closed, you will still feel the ancient folk customs of the village when you look at the gatehouse and decoration.
? Yanjiatai is a small mountain village with only more than 6 people. Except for those who go out to work and get employment, there are not many people left in the village. I wandered around the streets of the village and didn't meet many people.
? The fruit industry supports the small village, which has more than 1 acres of orchards and a special farm. In recent years, more than 2 farmhouses have emerged as the times require. There are parks, solar bathrooms, auditoriums and fitness fields in the village ... Old houses are scattered among them, giving the ancient village a modern atmosphere.