The history and culture of Longquan

Niumenggang Site Niumenggang, formerly known as Thromenggang, is located in the northeast corner of the county, 1.5 kilometers away from the city. In 1958, stone tools including stone axes, spears, arrows, arrowheads, spinning wheels and net pendants were discovered on the hillside. In 1981, primitive porcelain, printed pottery shards, dinosaur egg fossils and other objects were discovered on the surface. After many field investigations and appraisals by provincial archaeologists, it has been confirmed that Niumenggang is a Neolithic age site with extremely rich relics and belongs to the Liangzhu culture type.

Dayao National Key Celadon Ancient Kiln Site is located at the foot of Liuhua Mountain 35 kilometers south of the city. It was called Liutian before the Ming Dynasty. Porcelain production began in the Five Dynasties, and there are more than 50 ancient porcelain kiln sites, forming a group of ancient celadon kilns. It is said that brothers Zhang Sheng and Sheng of the Southern Song Dynasty made porcelain here. The celadon they made had their own characteristics, so they were called Ge Kiln and Di Kiln. The Dayao celadon site was destroyed from the beginning of the Republic of China to the Anti-Japanese War due to foreign missionaries and antique dealers rushing to buy antiquities. The ancient kiln site was destroyed, but the ancient workshop and part of the kiln bed were still buried in the deep layers, and a large amount of remains were left on the ground. Ancient porcelain pieces. From the 17th to the 29th year of the Republic of China (1928-1940), Chen Wanli (who became the director of the Ceramics Department of the Palace Museum after liberation) investigated and studied the ancient Longquan celadon kiln site four times.

The ancient celadon kiln site of Yuankou is located about three kilometers northwest of Yuankou Village, Dongshuangping Township, the county seat. The local name is Shanmaolin. In 1980, the Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology conducted excavations and found that the kiln was founded during the Song and Yuan Dynasties and was an important porcelain field for the production of celadon in the Yuan Dynasty. Kiln yard 4000 square meters. There are 7 kilns, the longest dragon kiln is 97 meters; 4 raw material preparation and molding workshops; 12 various pools for laundering, settling, drying and storage of raw materials; drawing and shaping or repairing There are 10 pottery cart pits, 4 biscuit kilns, and many ruins such as the remains of factory buildings and drainage ditch facilities. It is the most complete information obtained so far from the archaeological excavation of Longquan Kiln.

Jianchi Lake is located on the edge of Qinxi Mountain 1.5 kilometers south of the county. According to legend, it was the place where Ou Yezi, a famous swordsmith, made swords during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. In ancient times, the lake area was more than 30 acres, and there were 7 wells on both sides of Qinxi Mountain, distributed like a Big Dipper. The well water was sweet and cold, suitable for sword quenching. In the late Ming Dynasty, there was only one well left, and there were "Jianchi Pavilion" and "Ouye Temple" beside the well. After liberation, the county people's government allocated funds for repairs in 1957. Jianchi Pavilion was destroyed during the "Cultural Revolution" and has been rebuilt.

The former residence of Ye Pu in the Ming Dynasty was located in Gongtou Village, Longyuan Town. It faces south and faces north, with a building area of ​​2,775 square meters. The floor plan is rectangular, with a width of 46.5 meters and a depth of 55.5 meters. Both the front and rear halls are suspended from the top of the mountain, with ancient mirror-shaped wooden column bases, tiles with yin and yang paving, and original paving on the patio. Square bricks, made of soft sea stone all around, embossed with figures such as flowers, prisms, ancient coins, unicorns, cranes and fish.

Qingxiu Temple is located at the foot of Anqing Mountain in the north corner of the city. Qingxiu Temple was originally a Taoist temple. Later, in the ninth year of Tianfu (944) of Jin Dynasty, the foundation was built and it was named Qingxiu Lecture Hall. In the Yichou year of Zhengtong in the Ming Dynasty (1445), it was renamed Qingxiu Temple. There are two sweet-scented osmanthus trees in the mountain gate, known as Tang Gui. The left plant is 15 meters high and the diameter at breast height is 0.74 meters. The plant on the right is 16 meters high and the diameter at breast height is 0.8 meters. It has luxuriant branches and leaves. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, the branches are full of sweet-scented osmanthus and are fragrant. Overflowing. There is a well outside the temple, called Zhuoxijing. According to the old records: "In the Qingxiu Temple in Erli, Zhibei, there used to be a monk named Langgong who lived here. He was sick and had no water to drink, so he put tin on a stone, and a spring of water gushed out, forming a huge well, three feet wide and two feet deep, completely like a stone. "Acupoint". The well water is clear and sweet, and is said to cure vomiting and diarrhea. There are poems and chants in the past dynasties.

Jishengtan Pagoda is located on Lianshan Mountain, 1.5 kilometers east of the county seat. It was built during the reign of Tianqi and Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty (1627-1629). The tower is a pavilion-style building with a solid adobe structure. The tower body has six sides and seven floors, with angular teeth and overlapping eaves on each floor. Starting from the second floor, there are 36 niches on each side, and the pagoda is shaped like an umbrella. The base floor is 3.2 meters wide on each side, the first floor is 2.2 meters wide on each side and 23.8 meters high. In 1957, the county people's government carried out renovations. When the "Cultural Revolution" first started to sweep away the "Four Olds", part of the tower was damaged. After hearing the news, some teachers and students of Longquan Middle School swam across the stream and protected it day and night, and the tower was preserved. This tower collapsed on July 19, 2010.

Yonghe Bridge is in Anren Town. Funded for construction during the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, it was originally named Yongning Bridge. It was destroyed by fire during the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty. In the fifty-seventh year of Kangxi's reign (1718), more than 3,000 white gold was raised to rebuild it and its current name was changed. In the fifth year of Xianfeng (1855), two piers were destroyed by floods and were repaired the following year. In the summer of the first year of the Republic of China, a flood destroyed one pier and it was rebuilt the following year. After liberation, the county people's government allocated funds for repair and reinforcement.

It is a cantilevered gallery bridge with a wood and stone structure, 125.7 meters long and 6.4 meters wide, with 42 gallery houses. Five piers are built with strips of stone. The largest stone pier is 10.8 meters wide. The three central piers catch the current and serve as goose wings to divert water. The bridge foundation stone guardrail is 86 meters long and 57 meters wide. The eaves and bucket arches at both ends of the bridge are stacked in a gatehouse style. There are 26 steps on the east end and 27 steps on the west end. There are railings and wooden benches inside the bridge. There is a poem from the Qing Dynasty praising: "The jade mirror is divided into rainbows, and its bells and whistles are as good as those of ancient Chazhou." Dragon Boat Races In the old days, grand dragon boat races were held from the first to the sixth day of the fifth lunar month. The dragon boat is 10 meters long and 1.5 meters wide. It is made of fir wood. The dragon head and tail are carved from camphor wood. The body of the boat is carved with scale patterns. There is a cloth canopy in the middle. There are musicians conducting the lotus, gongs, drums and silk strings. , wind instrument accompaniment; there are 16 stalls in the boat, 32 players, wearing uniform vests, each holding an oar. The boat was launched on the first day of May, officially raced on the fifth day of May, and landed on the sixth day of May. It is said that Hu Zhongyuan (a native of Longquan), who joined the army of King Wu of Zhu Yuanzhang, left the army on the fourth day of May, so some places in the county celebrated the festival in advance on the fourth day of the lunar month

Shima Laojiu makes lanterns

The Lantern Festival usually comes Visitors to the Shima Dragon Lantern Festival will be warmly received by every household and given free food and drinks. This custom has been passed down from generation to generation and continues to this day. Every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, there is an endless stream of guests who come to Shima to watch the dragon lanterns

Anren Banlong celebrates the Lantern Festival

The Banlong has a majestic and exquisitely crafted dragon head. The dragon body is made of a 2.2-meter-long wooden board, also called a section. On each section of the board, nine bamboo poles of different lengths are used to bend the bows, and four bamboo hoops of different sizes are used to fix them into a bow and arrow shape as the keel. , paste it with tissue paper, affix gold and silver dragon scales, and red dragon spine, and put three candles inside. Punch a round hole at both ends of each dragon section, string dragon sticks between the two sections, insert nails up and down, and connect them. According to the village rules and regulations, each household has a dragon dancer and a dragon body. The number of households in the village determines the length of the dragon! Pan dance formations include "Horse Racing Formation", "Pan Dragon Formation", "Yuanbao Heart Drawing Formation", etc. Every Lantern Festival night, tourists from all over the world come here to enjoy a rich folk cultural feast.

Folk songs are mostly in the form of antiphonal singing, with smooth melodies, such as "Folk Songs Sing the King of Folk Songs", "Dui Hua", etc. Love songs that express the wife's longing for her husband include "Singing the Five Watches", etc. There are also love songs that express feelings by singing about things in the four seasons and twelve months, such as "Thinking of Ichiro", "Sigh of Changgong", etc.

Worship the Patriarchs In Longquan, Zhang Shengyi and Zhang Shenger, the founders of Ge Yao Di Kiln, are revered as the ancestors of the kiln industry by future generations. In the past, "Master List" was posted on the kiln heads of Long Kiln and Carp Kiln where porcelain was fired. In addition to enshrining the master, the master list also enshrines the mountain god, the land, the water moving Zhangzi, and the water transporting man. On every second and sixteenth day of the lunar calendar, porcelain makers must buy wine, meat, tea and rice, and light incense and candles to offer sacrifices in front of the kiln master's list, kowtow in worship, and then share the sacrifices, which is commonly known as "passing the day." Choosing the foundation for building a kiln. When building a kiln, first ask a Feng Shui master to select an auspicious location and auspicious day before starting the kiln construction. When work begins, a sacrifice to the god must be set up in the kiln in order to produce good porcelain. Children and pregnant women are strictly prohibited from entering the kiln on the day the kiln is built, and no one is allowed to carry dung buckets in front of the kiln to prevent offending the gods and bringing disaster to the kiln. Kiln Sacrifice The 18th day of the seventh lunar month is the Kiln Sacrifice Day. According to popular legend, this day is the date when Zhang Shengyi, the founder of Ge Kiln, made the "Kiln Transformed Porcelain". At that time, the potter should bathe and fast, place boys and girls kneaded from flour on the incense table of the ancestor, set up sacrifices in front of the master's table at the head of the kiln, light incense and candles, and kneel down to pray for the blessing of the ancestor to produce beautiful porcelain. Eating at the kiln Kiln workers are not allowed to talk when eating at the kiln. When eating, they are not allowed to knock the table with their bowls and chopsticks, and they are not allowed to place their chopsticks on the bowls. When entering the kiln, you need to choose a date on the third, sixth, or ninth day of the kiln, and worship the ancestors, mountain gods, and land. During the entire process of entering the kiln, auspicious words should be spoken, and dirt should be strictly prohibited from passing through to prevent foul gas from entering the kiln and affecting the kiln firing. Making kiln blessings When building a porcelain kiln, tile kiln or charcoal kiln in Longquan, a "kiln master" must be set up next to the kiln. Before opening the kiln and lighting the fire, one must first offer sacrifices to the "Kiln Master" and prepare wine and food for the master, which is called kiln blessing. Longquan Sword

The Longquan Sword produced in Longquan City is said to have been created in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period and has a history of more than 2,600 years. The story of Ou Yezi forging swords is widely circulated among the people. Longyuan is also the original name of Longquan Sword. It is said that one time Ou Yezi drew water to temper his sword, and suddenly a "five-color dragon pattern" and a seven-star fighting image appeared. People called the place where the sword was made "Longyuan" and the sword the "Seven-Star Longyuan Sword". In the Tang Dynasty, the word "Yuan" was changed to the word "Quan" to avoid the taboo of the great ancestor Li Yuan.

Celadon

Longquan celadon firing techniques were included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists in 2006, and were officially selected into the world intangible cultural heritage protection list in 2009. There are more than 130 celadon companies in Longquan with more than 5,000 employees. There are more than 130 celadon companies in Longquan with more than 5,000 employees. Four national celadon masters (3) have emerged: Xu Chaoxing, Mao Zhengcong, Xia Houwen and Zhang Shaobin. 1 Chinese arts and crafts master, 1 Chinese ceramics arts and crafts master), 10 provincial arts and crafts masters and 28 senior arts and crafts masters.

Longquan kiln has a production history of more than 1,600 years. Its works are mainly attractive with glaze color, and it is the most famous variety of color-glazed porcelain. Glaze is often applied multiple times, the glaze is thicker, and the glass has a strong sense of light. The white-bodied celadon from Longquan kiln has a delicate and dense texture, white with a bluish tint. The glaze layer is soft and has no cracks, and the exposed soles of the feet are ocher red, commonly known as cinnabar bottoms. The well-known Longquan kiln pink celadon and plum celadon glazes at home and abroad. The glazed sapphire is crystal clear, and its color is comparable to jade, reaching the best state of cyan in ancient China.

Shiitake mushrooms

Longquan is one of the birthplaces of shiitake mushrooms in the world. The natural conditions are very superior. The shiitake mushrooms and substitute shiitake mushrooms produced have excellent texture, neat shape, pure color and aroma. Rich and delicious, it is very popular among customers. With the popularization of practical technology for edible fungi, production has been greatly developed. The annual output of dried mushrooms is more than 7,000 tons, and the annual export of fresh mushrooms is more than 5,000 tons. The products are sold well all over the world. A one-stop service system of production, sales and processing has been formed, and mushroom production has become a pillar industry of Longquan City's rural economy. It won the honorary title of "National Edible Fungi Advanced County" at the 95 (Fuzhou) National Edible and Medicinal Fungi Product Exhibition and New Technology Exchange Conference. "Longbao" brand mushrooms won the silver medal at the first Agricultural Expo. Two large mushroom trading markets have been established, covering an area of ​​13,000 square meters, with an annual transaction volume of more than 200 million yuan.