Discovery of Southern Shaanxi: Travel to a Courtyard in Ancient Xunyang Villages 400 Years Ago
There are such ancient villages, with the really "old" state and very cute "rubble". The old rubble tell the stories of time. After walking through many cities and having seen many beautiful scenery, we climb into the "time machine" to explore the history of the ancient villages in Tongqianguan Town, Xunyang County of southern Shaanxi.
The original Chiyan Town and Tongqian Town are merged into Tongqianguan Town now. In early years, Chiyan Town with the commercial prosperity is the pass to Sichuan and Western Hubei. There is a unique village - Wanfu Village Shi Courtyard in the mountains of Tongqianguan Town, which is an ancient village. It is said that it was built in the early Qing dynasty about 400 years ago. It is the typical building style of Qing dynasty courtyard. And it is a representative and traditional ancient village with the existing larger scale, a long history, profound culture and relatively well-preserved state.
The courtyard was built in the early dynasty, surrounded by the mountain ridges from east to west. There are old towering trees around the yard, silent and far. If you look far into the distance, they are like the lush lotus, and the old yard is just in the core of lotus, therefore it is called "lotus treasure". Now it seems that this is a result that the ancient people follow the natural law in village construction.
The village’s Communist Party Secretary, Xu Qiqun told us the history of the old Shi courtyard in front of the south door.
According to the Shi clan genealogy and tombstone records, his ancestor is Shi Tao in three kingdoms. He ever was appointed agricultural field officer and magistrate of a prefecture, and had a special and close relationship with Zhu Geliang, Xu Shu, and Pang Tong, etc. When Liu Bei made two calls at the thatched cottage, Shi Tao and Meng Gongwei drank together, and Li Bei was ready to invite the two to go to the Wolong Village for a talk, but he refused.
His grandson Shi Jingtang was governor of Hedong from late Tang dynasty. Because he and Li Congke were in mutual suspicion at that time. He declare wars and rebelled, at the third year of Qingtai,in 936,and overturned the late Tang dynasty, making Bianliang as the capital, with dynasty of Jin. At the late Ming and early Qing dynasty period, Shi clan ancestor Shi Hanwu reached here through many places because of wars, and found that this was “land of idyllic beauty”, so he decided to settle here, lived and bred.
Outside Shi courtyard door, the exquisite stone lions and long bluestone steps are particularly striking. They are through the history, watching the people in and out of the door for hundred years.
Enter the ancient courtyard, people are impressed by the detailed place of its history. Beautifully-carved cornerstones of pillars showed the fine beauty of Chinese ancient buildings.
Shi’s descendants who are living in the courtyard told us the history of the family. During Qianlong period, a son named Shi Xianyi of Shi family, adept with both the pen and the sword since his childhood and after he passed the key exams to be appointed as county magistrate of Fengxiang. This is Shi Xianyi in the shown picture.
Here is the courtyard where Shi Xianyi lived, and it is full of weeds now.
When approaching closer to see, there are carved pattern such as books on military and treasured sword on the two exquisite decorative cylinders, meaning adept with both the pen and the sword.
Recently there are also many famous figures coming from here. Shi Xifan, with the" southern district king", head of township in the Kuomintang Southern District and Shi Liangheng, who established the “pick-hoe institution” and led the farmer to declare war on the Kuomintang regime, are from the yard. The old yard are watching all the happenings here for hundreds of years.
Today, the door of Shi Courtyard is made from stone wall and gray tiles, with the civil structure. There are 120 households permanent residents living in the old yard.
