The old Lin'an Mansion, a small town in the south of the Yangtze River in my heart
To the south, first to Kunming and then to Jianshui, this is the only traffic route so far.
Known elegantly as "Border Confucian City", it is an ancient city with thousands of years of history and culture. It was called Butou in ancient times and also Badian; Military center and transportation hub. At the same time, deeply influenced by the culture of the Central Plains, the small town has formed a multicultural place where Han culture and frontier minority culture blend, and the cultural and architectural heritage is also deep.
When I first arrived in this small town with a long history of thousands of years, I was pleasantly surprised by the row of tall phoenix trees along the street. Phoenix flowers are blooming on the branches and swaying in the wind, as if telling a familiar story in the small town. I was rejoicing in my heart, and the clouds floating in the distance brought me torrential rain without warning. But just a few minutes later, the sun shone and the rain stopped, and I saw a dim little rainbow dangling in the slightly humid air.
The little brother at the inn warmly reminded us to bring rain gear when going out, as long as there are clouds floating over here, it will rain, which is very casual. After a simple settlement, go out and stroll in the ancient city. The simplicity and depth of the white walls and black tiles, long streets and alleys are mixed with the prosperity of multi-ethnic elements. Everything seems familiar, like the ancient city of Huizhou, like the small town in the south of the Yangtze River under the Huizhou culture, with flying eaves, bucket arches and well door gods everywhere.
The smooth and translucent bluestone slabs have been stepped under the feet, and they are piled up neatly into the distance. Most of the roof tiles have some grass seeds, protruding out a lot of life, and some light green moss is mixed between the gray tiles and spreads to the eaves. overboard. Further down are hanging beams and various pendant buckets with colorful patterns of flowers and birds. Although they have faded a lot, it is hard to hide their former beauty. What's more, the colors are long gone, and the carvings between the beams are so exquisite and lifelike, all the prosperous past is just frozen in the years. Now the room is full of today's businessmen.
Seeing that there are many locals in the small town, tourists are much less than other places, and most of the friends I met along the way are locals from Yunnan. Because this small town near the border is not well known to the outside world, it has always retained its simple folk customs. It has always been very surprising how such a small border town can have such a strong Central Plains culture. After all, it is a place far away from the political and cultural center of the Central Plains Dynasty. Although it has been established since the Western Han Dynasty, what can be felt today is the prosperity that settled down after the restoration in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Looking through the information, I learned that during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Han Chinese organized the mining, storage and marketing of tin mines to drive the deformed prosperity of this closed and backward town. Today, the Han-style manors preserved in the small town, the magnificent Confucian Temple, and the vast rural examination tribute courtyard can all feel the prevalence of Confucian culture.
One of the four famous pottery "Jianshui purple pottery"
I know the place of Jianshui because purple pottery is produced in Jianshui, and I know purple pottery because of tea. It took a long time for Sui Suinian to embark on this road of seeking the source, and went to Wanyao Village on the second day after coming to Jianshui.
According to historical records, purple pottery began in the late Qing Dynasty, and its history is only more than a hundred years old. However, it is impossible to verify when Wanyao Village started, but until now, ceramics have been used for generations. The red soil slope behind the village stretches for several miles from east to west, and there is a large area of clear ancient kiln ruins and piles of ceramic fragments. At the same time, there are rich colorful soils in the mountains, which are the raw materials for making purple pottery. Purple pottery, one of the four famous pottery in China, comes from this.
The clay of purple pottery is delicate, and it was originally used to make daily necessities. It is well-known as steam chicken pot. After learning that the craft of purple pottery has an extremely complicated process and is a comprehensive art with a long history, I found that purple pottery comes from life but is not vulgar.
Before entering the village, there are some large and small shops that operate purple pottery. There are various tea pots, tea mugs, teapots, and tea cups, with a dazzling array of plain embryos, colored fillings, and Yin and Yang carvings. Different shapes, vivid and interesting, colorful and interlaced lines. After a little stroll, go deep into the village.
The village is generally quiet, and people from the village come and go. All kinds of purple pottery signboards are erected on both sides of the road, and the houses separated by gaps are filled with various kinds of soil. I think this is the raw material for making purple pottery. Embryo drawing, tire repair, engraving and painting, polishing, entering the kiln, leaving the kiln, you can see the scene along the way.
I have been looking for a workshop where the whole process can be seen. I have communicated with different masters many times and I am not allowed to take photos (I learned later that I just don’t want people to be photographed, others can). The production cycle of purple pottery is cumbersome, including embryo repairing, embryo body calligraphy and painting, carving decoration, color mud filling, mud removal and care, bonding, refined embryo body, air embryo, firing, and polishing. If there is no large production company, it is basically difficult to complete a complete set of processes to produce purple pottery.
Most of the villages are small workshops, specializing in embryo repair, calligraphy and painting, sculpture, coloring, and kiln firing. Therefore, most craftsmen are only familiar with a certain process, especially whether calligraphy and painting are famous or not also determines the value of purple pottery.
Zitao has also become popular in recent years due to the development of commercial trends. The masters in the village told me that there is also a special Zitao Street, and I can go shopping at night. I thought it would be full of purple pottery goods, but I didn't want it to develop into a small commodity night market commercial street.
Spanning three centuries, Jianshui train
There are still some ancient buildings near the small town. After visiting Wanyao Village, I rode a bicycle and went outside the ancient city. I was going to see the Jianshui train introduced by a girl.
It is said to be China's first private railway built by the people of Yunnan with independent financing. It was originally a meter-gauge railway and now it is an important industrial heritage in China and a "living fossil" of the world's meter-gauge railway. It is a relatively well-preserved one of my country's early railways, and it is still in operation on the whole line, forming a rare worldwide cultural regret resource as a whole.
As soon as you arrive at the train station, you will be greeted by the atmosphere of the Republic of China. It is worthy of being in operation for more than 100 years after passing through three centuries. The style of the whole building tells that this site carries the special historical memory of China, France and Vietnam. There are also some sculptures at the waiting point, which look like those who were selling cigarettes in those days. Now this is a sightseeing train from Lin'an Station to Tuanshan Village.
When it’s time to get on the train, the staff will arrange ticket inspection to check the old train tickets, and distribute water and specialty lion cakes printed with the Jianshui train information. It seemed to mean that the journey would be a little long, and the little train started to set off with the sound of whistle. Unable to restrain my excitement, I always poke my head out of the window from time to time, letting the wind blow by brings bursts of lotus fragrance, which makes people can't help but inhale deeply.
Before enjoying the thrill of the journey, the first stop is Shuanglong Bridge. It is one of the famous historical sites in Yunnan Province and has been included in the history of bridge building in China. Three holes were first built during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, and fourteen holes were added to connect them during the Daoguang period, so it is commonly known as the "Seventeen-hole Bridge". Looking at the whole bridge from a distance, I can't help but praise it for its "excellent". Although the time is tight, I want to go for a walk on the bridge.
There are pavilions at the end of the bridge, and before you walk in, you can hear the bells ringing, which is so crisp and sweet. The color of the pictures and texts depicted on the still beautiful beam and wood structure has faded away. If you don’t take a closer look, not only can you not find the exquisite carvings, but even the colors are only gray tones. Looking at the other end of the pavilion, the entire bridge body is made of huge stones, and there is a three-story pavilion in the middle of the bridge. There are some villagers sitting and lying in the attic, it seems that this is a place where they often come to relax. The stone slabs in the pavilion are extraordinarily bright in the sun, as if they are the patina given by them together with the years.
It was just in time to get back on the small train and prepare to go to Xianghuiqiao Station. This time, instead of sitting obediently on the seat, I ran out of the car and leaned on the sightseeing corridor, admiring the grain fields connecting the lotus fields from both sides along the way. Soon arrived at the station, which is a small station with yellow French architecture.
At that time, it was located in the hometown of Gaoying, with abundant products and a prosperous market. It was a very distinctive country station and realized the dream of a prosperous village at that time. Nowadays, there are dilapidated house walls in front and behind the small station, but the station has been repaired and used, and the villagers are doing some small business. After passing through the station, everyone walked to the village far away in the field without any haste.
On the road, I ran into a couple of villagers who were working in the fields. They chatted happily about what they were doing. They wore waterproof suits and searched for a certain ingredient called "grass sprouts" under the reed-like crops, an ingredient they had never heard of. Curious about what it looked like, the villagers also enthusiastically pushed the grass sprouts they found to me and introduced them in detail, saying that they are more expensive than meat. It is a unique local food material. The shape and color of small ivory is also called "ivory vegetable". It is rich in nutrition and contains a variety of amino acids.
After a simple exchange, I went to the village. The buildings in the village as a whole have a sense of age. There are still many reservations in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, but some dilapidated ones are being repaired behind closed doors. I was really daring to go in directly. Although it has been abandoned for a long time, the architectural pattern and decoration are enough to see the grandeur of the owner's house back then. Under the urging of friends in the same industry, I left in a hurry and went to the next stop.
Tuanshan Village is the last stop of the small train and the longest stop. Walking into the village, I was immediately attracted by the buildings here. Some decorations and layouts are more special than those seen in the Jiangnan area. Most of the buildings in the south of the Yangtze River have a sense of gentleness and beauty, and the decorative details here are even more meticulously carved, adding a little extravagant and gorgeous quality.
Some friends also shared that this was the place where the Yi people lived before. At present, most of the buildings here face west to east instead of north to south as we often say. What makes me feel comfortable is that the houses here are compact and comfortable, and the division of the courtyard is reasonable and ingenious. One side of the courtyard has one view, and the outside of the courtyard is surrounded by mountains and rivers.
The mottled under the blue bricks and gray tiles are also quietly telling the rise and fall of the past, the honor and disgrace, I really want to find a courtyard to sit quietly for a while, look at the clouds and clouds above my head, and experience the tranquility of the years.
Jianshui roasted tofu, bridge rice noodles
When you come to Jianshui, you can’t miss the delicious food. Jianshui roasted tofu is a food stall that I can see as soon as I enter the small town. Almost the most snacks here, the most memorable one is the grandma's stall in Tuanshan Village.
Grandma's grandson said that he couldn't make the sauce that grandma made delicious. All the guests were able to spend time waiting for Grandma to make the dipping sauce and then count the corn kernels for us while grilling the tofu. The tofu here is special because the tofu made from the water quality of Gujing in Jianshui has a taste that is not available in other places. The iron railing on the charcoal stove for burning tofu is called an iron drawer. Everyone sits around the drawer, cooks a tofu on the fire, and everyone picks up a tofu. Grandma puts a corn kernel aside, and after eating, the corn kernels are cooked again. Quantity to checkout.
Another serving of local jelly, rose ice powder, and occasionally some yams, dipped in the sauce made by my grandmother, the taste couldn't be better.
It is said that Jianshui is the birthplace of Yunnan bridge rice noodles, and the staple food of the local people is mainly rice noodles. In small restaurants, the meat is sliced into thin slices, and a large bowl of boiling broth is specially prepared. The thin slices of meat are put into the soup and cooked, mixed with chopped green onion, coriander, leek, pepper and other seasonings, plus a pinch of grass sprouts , and put rice noodles in a small bowl, pick the long rice noodles from the small bowl into the big soup bowl and mix with the soup to eat.
When I eat Guoqiao rice noodles, the soup base is good. I can cook whatever rice noodles I want to eat and I will be full. I didn’t understand the situation for the first time and made a joke. I kept asking why there was no rice noodles in the store. The store was busy. Why are there so many doubts? It's been a stalemate for a long time, but fortunately the girl at the next table told me patiently before I knew how to eat it.
It is said that during the Tongzhi and Guangxu years of the Qing Dynasty, there were more and more names of eating cross-bridge rice noodles, and the name was also new: "Fish carrying egrets", that is, pig, chicken, and duck soup cooked with grass sprouts and kneaded in small powder water. Thinly sliced raw pork tenderloin. The grass sprouts floating on the soup are called "egrets", and the meat slices falling under the soup are called "fish"; Pork trotter strips. "Ivory" refers to grass sprouts, which have the reputation of "ivory vegetables"; "Shuangfeng Zhengwo" refers to raw pork tenderloin kneaded with small powder water in high-temperature broth cooked with chicken and duck. Thin slices, chicken and duck are called "Double Phoenix", and the broth is called "Nest"; , Dolphin generally refers to pigs, and "chicken" is called "qiaofeng"; Rolling in the middle, hydrangea, crispy meat balls; there are many other items, if you are interested, you can find the shops in the ancient city, maybe you can eat them all.