Visit the descendants of the victims of bandits bloodbathing Liu Hezhuang and the Two Pagodas Huilong Temple
On August 14th, Beijing Leying Zhuo, Professor Liu Ping of Fudan University and Professor Liu Zhenhua of the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology came to Miaodian from Xinyang via Tongbai and Tanghe County.
At the first meeting, I saw that Mr. Zhuo and Professor Liu Zhenhua were very young and their words and actions were very sharp. Professor Liu Zhenhua is a Tongzhaipu person in Tanghe County, and his fellow villagers have something to say when they meet, and they are particularly affectionate. Professor Liu Ping is of medium stature, and although he will reach retirement age, he always feels as energetic as a forty-year-old young man with zero. He is from Suzhou, but he can understand and amiable sentences, and there is no professor's shelf.
During the conversation, it was learned that the team of the two professors was studying modern history. The Qinghong Gang, the Red Gun Society, the Pole Bandits, monks, Taoists, witches, and gods and men who have emerged in modern society are all the subjects of their research. This time, it is to further understand and study the bandits of that year and help shoot the "Seeking" drama. In Xinyang, they went to Yilu (Wu Peifu's temporary command post) on JigongShan, Xinyang Yigao (the former site of the church school where Yao Xueyu studied) on the north bank of the River, and Xinyang Normal College and relevant departments.
After eating, they insisted on seizing the time to go out and visit despite the heat of the fire. I led them to Zhu Chaoyan's house on the nearest Miaodian Street.
Zhu Chaoyan is the eldest grandson of Zhu Erniang, born in 1956. Because his mother died early, he grew up with his grandmother since he was a child. When he was a child with a bare belly, his grandmother often said to him: When the bandits beat and Zhuang, our family was there to cultivate land for the Li family. On the day the bandits entered the village and burned, because Grandpa was a sincere man, he was sent out by Zhuang Shang to run a business trip, and only then did he escape the disaster. And the grandmother was shot through the chest and lay in a pool of blood; the eldest uncle Zhu Yunxiang was thrown to death by the bandits with small cotton pants with feet on the mill and thrown next to the firewood stack. After the firewood stack was ignited by the fire that burned the house, the uncle was roasted and woke up and picked up a life.... As he spoke, his eyes were red and he couldn't make a sound.
In the interview, Zhuo Zong and others found that Zhu Chaoyan's wife, Wei Xiuxiang, had a confused look in her eyes and knew that she had been paralyzed for many years. Hurriedly took out milk and other food from the car and handed it to Asahi to express his condolences.
Zhu Chaoyan recounted the past when his grandmother and uncle were killed by bandits, and he couldn't help but shed tears in his eyes.
Zhu Yunxiang (1924-2009)
Leaving Chaoyu's house, we went to Li Lianfeng's house in Caogang Village. Li Lianfeng is 67 years old this year, speaking slowly, very loyal and old. He said: In the old society, when our family farmed in Liu Hezhuang, it was a big family of 4 grandfathers and brothers. On the day the bandits beat Hezhuang, my grandfather Li Thirteen was beaten to death by the wall of the village, the eldest grandmother and the second uncle (the son of the eldest grandmother) were also beaten to death, and the family died three. My father, Li Yushan, was only over 8 months old at the time, and he had just been able to learn to walk with a water tank. In that era of war and chaos, in order to encounter dangerous things in the future, relatives could take care of each other, we left Liu Hezhuang and moved to Cao Gang, the mother-in-law of my grandmother and grandmother (my grandmother's family name is Wang, and she is the aunt of Wang Wenxiang and Wang Haiming. The eldest grandmother's family name is Zhang, and she is Zhang Guorui's aunt), until now.
Group photo of Professor Liu Ping (1st from left), Professor Liu Zhenhua (3rd from left) and Lianfeng Li (2nd from left).
Leave Cao Gang and go to Liu Hezhuang. Under the leadership of retired cadre Liu Quanzhang, he met Liu Yujie, Liu Guangyao, Liu Fukun, Liu Guoxin and other elderly people. Everyone entered the old village from the original East Zhai Gate, and through the South Zhai Gate, they went around to the house at the root of the West Zhai Wall, where the most people died in the catastrophe. There are not many people living in the old village, some of the old houses have collapsed walls, and some have been developed into arable land by the "development hollow village" in recent years, and planted with crops or trees. In the process of walking and talking, Liu Guangyao said: His cousin Liu Guanghan was born in the second year after his father was killed by bandits, so he was called "Tomb Life"; Liu Fukun said: My great uncle was burned in the big courtyard by the bandits. Liu Yujie said: "In the old society, my family was very poor and had a very hard life. When liberation was approaching, large families sold their land at low prices, and my family used spinning and weaving fabrics to make two dollars from selling shoes, and took advantage of the cheap to buy some land, and when the land reform was carried out, it was classified as a landlord component. The neighbors said that my family had paid for a landlord. Liu Guoxin said: "That year, when the bandits beat Li Zhuang and my grandmother was beaten to death, my uncle Liu Yuhe still suckled on his grandmother's body, and the scene was very tragic."
Visited a number of elderly people in Liu Hezhuang.
While walking and talking, Mr. Zhuo asked: "The Long Night" said, "... When the eyes were confused, the pole stopped outside a village, and most of the squatters and all the meat tickets sat by the ditch half a mile away from the gate of the village to shelter from the wind, and only the housekeeper led a few squatters to the wheat field outside the gate...". Where is the road ditch outside the village, and does it exist now? It seems that Zhuo Zong's investigation is so serious and meticulous, he must break the sand pot pattern (ask) to the end.
Everyone did not go far south from the South Gate to this big ditch. Li Wenzheng, an 81-year-old man who was working in the fields, said: "This ditch is the dry river that everyone in the fangfang knows. The Dry River encircles the village from the northeast of Zhuang to the Ma River in the west of the village. In the past, there was a lot of rain, and there were water and fish in the ditch in the summer, and a dry ditch in the winter. Now, except for the obvious ditch and scattered trees on the south bank of the ditch, the rest of the place is barren and grassy. ”
The elderly Li Wenzheng identified the "big road ditch".
Leaving Dalugou, we returned to the side of Dakeng near Nanzhai Gate. Look for the stone mill plate that fell to zhu Yunxiang that year. Under everyone's identification, the stone mill plate was dug out from the outlet of the big pit, and this physical object that witnessed the history of blood and tears was finally displayed in front of people.
After the stone mill plate was unearthed, Professor Liu Ping said: "This is strong evidence of the history of blood and tears. It is suggested that the history of Liu Hezhuang's tragic robbery by bandits and the names of the villagers who died should be inscribed on it, and stand at the entrance of the village, so that future generations will not forget the past and cherish today's sweetness." I think that miaodian now has two red education bases, the "Monument to the Fighting Heroes and Martyrs of the Red Three Armies" and the "Underground Traffic Station of the Cpc in Northern Tang," and for example, in Liu Hezhuang, which is very close to the two red education bases, a monument to the villagers who died has been erected to further enrich the red education resources.
Dig a stone milling pan at the outlet of the large pit
It was late at sunset for a long time, and there were still some things that I didn't understand, so I had to wait for the next time I continued to visit.
After breakfast on August 15th, Mr. Zhuo and the four of us drove to Xiaoqiaozhuang. Visit whether Li Shuimo, a pole boy who was tricked into going to Huilong Temple 96 years ago, was besieged by the army and the Red Gun Society, killed and injured by the squatters during the breakout, and whether the Huilong Temple was destroyed by fire, and what memories are still among the local people.
This time, we no longer take the bad road from Raoliang to Zhuji, which is full of potholes and muddy water, and divert the road from Miaodian to Tianzhuang and Zhuji, which is a spacious and flat oil road, and soon arrived at Yuan Laozhuang. When inquiring about the road to Xiaoqiaozhuang, an old man was drying grain on the side of the road, and he was very happy after learning of our intentions, saying that Xiaoqiaozhuang was familiar with the road and was willing to be a guide to take us there, and everyone was very grateful.
After getting on the bus, the guide took us through a river ditch and into the territory of Biyang County. The road to Xiaoqiaozhuang is high and low on both sides, which is a rare large road ditch road now, and the steep and muddy slope is very difficult to walk.
And stop at the ridge to look east, the houses and courtyards of Xiaoqiaozhuang are hidden among the tall trees. To the north of the road, a high hill from north to south suddenly stopped here, and the south side appeared a low-lying area. In the low-lying areas, lush autumn crops grow and a harvest scene is a scene of harvest.
Xiaoqiaozhuang, a small village of only 100 people, has a large difference between high in the west and low in the east. The old guide relied on his familiarity, and found Qiao Guanglai, Qiao Guangrong and many other elderly people in the village, and everyone rushed to the head of the village to tell the past of nearly a hundred years.
Talk to the old people in Little Joe Chuang
The 84-year-old Qiao Guanglai, an old man who was not good at sitting on the pier, said slowly: "The Huilong Temple is in the southwest corner of Lizhuang. When I was a child, I often heard the elderly say that from the end of the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, this was the boundary between Tang (He) County and Biyang (County). A river of sand and a river of mud flow together at the bend in front of the temple and then turn southwest. This river is called the Warm Cool River because the water temperature is cool on the one hand. There are two brick pagodas east of the gate of Huilong Temple, so it is also called the Double Pagoda Huilong Temple. ”
The old people said that Huilong Temple is a big temple, and the temple produces thousands of acres of land. The land is so large that the monks rush from the monastery (Biyang County) to the Shaobai Temple (which belongs to Tanghe County) and do not go to the outsiders' fields (land), and most of the nearby villages are temple farmers. The wall outside the temple is several feet high, strong and safe. Outside the wall, there are many grass houses where land farmers live.
The 84-year-old Qiao Guanglai recounted the past of Huilong Temple.
The old people present then said: The last abbot of the Huilong Temple was called Zhao Chun, known as "Old Zhao Luo". Whenever Old Zhao Luo went out, he had to sit in a car pulled by four mules, which was very pompous. Later, Lao Zhao Luo expelled an unruly evil monk from the monastery, and the evil monk held a grudge and colluded with bandits to burn down the monastery and the houses of the farmers. Elder Qiao Guangrong said: "In 1932, due to the local government's abolition of the temple and the revitalization of the school, the Huilong Temple was completely demolished, and bricks and wood were transported to Shihe Village to build a school. When we were young, we saw piles of broken bricks and tiles piled up on the ground. ”
Led by the old people, we walked south along a small road in the east of the village. Walk through the thriving corn and peanut fields to the cool river. The river is wide but not deep. Just listen to the sound of Park Pu Leng, a group of water ducks, rattling ——, quacking——, quacking and flying, hovering above the water and falling into the shallow water on the other side, it is so free. Such a water duck has not been seen for many years. Step on the weeds left by the rising water of the previous few days and head west to the eastward turn of the river to the site of the Double Pagoda Huilong Temple. At the site, the old people walked back and forth in the dense peanut fields, identifying the locations of the front hall, the apse, the side hall, the Zen room and the gate, the wall and the tower of the twin towers that they remembered.
Location map of the ruins of Huilong Temple (at the red dot).
Standing on the ruins of Huilong Temple, looking south, on the other side of the river in front of the temple is a high hill. The high hill undulates to the south, and there is no edge in sight. Looming trees and poles from high to low are looming in the distance, shining brightly in the sunlight. Under the gangtou, steep ravines stretch to the river. Looking north, it was the high hill that we had passed when we came, which had suddenly ended from north to south. The Temple is in a collapsed depression under two high hills.
At this point, the visit to Huilong Temple is basically over. We thanked the old people of Xiaoqiaozhuang for staying, took the cement road to send the guide to the old man's home, everyone shook hands with the old man to say goodbye, and Mr. Zhuo took out the gift and handed it to the old man to express his gratitude.
At noon, when we were eating at a restaurant at the west end of Zhuji Street, everyone agreed that the Double Pagoda Huilong Temple (ruins) next to XiaoqiaoZhuang was undoubtedly Yao Xueyu's Huilong Temple. The first reason is that, from the topography, it is stated in verse 39 of The Long Night that "... Huilong Temple is a large temple, and there are several straw houses where tenants live on the east and north sides of the temple. A high earthen courtyard wall encloses the great temple and the grass house. The earthen walls are dug with gun holes and small watchtowers. The river bends to the east from the southwest corner of the temple and half a mile, forming a deep pool in front of the temple... Worst of all, the Huilong Temple is on the ground, and from the south bank of the river to the temple, everything is clear", which is exactly the same as what the old people said and what we saw; second, in "The Long Night", it is said that "... The squatters began to follow one by one from the cave door to the outside... (Ju Sheng) followed everyone one foot high and one foot low to the north,...... Climb the high slope...", "... Everyone looked seven or eight miles to the south... It was the Huilong Temple that was burning. The high slope that Ju Sheng said should be the high hill that we saw when we came, from north to south to here. As for what the old people said, "The evil monks colluded with the bandits to burn down the Huilong Temple", that is only word of mouth, and there is no written basis. It is not as accurate as a foreigner who is only fourteen years old and does not know anything about this place, and records it in words with his own experience.
to be continued
About the Author
Liu Wanying, born in 1942, retired cadre of Miaodian Town, Sheqi County, is a member of the Communist Party. He enjoys calligraphy painting, poetry creation and erhu performance, and is now a member of the Henan Calligraphers Association.