A small village with a long charm
In the northwest of Lanxi City, Zhejiang Province, there is a small village with a long charm, Dudu Village.
The village is bordered by Bailu Mountain in the north and Lanjiang River in the south, which is a national AAA-level tourist scenic spot.
As a tourist attraction, good mountains and good water needless to say, there are more than 100 Ming and Qing Dynasty buildings in the village, which adds to the simple and elegant atmosphere of the village.
Not only that, the village has also gathered more than a dozen intangible handicrafts, straw weaving, brick platform, wood carving, pewter and other handicraft workshops, making the small village more and more vibrant.
Relying on the sales of intangible cultural heritage products and tourism development, the per capita annual income of Dudu Village exceeds 30,000 yuan, and people live a good life.
Cultivate and read heirlooms, and do their best to be realistic
The surname Zhang is the largest surname in Dudu Village.
In the last years of the Northern Song Dynasty, the ancestors of the Zhang clan migrated from Chun'an to avoid war. In order to commemorate the ancestral land, the name Dudu was used, which means "the village by the ferry".
Along with the Zhang family, there is not only the name of the village, but also the family training of the Zhang family.
The Zhang family training, which began to be compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, is the first family training in Chinese history to officially include "cultivating and reading heirlooms".
"Ploughing is the duty, and reading can honor the body... Tight on doing our best to be realistic..."
Farming is for the survival of the family, reading is for the development of the family, and the most important thing for people to deal with the world is to uphold the attitude of doing everything and seeking truth.
Such a good family style has made the Zhang clan talented in history. During the Ming Dynasty, nine jinshi were admitted to the village.
Among them, the most respected by the clan is the Ming Dynasty scholar Zhang Mao.
During the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Mao, who was then the editor of the Hanlin Academy, was reprimanded and demoted from Beijing because he bluntly advised the emperor to abandon extravagance and focus on doing practical things for the people.
Although he was degraded, Zhang Mao still adhered to the pragmatic thinking and always did practical things for the people.
In the thirteenth year of Chenghua, Zhang Mao resigned from the government and returned to his hometown to set up education, and founded the "Fengshan Academy" on MapleWood Hill in his hometown to teach the study of the scriptures.
For a time, mathematicians came to visit, and Fengshan Academy became a meeting place for literati.
With craftsmanship in hand, it is better than ten acres of land
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, as the literati gathered here, the demand for all kinds of literary utensils they loved increased greatly, so that the handicrafts such as brick carving, straw weaving, and pewter in the village gradually developed.
Many farmers who made a living from ploughing the fields began to change direction, wielding carving knives and looms, and became skilled craftsmen. The local people gradually have the saying that "having craftsmanship in hand is better than ten acres of land".
Until the 1990s, this traditional craftsmanship was still generating income for small villages.
The traditional handicrafts produced in Dudu Village are sold to more than 60 countries and regions, bringing more than 7 million yuan of income to the village every year.
Relying on the income from straw weaving, every household in Dudu Village built a new house, and life was flourishing.
Repairing the inner can be long-term
However, after 2000, with the development of modern industry, traditional handicrafts lost their market, and the Dudu people had to find new development opportunities.
In 2013, Dudu Village was included in the second batch of Chinese traditional villages list, and a special fund of 3 million yuan for the protection of traditional villages brought new hope to the village.
But how to use this ancient building maintenance fund has made the villagers difficult.
Some people feel that limited funds should be used to repair the surface of ancient buildings, so that rural tourism can be rapidly developed and the village can quickly increase income.
Some people insist on strengthening the interior first and repairing each house in a down-to-earth manner, which is slower to achieve results, but it is more conducive to long-term.
Just when the two sides were arguing, the unique architectural parts of the Zhang Family Temple, the ox legs, let everyone get the answer.
The ox leg is connected to the beam and the pillar, and mainly plays the role of supporting the eaves. When the ancients designed the ox leg, they first considered the actual load-bearing, and then considered carving on the ox leg.
In fact, the restoration of ancient buildings is the same, no matter how beautiful the exterior of a village is, it is only in vain, and only with culture and connotation on the inside can it go long.
In this way, according to the severity of the house, the Dudu people arranged the order of repairs, and spent seven years to repair seven ancient buildings such as Zhang Mao's former residence, Zhang's family temple, and Yuqing Hall.
After the renovation, the ancient village not only attracts a large number of tourists, but also attracts many cultural scholars and cultural relics experts to come to the village for discussion and exchange.
With the development of rural tourism, the traditional handicrafts of Dudu Village have also been loved by more and more people. Old crafts such as straw weaving and yantai have a new heritage among the young people of Dudu Village. Nourished by traditional culture, the ancient village is once again full of vitality.
Tonight at 20:00, walk into The Village of Dudu and see a small village that is full of truth.
"Remember Nostalgia" rural revitalization series
Broadcast content: "Dudu Village - Jiangnan Water Town, Ancient Rhyme"
Broadcast time: February 22, 2022 (Tuesday) 20:00
Broadcast channel: CCTV-4 Chinese international channel
Synthesis: CCTV4 "Remember Nostalgia"
New Media, Chinese Global Program Center, China Central Radio and Television Corporation
Producer/Yang Fengtao
Producer/Yang Xiuwen
Editor-in-Chief/Junjun Yang
Source: CCTV4