The alleys of ancient houses are poetic
Ink Huizhou into the painting
In the depths of the green hills with pink walls and tiles, lies a quiet and quaint village called Hongcun. As a peculiar cow-shaped ancient village in the ancient peach blossom source, because of "expanding into Taiyi elephant, so it is beautiful to say Hongcun", and was officially renamed Hongcun during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty.
Beautiful view of Hongcun
Walking through the Hongcun, the beautiful scenery is intoxicating. This is the dream-like ink painting Jiangnan painted by the painter, and it is the idyllic countryside chanted in the poems; The rows of multi-storey courtyards are reflected in the water, and the scenery is everywhere. Against the backdrop of the distant mountains, this corner of the world, far away from the city, is the homeland style of countless wanderers.
西递村才女胡重娘
The intriguing Hongcun has a unique cow-shaped architectural layout. From a high place, Hongcun looks like a green cow lying on the side of the stream in front of the mountain, and this special design comes from Hu Chongniang, a talented woman in Xidi Village.
In ancient times, Hu Chongniang did not follow the traditional path of ancient women, she braved great hardships, observed the terrain in person for ten years, studied the landform, and designed a characteristic village of Hui style landscape according to the characteristics of Hongcun water system. Hu Zhong and others scientifically designed the location of the water inlet, calculated the flow rate and flow rate of the water tank, set up a spillway, diverted the water from the West River into the village and households, introduced the water into the natural well spring in the center of the village, and built a pond to provide water for fire prevention, drinking, washing, etc. After the water system is formed, houses are built and villages are built, so that a design village with a living water as the main body appears. These small streams that flow in front of each house are called "cow intestines", which flow into the central spring "cow stomach", and after being filtered, they go around the house again and finally join the south lake, which is called "tripe".
From north to south, the elevation difference of the natural terrain is used to make the water system play its exquisite role, and a village formed by the water system landscape is completed. Such a water Zhen road is close to the water, the ditch is deep, and the flow is rapid, which is not only convenient for washing, but also clear with washing, which has to make people admire the exquisite and ingenious design ability of Hu Chongniang, a talented woman in Xidi Village. Advanced, practical and beautiful, the "cow-shaped village" water system layout is both.
Of course, Hu Chong's greatness also lies in the direction of the construction of the second phase of the water system project in Hongcun. She used the feng shui knowledge she had learned to write the "Testament of the Hu Family" at the age of seventy-two, asking her descendants not to stop at the present, but to expand the village again and implement the cow-shaped village, that is, according to the saying that the ox has two stomachs to regurgitate, build another big lake, and become a water gathering trend of "digging a pond to store the yang water, and the descendants will be more auspicious".
Agile water system
In 1997, Mr. I.M. Pei, a world-famous Chinese architect, came to Hongcun for sightseeing and praised the artificial ancient water system of Hongcun, he said, "The most subtle artificial ancient water system in Hongcun is the living water, which does not rot and flows endlessly, which is faster and more alive than the water flow of Suzhou gardens." The design of the water system hundreds of years ago, its flow rate and slope are so clever that it is worth studying."
Cultural mecca
The harmony between nature and man, respect for nature, and the harmony and unity of the overall scenery make the village not only livable, but also a cultural holy place that has lasted for a long time. Hu Chongniang also became almost the only woman in Chinese history to be enshrined in the ancestral hall. Since then, the spirit of "she" in Hongcun has been passed down from generation to generation and has become a cultural treasure hidden in the hearts of people in this land.
Source: Yixian Huihuang Tourism Group