Xia Dong bean cake is different from other bean cakes, with a history of 1000 years. It is famous for its excellent selection of materials, fine production, fresh and tender color, crisp and refreshing, and is one of the famous specialties in western Guangdong. There is a local legend about the origin of Xia Dong bean cake: In the Sui Dynasty, Xiadongbao was often invaded by foreigners, and people's lives were in trouble. Early this summer, when the beans were ripe, the fields were golden. One day at noon, the masses were busy harvesting soybeans in the field, only to see a group of demons coming angrily and grabbing soybeans with their teeth bared. Just then, the army led by Mrs. Xian came. They drove away the devil and took back the soybeans. In order to thank Mrs. Xian for her great kindness, every household in Xia Dong grinds soybeans and makes bean cakes to express condolences to Mrs. Xian's army. Since then, Xia Dong's bean cakes have become world-famous, and guests from all over the world come to Xia Dong to taste them.
Lingnan Jiaguo litchi
In May, 2002, Guangdong Science and Technology News reported the situation of Xia Dong Town, Dianbai District, which is the "No.1 litchi town in the world", and introduced the litchi in Xia Dong. Among them, there was a saying: "Litchi in the world looks at Guangdong, while litchi in Guangdong looks at Xia Dong."
The main varieties of litchi in this town are: Populus alba, Bai La, Black Leaf, Guiwei, Glutinous Rice Paste, Guiwei and Feizixiao.
In the late 1980s, Xia Dong was named "Mars Danxia" and "Dianbai New Eight Scenery", including Baili Lilin, Fei Xia Fushan and Danli Cui Ying. According to 1982, the cultural relics in this area were investigated, and there were human activities in Dianbai area as early as 7000 years ago. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the ancestors of Baiyue flourished here. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the eastern, northeastern and central parts of the county were mainly inhabited by Yao people, while the coastal areas from southwest to northwest and the areas along the river were mainly inhabited by Li and Zhuang people.
It is difficult to verify when the Han people first immigrated, but since the Song Dynasty, a large number of Han people immigrated to China. From the Song Huizong period (11-125) to the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty (1368- 1398), the Central Plains was constantly in war, and a large number of China people came from Fujian. In addition, there are descendants of Shendian garrison officers and soldiers (mostly from Zhejiang), businessmen who came here to do business and trade, and some officials who once worked in Gao, Lei, Lian, Qiong and other counties chose to live here after resigning-they have thrived here, so the number of Han people in China is more and more dominant, and the original indigenous people have to migrate to Guangxi, Hainan and other places, and some of them have assimilated with the Han people.
People in this town seldom move out. In the data of the proportion of surnames of towns in the county to the number of surnames in the county, Cui and Wang have the highest proportion. So far, these two distinctive ethnic groups have been living in harmony with multiple surnames. "Year case" is greater than "year". Since historical records, Maoming and most of its cities, counties (districts) and villages have been making "annual regulations", and they are quite grand and lively. It also allows us to trace back to the connection between its culture and the legendary lady Sendai in history. In Xia Dong, from the sixth day of the New Year, villages began to run their own chronologies one after another.
Xia Dong Town's New Year Model
The 17th day of the first month: According to Daoguang's Dianbai District Records, there is an annual activity in Xia Dong Town called "seventeen people view", that is, commemorating Mrs. Kenta Darvish on the 17th day of the first month, which is large in scale and full of festive atmosphere. The first month of each year is held in Kanrenpo from 16 to 19 on time. This is a plain landform about three miles across. In the Tang Dynasty, Mrs. Xian's grandchildren lived in concentrated communities. There are two "annual rules" in a year, one is the birthday of Mrs. Xian, and the other is the anniversary of Mrs. Xian's death, which is closely related to her habit of traveling in the Lantern Festival and the anniversary of her death. It can be seen that the local people regard the "Year of the Year" as the "Lantern Festival" and there are traces of its evolution.
Every February is an annual community assistance activity in Xia Dong, which has been large in scale for many years. Emperor Yangdi Xian was the first heroine in ancient China. She is a model of patriotism and devoted her life to safeguarding national unity and the great cause of the motherland's reunification. She suppressed rebellion, punished thieves, maintained the stability of more than ten states in Lingnan, protected the environment and people, developed production, made contributions to the people, and the people respected her. To commemorate her achievements, people built a statue to commemorate her. Before liberation, there were more than 100 Sendai temples in western Guangdong, among which Gong Yan Temple in Xia Dong, Dianbai County was the most spectacular. Gong Yan Temple was built on the sunny slope of Shiziling at the northern end of Ren Kan Slope, facing south, covering an area of about 1 1,000 square meters, depending on the mountain. It is divided into three main halls, the back hall is higher in terrain and there are two clay bodhisattvas. The nave has the largest area, with carved beams and painted buildings, which is solemn. The two statues of Mrs Xian are identical in form and spirit. The front hall is the lowest, close to the temple gate.
The temple was jointly built and managed by Cui and Wang. There is a couplet in front of the temple: on the left is: unite as one, offer a statue, and be sincere and respectful through the ages; On the right are: Fenfa, Baoer, Wang10,000 and Cui10,000.
On the 17th day of the first month of each year, Cui and Wang boarded a stage on a flat slope called Hanhanpo, three miles away in front of the temple, and invited a famous Cantonese opera troupe from Guangdong and Guangxi to sing a big drama to compete with others on the stage. At the same time, a competition called "Going Public" by local people was held. Mrs Sendai's annual commemoration lasted from the 16th day of the first month to the 19th. At this time, businessmen and audiences from all over the world gathered here, and people came and went, crowded and bustling. 1 957,10,000 people from Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan and Qiong provinces came to the Gong Yan Temple in Xia Dong to pay homage to Mrs. Sendai. Unfortunately, Gong Yan Temple was burned down in the "Three Anti-five evils" catastrophe in 1950s, and the inscriptions of poets such as Su Dongpo have disappeared. By the end of 1990s, the local people raised their own funds and simply rebuilt on the original site, which was managed by nearby villagers, and the incense continued all the year round.
Among the local activities, the Christmas activities in Feng Jia Village, Xia Dong have the largest specifications and the widest influence. Every year, related activities are organized on Mrs. Xian's birthday and anniversary, which are collectively called Mrs. Xian's Dianbai Culture Festival. Gao Lishi and Yang Guifei, the fourth generation granddaughter, were married and buried in Shiziling (with existing tombs as evidence), which may be a gift from her father and Prime Minister Wu Zetian to the emperor, Xia Dong Litchi, which pioneered the "Litchi Road" from Xia Dong, Li Xiang to Chang 'an, the ancient capital.
"The world of mortals rides a princess and laughs, but who knows it is litchi." According to legend, Gao Lishi presented delicious litchi to Yang Guifei's hometown, which is called Xia Dong litchi in the sunshine of Fushan Mountain. There is a "Jinfeng" (also called "Zhengfeng") garden village in Xia Rong Village Committee, and there are still many ancient bricks around the village. There are 37 auditoriums in Xia Dong Village. People often say that it has 36 and a half rooms, among which Cui Shi has 26 and a half rooms. Most of these ancestral halls face south (there is an ancient architectural habit of "facing the water with the ancestral hall").
East: Deming Temple
Middle: Cui Shi Dazong (Fugong Temple in Changfang Town), Jingxuan Temple, Yungu Temple, Qianting Temple, Yizhen Temple, Duanning Temple, Shi Lan Temple, Dehua Temple, Cui Shi Temple (General Cui Shi Temple, the ancestor of Cui Shi), Zhu Xuan Temple and Ji Feng Temple.
West: Weinan Gongmiao, Shenshan Gongmiao, Xiazhen Gongmiao, Zhenchun Gongmiao, Biaofan Gongmiao, Genwei Gongmiao, Jingyigong Gongmiao, Zhiyuan Gongmiao, Yiqun Gong Gongmiao, Siyuan Gongmiao, Qingquan Gongmiao, Huidu Gongmiao and Baiyun Gongmiao (half of them were blown down by strong wind, and the other half).
Most of the more than 20 ancestral halls in Cui Shi are under the Seven Ancestors. Because there are few people in the three rooms, there are not many shrines, but in the second room, only the seventh ancestor Jingyi (Zhenfu) public shrine was built on the west side of the field, and the eighth ancestor Zhenchun (then Ming) public shrine was built on the upper left corner of the ancestral shrine, accounting for three rooms. The rest of Cui Shi Ancestral Hall was built for a large population of four rooms and long rooms.
The Cui Shi Second House's Jingyi Gongci was built in Guangbingshen (1836), Shenbingyue, Shenbingri and Shen Bing, which is one of its major features. However, the ancestral hall of the eighth ancestor Zhenchun was built in the 16th century with money from Liangzhu and Cai Liang, which is also different from other ancestral halls. (Cui) posthumous title, the eighth ancestor of Cui Zegan, is the name of the temple, not his ranking name, character and number. The names of other ancestral temples are always like this.
There is a plaque (in gold on a red background) in the shrine, which says their achievements, such as Jinshi, Juren, and Affinity. Xia Fa, a calligrapher in Cui Shi in Qing Dynasty, pawned his calligraphy in a pawnshop and got money. One year, a Wang ancestral hall was built, but banners were hung on the gate, but no ideal plaque was hung. Cui Xiafa was drunk and wrote on the right side of the word "Temple", but there was still a painting in the word "Temple", so she stopped writing when she woke up. Since then, other people who are also slightly famous for their writing style have made up for the lack of strokes. Compared with his writing style, his brushwork is different in all aspects. Later, there were banners written by Cui Xiafa in the ancestral temple of Cui Shi, such as "Star Gathering Legacy Emblem", "Shi Zelong", "Teaching Xia Zhuchi" and "Joining Yuemu", but the fonts seemed to come from different families.
These ancestral halls are independent of the living room, and the overall layout on the axis is: gate-hall-bedroom. Enjoy the hall, also known as the sacrificial hall, is a place to worship ancestors, hold sacrificial ceremonies and reunite all ethnic groups; Dormitory is a place for ancestors. In front of the ancestral hall, some famous officials' families also have a wall or memorial arch, drawing a frisbee, which is very spectacular. The ancestral halls of these aristocratic families are often managed by special personnel. Some collect rent, some keep genealogy, some keep ancestral halls, and some prepare sacrifices. Wang has Huaiyin Hall, which specializes in dealing with disputes between people in the clan. Cui has a board of directors and a similar organization. The economic pillar of the ancestral hall is to sacrifice fields (commonly known as steaming flavor). Sacrificial field is the public property of the whole family under the ancestral hall, and its income is mainly used to pay all kinds of expenses for ancestor worship and clan support, as well as to reward filial sons and descendants who have made great contributions to clan glory.
Why did Xia Dong Village build so many ancestral temples in Ming and Qing Dynasties? A local old man said: one kilometer from east to west, one kilometer from north to south, and there are many ponds around. It is a treasure house of "fairy casting net" and "network supervisor". Ancestors of all ages believed that every time an ancestral temple was built here, there would be "another hair" and it would be more prosperous and developed. Therefore, competition is like investment. Raise funds and donate money to build a new ancestral temple (sub-temple) and set up a large number of sacrificial sites in order to pray for new development. However, if we put aside the superstitious color and look for the reasons through the phenomenon in a deeper level, we can see that this is related to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, when the patriarchal clan system was in a mature stage of development, people attached great importance to sacrifice as an important activity of the family, and the ancestral temple became a symbol of family centripetal force and cohesion. In family training, the preaching of "establishing ancestral temple" and "emphasizing sacrifice" occupies a prominent position and is very related. Cui and Wang, two local surnames, are famous families, wealthy businessmen and celebrities, and there are also many middle-and upper-class people who have a deep influence on the study of classics and reception. Other clans can't afford so much money to build so many ancestral temples, and two famous families, Cui and Wang Nengjian, are also an important reason. Moreover, the Qing government did not have any restrictions on this, so the construction of ancestral temples became the dominant consciousness of all of them. From the middle and late Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, ancestral temples were built in every corner of Xia Dong Village, with 37, actually 36 and a half, which naturally became an understandable historical phenomenon. Legend has it that a long time ago, there was a drought in Xia Dong, Dianbai County, and the rice harvest failed. Many people fled to the southwest because of hunger. At that time, there was a doctor in Xia Dong, Dr. Alin Huailan, a trainer in Wuchuan. He also fled with the victims and treated many victims on the way.
When Dr. Lin and the victims arrived at the crossing point of Jiaozhi country (now northern Vietnam), a general at the crossing point was cured, and the general was very grateful.
There is a princess in the imperial palace of Jiaotoe country, who has been ill for a long time and has not been treated. One day, General Guan entered the palace and reported, "There is a doctor Lin in China. He fled to Guan with the victims and cured many victims' diseases, and also cured me. The princess has been ill for a long time, so it is better to invite him to see her. The king thought for a moment and asked the general to invite Dr. Lin to the palace to treat the princess. Sure enough, the princess took the medicine prescribed by Dr. Lin and her condition improved a few days later. In order to thank Dr. Lin, the king presented boxes of gold, silver and jewels, but Dr. Lin declined politely.
The king made it strict to treat Dr. Lin with cooked sweet potatoes as a national treasure to show his highest respect. After the banquet, Dr. Lin asked the princess, "Can you give me a piece of raw sweet potato?" The princess promised to give Dr. Alin sweet potatoes. He ate half of it, left half tied in his hair, put on a round melon hat, bid farewell to the princess and returned to China.
Shortly after Dr. Lin left the palace, somehow, the king suddenly received a report that the national treasure sweet potato had been stolen. Qi Weiwang was furious and immediately sent General Guan to hunt him down. Dr. Lin went to the border and took a boat to the middle of the river. At this time, the chasing general rowed over and stopped Dr. Lin, saying, "You stole the national treasure sweet potato abroad, and now you are ordered to be arrested." After hearing this, Dr. Lin said that he would live for the relief people and get back the sweet potato planting. After hearing this, the general was deeply moved. He ordered the soldiers to let go and let Dr. Lin bring the sweet potato back to China, and he threw himself into the river.
Dr. Lin returned to Dianbaixia Cave, planted half a sweet potato, and soon grew leaves and planted potatoes. This kind of sweet potato can tolerate drought and grow rapidly. The news spread, and farmers in various townships came to collect potato seedlings and potato pieces, which were widely planted, and sweet potatoes were used as miscellaneous grains to satisfy their hunger. Since then, sweet potatoes have spread from Xia Dong to all parts of Guangdong and many provinces in China.
During the Qianlong period, Cui, the deputy curator, led people to establish the "Sweet Potato Forest Temple" on the edge of Dianbai to commemorate Dr. Lin Huailan's meritorious service in saving the famine. After the completion of the temple, when harvesting sweet potatoes every year, local farmers will choose large strips of sweet potatoes to hang in front of the temple to express their kindness to Dr. Lin and pray for good weather, harvest sweet potatoes and rice, and let the people live a good life. Unfortunately, this temple was destroyed in the Cultural Revolution.