Wuhou Temple Building Monument
Maxi village
Maxi Village beside Wugui Mountain
For most people, Maxi may just be a strange and remote mountain village, but when it comes to Hakka folk songs, a familiar and clear name will come to mind-Meizhou. Maxi, a village built by five Chinese from Meizhou, bears the imprint of Hakka culture and breeds Hakka folk songs from generation to generation. It is this kind of export of Hakka folk songs, which makes us give up the bustling places of interest in the city and look for this little-known mountain village. Maxi: Hakka village
The ancient village layout has been gradually broken, and the crisp songs under the moonlight have gradually disappeared. With the invasion of urban civilization, Maxi village has been contaminated with urban dust, and a cement road leads directly to the entrance of the village, with large and small vehicles interspersed. However, there are still traces of history in the depths of Maxi Village, and the simple Hakka folk customs still attract urbanites who come here.
Maxi Village is on the edge of Cuishan Highway. As soon as I got off the bus, I saw Maxi archway, and a north-south cement road was connected inside. Under the big banyan tree in full of green by the cement road, several elderly people sat next to each other on stone benches to enjoy the cool, and chatted about Sangtian's farming in Cantonese. Several urchins were fishing by the pond, laughing and having fun.
Although Maxi village is integrated with the civilization of the city, and the buildings in the village are mainly modern buildings, from a distance, some ancient buildings are still preserved. Similarly, the deep-rooted patriarchal clan system concept and hospitable ancient heritage still affect the life of modern Maxi people. From their words and deeds, we can see the ancient and simple folk customs. Feel free to walk into a farmhouse, and the host will warmly invite you to come in and have a look; I will introduce the history and origin of my family to you in a few treasures.
When an 82-year-old man told us about his past deeds, he talked about the history of Maxi Village with great interest. He told reporters that Maxi has a history of nearly 200 years. When our ancestors moved from Wuhuatu to Zhongshan, they saw Maxi, a place near mountains and rivers, and thought it was a treasure trove of geomantic omen. After several generations of reproduction and development, today's Maxi Village has been formed. According to "Geography of Zhongshan", "Fifty Years of Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty (17 1 1), Gu Qingyun of Wuhua County moved here. The village was built next to a thatched mountain, which was originally called Maobianpu. Later, because the ground was shaped like a whip, it was renamed Ma Bianpu in the first year of Qing Qianlong (1736). Because there are rivers and streams near the village, it was renamed today after 1949. " Temple of Marquis
Just past the circus archway, a little further on, it is the Temple of Wuhou, which looks a little dull, and the "Temple of Wuhou" written in block letters is also quite satisfactory. Gray-black blue brick walls, together with two gradually darkening stone pillars and a courtyard house in the south of the Yangtze River, constitute the Wuhou ancestral hall worshipped by the villagers. On the left side of the stone pillar in front of Wuhou Temple is engraved "However, his will is in the war of the Three Kingdoms" and on the right side is engraved "Just a feather against the flaming sky". The statue of Zhuge Liang is enshrined in the middle of the ancestral hall. Inscriptions are also engraved in the ancestral hall, from which we know that this ancestral hall was built in the Xianfeng period of Qing Dynasty (Zhongshan map also says that it was built in the 59th year of Qing Emperor Kangxi) and was repaired once in 1946, with a cycle of 143 years.
Like many temples in Jiangnan, there is a pond in front of the ancestral hall. According to people in the village, the Wugui Mountain, pond and river behind the ancestral hall are a combination of geomantic omen, which has silently blessed the villagers for nearly 200 years. There is a camphor tree by the pond, and seven big trunks grow on the top of the tree. For decades, they have lived through many extraordinary years. Villagers call them "Seven Sisters" because they grow from the top of trees and thrive.
After the rain, the bright sunshine sprinkled on the surface of the pond, and only a few sea urchins were fishing. The tranquility of reality is in sharp contrast with the prosperity of the city. Through the gray-black blue brick walls of the ancestral temple, the tall and green "Seven Sisters" and the glittering phosphorescence, we seem to have heard Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei talking and laughing in the bamboo forest on Wolong Mountain two thousand years ago, and outlined a clever strategy of dividing the world into three parts. Wuhou birthday
In the past, every year on the 23rd day of the seventh lunar month, Maxi Village held a grand memorial ceremony called "Wuhou Birthday", which was a kind of "sacrifice for Zhuge Liang", and its status and excitement in the eyes of the elderly in Maxi Village could be compared with the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival. The "Wuhou Birthday" held on July 23rd is more like a rare opportunity for children in Maxi Village to play.
Sacrificial expenses are shared by the villagers, with those who have more money and those who have no money. According to the old man in the village, every year on the morning of July 23rd, the villagers gather early, offer pigs to Zhuge Liang in Wuhou Temple, and travel with Zhuge Liang's idol, praying for Zhuge Liang to bless the good weather in Maxi Village every year, so that the villagers can get in and out safely and have a prosperous career. Children in the village even swim in it, or frolic in the open space outside the ancestral hall, or help adults make a fire and sacrifice with them. In their eyes, the solemn and even slightly mysterious sacrificial ceremony is more like a lively and interesting performance. After the sacrifice, pork was divided, and the villagers brought home pork symbolizing culture, finance and official transport, and the whole "Wuhou Birthday" was over.
"In the past ten years, due to various reasons,' Wuhou Birthday' has lost its former glory. Now the younger generation is beginning to feel confused about' Wuhou Birthday'. This year's' Wuhou Birthday' is not active. " The 82-year-old man looked at the silent temple of Wuhou, worried that the "Wuhou Birthday" would gradually move away from this small Hakka mountain village, leaving only the empty tablet of Zhuge Liang. Hakka folk songs Maxi is a Hakka village, so Hakka folk songs have attracted the attention of foreigners. We were lucky enough to listen to the Hakka folk song story told by folk singer Chen Bo under the banyan tree at the entrance of the village:
According to legend, there was a man in the village, whose family was poor, and his wife worked hard to farm for a living. He sings folk songs well, but he is very playboy. He wears sandals bought by his wife and wears a yellow belt every night, and sings love songs on Wugui Mountain, deceiving those inexperienced little girls. My wife was very angry when she learned about it. So, one night, after her husband went out, she followed him up the hill. When her husband whistles, she sings folk songs about the origin of his clothes, family poverty and playboy. After listening, the husband knew that his every move was seen through by his wife, so he went down the mountain shyly and never dared to sing love songs on the mountain again.
When telling folk songs, Chen Bo was full of passion. He put his finger in his mouth, whistled and sang folk songs slowly: "Three people went to see flowers on the same day and lived at home for more than a hundred years. The straw caught fire and two tons of sand were in the sunset." Chen Bo said that this song is about the changes of four seasons in spring, summer, autumn and winter, and it tells the story of villagers' farming and labor. Chen Bo's singing aroused the villagers' singing, and they sang folk songs smoothly. The song is loud and clear, and the lyrics are mostly oral languages such as "Yan" and "Ya". Although we don't know much about it, a long-lost feeling suddenly welled up in our hearts and intoxicated us.
"As soon as I found my husband and went to the dock, Yalong (I) went out to worry about my sister. I wanted to turn around and break up with Yuanyang." Hakka love songs in Maxi Village are enough for guests to imagine. Perhaps in a sense, we really should be thankful for the remoteness of Maxi Village. It is this remote geographical environment that has blocked the impact of modern pop music on Hakka folk songs to some extent. Although there is no touching scene of men and women singing in the mountains at night, in ordinary life, the Hakka tunes of the villagers are still releasing the ancient and simple folk customs, so that Hakka folk songs that have gone through thousands of years can be passed down.
Blowing the whistle-a prelude to singing folk songs
Sing Hakka folk songs together
The old banyan tree is intertwined.
The Seven Sisters tree grows from the same root.
Temple of Marquis
Happy village children
Catch fresh fish