Actually, this trip is required by work, but after get off work, I still have the opportunity to visit Jiaoling County, which is known as the "Hometown of Longevity in the World". After coming here to truly experience the cultural landscape of Hakka culture here, I finally understood why this place is so famous. The leisurely lifestyle, long history, and ancient customs have shaped the lives of generations of residents. On this land.
I have visited more than 10 companies in the past few days, which is really eye-opening and has subverted my previous understanding of some traditional companies. In my previous impression, the cement factory was a gray factory with heavy pollution and loud noise, but this time I saw a factory lined with green trees and blooming flowers. The sky above the plants is blue-white clouds, which makes people feel relaxed and happy. There are also chemical plants and grain processing plants that look like gardens, making people mistakenly think they have broken into a private garden. Thinking about how comfortable it is to work in such a beautiful environment, it is difficult to be efficient!
I always thought that Chaoshan tea culture was the best in China, but I didn’t expect that Hakka tea culture could rival it. Most of the companies we visited this time were received personally by entrepreneurs. Everywhere they go, they first make a pot of steaming tea, then pour it into a small cup similar to Kung Fu tea and hand it to everyone. None of them served tea in paper or plastic cups. Most of the tea I brewed was local hand-roasted tea, and some of the mountain tea had such a strong flavor that I accidentally drank too much tea and had insomnia every night. In the process of communicating with entrepreneurs, we can fully feel their calm, humble, low-key, pragmatic and steady management style.
The trip was in a hurry, so there was no time to visit the places of interest. I get up early at 6:20 every morning to enjoy the scenery on both sides of the Grotto River and go to the old town to see the old enclosed houses. Together with the dinner places carefully selected by my friends every day, let us use this leisure time to fully appreciate the countryside of Jiaoling Enjoy the scenery and taste authentic, delicious, pure, natural and pollution-free local ingredients. Jiaoling is a livable place in my heart, with its paradise-like beauty, rich and delicious food, and of course the rich and profound Hakka culture. The good mountains, water and soil here have given birth to generations of Jiaoling Hakkas. I envy them that they can live in such a good place. It is said that there are more than 20 people over 100 years old in Jiaoling, and more than 1,000 people over 90 years old. This is mainly due to the good water, land, air and other living environment here, and is also closely related to the living habits and mentality of the Hakka people. .
Hakka Weilong Weishi Tower
Dragon-style enclosure, also known as semicircular enclosure or square enclosure, is a typical embodiment of Hakka traditional ethics, Feng Shui and philosophical thoughts. Dragon-style enclosed houses are generally built on the back of a hillside, and their structure is based on the main hall or main room in the middle. The main hall is generally a square structure and is divided into an upper hall, a middle hall and a lower hall (three steps). There is a horizontal house with the same square structure on the left and right sides of the main hall, referred to as "Heng". From the main hall outward, the concentric semicircular house structure unfolds layer by layer, and each layer is called a "circle" or "circle dragon". The number of floors around the dragon is generally equal to the number of rows of side rooms on one side. Ordinary dragon houses include "two halls, two horizontals and one dragon enclosure" (a main hall in the middle and a row of horizontal rooms on both sides, corresponding to one floor of dragon enclosures), "three halls, two horizontal rooms and one dragon enclosure" (two floors of dragon enclosures), etc. It can be as many as ten horizontal walls and five dragons. There is usually a semicircular pond in front of the dragon house, and the overall look is like a Tai Chi pattern: the house on land is sunny, and the water in front of the house is cloudy. This is also the embodiment of Feng Shui theory in Hakka culture.
I got up early this time to visit Qiu Jiawen Paddock, which has a history of 300 years and has nurtured more than 200 ethnic groups. Now, the enclosure is empty and only a few ruins remain, having been reduced to a chicken farm. However, many beautiful childhood memories and traces of happy families have been left here. There is also this old well, which describes the prosperity of this ethnic group. The clear well water seems to be waiting for the young man to carry it home. The locked door seems to have locked the footprints of a family's life here; every brick and tile carries every bit of the life of this ethnic group.
The tradition of advocating literature and respecting education
During the dinner, a friend introduced us to the Hakka tradition of advocating literature and teaching. Meizhou is China's "City of Culture", where "every village has a school, every home has students, and there is reading everywhere."
Hakka people use children's songs to teach Chongwen from an early age: "If you don't read poetry, you are blind." As long as the children focus on their studies, no matter how poor and miserable their parents are, they still have to pay for their studies, even if they have to carry a heavy burden to make charcoal. At the same time, the Hakka people also have various village rules and regulations and traditional customs for establishing education. Many clans have an open taste of the mountains. This is because when the brothers separated, the ancestors did not give away all the ancestral property. Instead, they left some fields, mountains, rivers, and fish ponds as the clan's public property, and used the annual income to set up village schools, help teachers, and support their children in school. Some clan rules also stipulate that those admitted to schools and colleges will receive a certain amount of money. In addition, in the past, there were private "cultural associations" and "mutual aid associations" that used money and food raised from stocks to help children from poor families study in the form of scholarships.
The Hakka people have a tradition of respecting teachers and Taoism. They teach their children to respect their teachers, "Once a teacher, always a father." In the past, some students in Hakka mountain villages took turns delivering food to their teachers on weekdays; during holidays, parents would invite their teachers to their homes as guests or give them some local specialties.
It would be a lie to say I’m not tired these days, but I’m actually a little excited! I have seen cement factories and fine chemical factories lined with green trees and blooming flowers; I have visited the world's top fluorescent raw material company in terms of technology. Breathe the natural fresh air every day; drink sweet and delicious mountain spring water tea; eat authentic and delicious dishes; listen to friends telling traditional Hakka culture and stories, and the slow mountain breeze mixed with the fragrance of flowers floats in, refreshing! Jiaoling has beautiful mountains, water and scenery, but the most beautiful thing is our Hakka brothers and friends! Although I was short of time and did not make a special trip to visit, the people, things and things I encountered in my work and life made me fully feel the charm of Hakka culture. This is a meaningful and happy trip!