"My friend, I advise you not to die nailed in the metropolis like Shanghai, all day long only a few theories and a few statistical tables or a set of 'political jianghu eighteen secrets' in the head backwards and forwards. To run everywhere, to see the economic center or political center of the metropolis outside the life, but also quite beneficial ...... so this time, although it is something irrelevant, I am very willing to go back to my hometown for a walk."
In 1932, the clouds of the January 28th Incident did not dissipate, and the writer Mao Dun returned to Wuzhen from Shanghai and wrote this Miscellany of the Hometown. Jiangnan is the home of the Chinese soul, more than eighty years later, the times have long been different, but the state of mind of the people who came to Wuzhen is quite similar: people who do not want to be pinned down in the metropolis, come out to feel a different kind of earth, and get inner peace.
Mao Dun probably didn't expect his hometown to become China's hottest travel destination, receiving more than ten million visitors a year, and the first ancient town in the hearts of countless people. On the other hand, international events such as the Wuzhen Drama Festival and the World Internet Conference have put Wuzhen in the spotlight time and time again.......
Can you have both the ancient charm and the new trend?
Can we have a good deal of time for a new generation of people who want to be in the world? But then again, if there's one place in China that can be both classic and avant-garde, it's in Jiangnan, so why not Wuzhen?
The story is recorded in another Wuzhen native, writer and painter Mu Xin's Reading Under the Pagoda, who returned to Wuzhen in early 1995 after more than 50 years away from his hometown, disgusted with its decay, except for Shiqiao, a bridge over the river. As a child, I stood at the head of the river port and watched the pale green water slowly flow by, a round piece of a round piece of the bank lapping at the shore, a slight sound, not a splash - now I see it again, exactly the same as what I saw as a child ......" (Wooden Heart,
Looking at the water across the shore seems to be a must-do for everyone who comes to Wuzhen. Water is the soul of the water town, and the soft waves will spread out the scenery of Jiangnan like a scroll.
Wuzhen's scenery is first reflected in its large.
Today, the scope of the town of Wuzhen in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there are two towns, to the north-south City River as the boundary, east of the town of Qing, belonging to Jiaxing Tongxiang, west of the town of Wuzhen, belonging to the Huzhou Wucheng, the name of the split and the actual combination, jointly known as the Wuqing Town, and later simply called the town of Wuzhen.
Wuzhen vertical seven miles, four miles across, Qingzhen vertical seven miles, two miles across, area of the wide, has exceeded the same period of the Huzhou Prefecture and Jiaxing Prefecture . At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Wuqing Town was once divided into seven small towns, the scale of Jiangnan rare. At the same time, it was one of the most populous municipalities in the south of the Yangtze River: in the year that Mao Dun returned to his hometown, the town's population had reached more than 115,000 people.
Such a large town can only be developed in the busiest node of the Jiangnan water network system. Wuzhen divided east, west, south, north fence , the fence is the water fence, that is, the water gate, quite common in Jiangnan towns, Nanxun, Luzhi, Puyuan and other places have. The four gates of Wuzhen, east to Jiaxing, west to Huzhou, south to Hangzhou, north to Suzhou, since it is the hinterland of Jiangnan golden junction.
The court did not authorize the establishment of a county in Wuzhen, but set up another Zhezhi Branch Office (Jiangzhe Branch Office), appointing the Tongzhi (equivalent to the deputy mayor) to manage it. Yamen on the lobby has a couplet: "screen the two zhejiang, control three Wu", where is a small town Yamen, is simply the momentum of the Governor's Office.
Today's Wuzhen can be seen vaguely in the past, only in the east fence has Huiyuan pawnshop, Hongyuan Tai dyeing, Xiangshan Hall pharmacy, three white wine workshop, visit Luge teahouse and so on a number of old resumption of business, finance, handicrafts, pharmacy, catering industry, the county has here, as if Ming and Qing dynasties, Jiangnan society specimens . The first is to make the most of the opportunity to see the world's most important cities. Wooden heart in the Dongjia Caixin Bay grew up, his memories of Wuzhen is full of vitality , "pink walls, green branches of red lamps and green curtains interspersed with five-color clothing BMW car to and from, only like a peaceful world".
It should be said that this vitality is like the river slowly flowing under the bridge in the eyes of the wooden heart, slightly sound, not a splash. In his subconscious, the flow of the BMW is slow, the mail is slow, and even the color of the day has become slow, the memory of the teenage years and "only enough to love a person in life" linked.
In fact, not only is Woody Wood, the atmosphere of the Jiangnan water town, did not notice the white walls of a deep house in the courtyard is very easy to ignore the subtle fluctuations in the heart is very difficult. The water towns host all the imaginations of people about the good life, for outsiders, Jiangnan is not returned to the hometown , have not met, but the breath has long been familiar.
Wuzhen is located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River Hangjiahu Plain hinterland, 10,000 years ago, here by the Yangtze River, Qiantang River impact, the formation of the river network and swampy land. In the 1970s, archaeologists discovered the remains of the Majiabang culture in Tanjiawan in Wuzhen, proving that 7,000 years ago, the ancestors settled here, cultivated rice, made stone tools and pottery, and nurtured the source of Jiangnan culture.
Civilization is accompanied by war, more than 2000 years ago in the China Spring and Autumn Period, the Taihu Lake area of Wu and Yue were at war, the Wu people garrisoned here to prepare for the war, "Wushu" the name. "Wuzhen" appeared in the Tang Dynasty, different from the "town" we know, it is more like the "Wu garrison" military establishment, the chief is the general of the town General of the town, the chief of the town is the general of the town, the chief of the town is the general of the town. It was headed by Wu Zhan, the general of the town. This brave general later became the protector of Wuzhen, and there is still a shrine in his honor in the Xijie scenic area.
Song Dynasty when there is a record of the town of Wu and Qing, which is what we know as the town, the governor has become a supervisor of the town of such a civil position. This change in nature and the Tang and Song dynasties Jiangnan development inseparable. The swamps around Lake Taihu were drained, and the phrase "the world is full of the ripening of Suzhou and Lake" and "there is a paradise above, and Suzhou and Hangzhou below" were all used at that time. The two "paradises" are connected by the Grand Canal, and the center point is Wuzhen.
Because of its location, Wuzhen has suffered a lot from the wars of the past dynasties; however, because of its importance, it has been rapidly reborn after each decline. The development pattern of the water town is very simple, it is only the river as a link, the formation of waterfront river streets, followed by the emergence of deep alleys. The settlement pattern is shaped by the water, and people's sight is rotated, depressed and soothed by the meandering streets and alleys. The people of Wuzhen, who grew up in the city, were influenced by the aesthetics of life in the water towns, and Mu Xin said that his writing doesn't strive for the perverse or the peculiar, and that "every writer should be like that".
It's just that trade and commerce are developed, and the water towns have no flavor. Since the Song Dynasty, Wuzhen has produced 64 jinshi, 161 lifts, compared to other ancient towns in Jiangnan, or inland state capitals, the number is quite considerable. Wooden ancestors are Shaoxing people, business in Wuzhen, earned money, set up a foot, children and grandchildren are readers; Mao Dun ancestors are farmers in the countryside of Wuzhen, is also a business start, poetry and books.
Jiangnan on the eve of the modern era, the people of affluence, cultural prosperity, and even the emergence of the so-called "bud of capitalism", if not affected by the impact of Western culture, a spontaneous modern paradise will be what? No one knows the answer. But Wuzhen's contemporary restoration of the old town and cultural reconstruction have given us a glimpse of the pioneering Jiangnan posture.
The decline of modern Jiangnan towns is the decline of tradition; today's new water towns, on the contrary, is the return of tradition. In the end, the Chinese are homesick.
Wuzhen is the "Jiangnan six ancient towns" in the development of the latest one, the typical later to catch up. In 1999, the government set up a committee for the protection and development of tourism in the town, and Chen Xianghong was the director. For Chen Xianghong, Wuzhen and even China's tourism industry, is a historic moment.
Chen Xianghong took over the Wuzhen is down and out, in the words of the painter Chen Danqing , "like a smoke-filled, chicken water flow of hell. Before the establishment of the management committee, Wuzhen, an old lady cooking accidentally started a fire, dozens of meters of houses along the river went up in flames, responsible for the fire resettlement is Chen Xianghong. He understands better than others that protection is not as simple as repairing the old.
The first restoration was Dongjie, where Chen Xianghong invited a professional restoration team from Tongji University to plan, direct, supervise and inspect the work. Restoration team from the surrounding towns to collect a lot of old materials, Wuzhen houses, stores, wooden doors, wooden windows are repaired, and according to the ancient method of tung oil twice painted, the room installed smoke detectors, to prevent fire.
In 1988, Mao Dun's former residence on the side of a new road Xinhua Road, in order to make up for this will be the defeat of the ancient town of ripping, Xiuzhen Guan ancient theater before the square was re-programmed, the two sides of the construction of corridors to divide the new and old space. The square became the visual center, making the old street more vivid and rhythmic, but also diluted the sense of separation brought about by the concrete road.
Xiu Zhen Guan is a newly renovated, Ming Dynasty style, but the paint treatment of doors and windows is different from the restoration of ancient houses. The restoration concept of Wuzhen, the new building to harmonize with the surrounding environment, but must use new techniques and materials, to recreate the Jiangnan scene, but never do "fake antiques" . This is consistent with the concept of preserving ancient cities in Europe, which was even more conceptually advanced 20 years ago.
The Chinese people have put so much beauty in the image of the water towns that every time they go home to the ancient towns of Jiangnan, the development of the towns is uneven, not to mention the warmth of the home, and even the hospitality is not up to the task. But this is Jiangnan ah, never what life to come once enough place.
Wuzhen want to change, from the restoration of West fence start.
If you have been to some of the ancient towns, you can probably appreciate the mood: looking around the fireworks, the original serenity as if because of their own arrival and destruction, the hands of the camera to remind themselves "intruder" identity. Jiangnan home, you can not go back.
The so-called "dream not know body is a guest", Xijie's strategy is to "dream", relocation of aboriginal people , vacated The ancient town has become a dream theater.
The dream of Wuzhen belongs to all those who love Jiangnan.
No aborigines, no so-called "intruders", residents can become the protagonist of the water village life. At 7am, Dongjie opens its doors, and the bustling tourists disturb the tranquility of the ancient town; Xijie opens at 9am, and the most beautiful view in the morning mist is privately enjoyed. You can also sleep and do nothing, let the time and the beauty of the passage, lost and wasted can also be a way to open the ancient town .
Commerce is originally the prosperity of the town of Jiangnan, and the overdevelopment of the town is always filled with the same stores, "the ancient town is not good", "the ancient town of poor quality things" is a familiar complaint. Complaints. Xijie wants to recreate the prosperity of the marketplace, but also want to let people regain the fun of shopping, so each store is strictly selected, a store a product. No marketing, no brainwashing, real goods, like to buy, is the confidence of Jiangnan.
Wu Village, which opened to the public in 2016, is a idyllic poem. Just like Tao Yuanming's "Return to the Garden" chant, "planting beans under the South Mountain, grass and bean seedlings rare. The morning after the cleanliness, with the moon lotus hoe return", dry may be "grass and beans seedlings sparse" fake style, but to get the "with the moon lotus hoe return" mood and joy .
Urbanization and fast-paced social life has reversed the impulse to return to the countryside, so Li Ziqi, Huanong Brothers fire, "yearning for life" hit, the major reality TV show to the countryside, and this summer Extreme Challenge also came to the Wuzhen Village .
The countryside is the ideal place for people to pick, fish, weave and other daily activities in the South of the Yangtze River, or ride in the water countryside to feel the texture of the South of the Yangtze River. Riding in the watery countryside Feel the texture of Jiangnan.
The sunrise to work, sunset to rest, which is the city life is difficult to luxury.
The flavor of Jiangnan is inherited by a pair of wonderful hands of the water town people. Spring seasonal green dumplings, malt collapsed cake, summer heat green bean soup , autumn aroma 桂花年糕, and childhood as a reward for parents fried cat ears, sesame paste . ...... Because in the countryside, these flavors have more of the heaviness of the earth and the affection of the countryside.
Wucun's business model is relatively advanced, all-inclusive, to provide clothing, accommodation and transportation in the countryside of Jiangnan, and minimize the commercial color of the "show". There's no sales pitch, no hassle, no security, just doing what you love with the people you love.
From the East and West grids to the village, visitors experience townspeople and villagers two identities, two life changes. The town is the center of the village, the village is the hinterland of the town, Fei Xiaotong called the "township feet", with the village of men and women weaving, before the town of commerce and entertainment. In the end, the village and the town become one, coherent into a large, three-dimensional space - Jiangnan. In this cultural atmosphere, Wuzhen poses an open question to all who come here:
What is the life you want?
Wuzhen is a fantastic immersive theater, and the festival is the "play within a play" and the climax.
"In Beijing, after seeing a play, you walk out to Chang'an Street and East 40th Street, and the dream may wake up in a flash. And in Wuzhen, into the town lost in the theater, is from a dream into another dream. ...... All the people who come are attending the show." (Huang Lei interview, 2013)
Theater performance and the Jiangnan water town itself don't quite go together, but they are brought together, itself a product of the idealism of Chen Xianghong, Huang Lei, Lai Shengchuan, Meng Jinghui and other promoters. I did not expect this mix and match particularly "sensational", in addition to the specially built theater, Wuzhen also transformed several old houses into a charming small theater, Chen Danqing said that watching a play in the inside seems like the past of the hall, Meng Jinghui said " .
Wuzhen is a stage for everyone who has a dream, street performers perform in the open air here, and people who love theater and life get together to party, which has broken through people's imagination of Jiangnan.
In fact, Jiangnan is unlimited, people limit themselves to its imagination. Ming and Qing dynasties Jiangnan gardens, painting and calligraphy, kunqu, manufacturing ...... in fact are pioneers of. The pre-Qin "Tai Bo ran to Wu", the two Jin Yongjia south of the ferry or two Song Jianyan south of the ferry, said Jiangnan by the northern immigrants to develop, in fact, in the end is the breakthrough of the northern tradition of the formation of their own styles.
The internationalization of theater arts and ancient alleys and bridges, giving people a "color" general sense of wonder. 2014, the World Internet Conference permanently settled in the town of Wuzhen, seems to be not so surprising. Whether it's the renovation of the old town, the theater festival, or the Internet conference, the "Road to Wuzhen" is marked by the spirit of pioneers, which is the core of Jiangnan's consistent spirit. It's as if people see Shanghai's skyscrapers changing day by day, and don't feel that it's not "Shanghai", but more "Shanghai".
Wuzhen like a dream, both retained Jiangnan water town flavor of the "form" , more regained pioneering and cutting-edge "meaning" , here to see not only the water town is now, but also the water town of the present. It is not only the present of the water town, but also the future of Jiangnan.
- END -
Article 丨 Face
Photo Editor 丨 Yuan Qianxi
Map Editor 丨 Paprika
Cover Image |
References
Fan Shuzhi, "Jiangnan City Towns: The Transformation of Tradition"
Zhang Jianming, "The History of Wuzhen"
Nguyen Yisan, "The History of Wuzhen"
The history of Wuzhen is a story of the city of Wuzhen, which was founded in the late 19th century by a man who was born in the city of Wuhan. Wuzhen (The Town of Wuzhen)