Light-Light Talk 32 Chronicles of the Music Week (Six)

The Music Week is Prosperous at the Water and Land Pier

Merchants spread their names everywhere

Above It talks about the reasons for the abundance of water in Quzhou and the harm caused by water. In fact, water has more advantages than disadvantages for Quzhou.

With water, there is life. Water gave birth to life and also gave birth to civilization. Wherever humans live, there are rivers passing through them, and people respectfully call them the mother river.

Quzhou people also have a mother river, which is the Fuyang River. Fuyang River was once a tributary of Zhang River. In the 11th year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty (1475), the Fuyang River separated from the Zhang River and began to form the prototype of the Fuyang River. "Wei Du Fu" notes: "Gushan is also called Fushan, and the source of Fuyang water comes from the foothills of the mountain." Hence the name Fuyang River. There is a Black Dragon Cave in Fushan. The cave is divided into upper and lower floors. The lower cave is small and hidden among the vegetation. The upper cave is large, the entrance is nearly three feet wide, the waist inside the cave is four feet and five feet wide, and the height is two feet. The roof of the cave is black, and the cave walls are full of stalactites, like small stone dragons, or like tigers, leopards, or birds. The stalactites on the capstone drip continuously all year round. It goes straight inward to a point of more than seven feet, and is divided into two caves, the east and west, called the Dragon King's East and West Storehouses. The entrance to the east storehouse is separated by a stone nose bridge. The stone nose bridge is thin in the middle and thick at the top and bottom, like a wind gourd, which is very attractive. At the top of the cave are three circular caves that are more than two feet high and about seven feet in diameter. They are white in color and can be heard in a low voice. The sound can be amplified. There is also a human-shaped boulder standing on the wall of the first sky-reaching cave, about ten feet high, like a guard on standby. The structure of the lower cave is the same as that of the upper cave, and there is also a sky-opening cave at the bottom. "If you look closely, you will see that the spring water is gurgling like a dragon spouting pearls and spitting out jade. Although it is continuous, it is difficult for it to flow. There are several springs around it, trickling together, then rushing out of the mountains, galloping away, winding on the plains of southern Hebei to Quzhou , and then chased the waves to the north, to the Ziya River (called Ziya River after it merged with the Hutuo River in Xian County, Cangzhou area), to the Hai River, and to the Bohai Sea." (My "Beiting Street Chronicle"). Pei Dapeng, a literati from the Qing Dynasty, described "Spring Sails on the Water": "The spring water in the bay is glassy, ??and the hanging sails reflect the green embankment. The drizzle blows smoothly, and the smoke has reached the west of the painted bridge." The beautiful scenery is picturesque and intoxicating. , but it’s hard to see it today.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Republic of China, and even in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the water transportation of the Fuyang River was very brilliant. For many years, it was the main shipping line from Handan City to Tianjin Wei, with many ships traveling between it and the river. Beiting Street in the east of Quzhou City and its surroundings are very important land and water terminals in southern Hebei. The Fuyang River can be said to be beautiful and fishy, ??with green willows lining the river, masts passing by, and boatmen constantly calling, creating a beautiful picture of a clear sky and bright scenery. In the late Qing Dynasty, Ningjin County also had a ship donation bureau, which was responsible for collecting water transportation taxes, which shows how big the transportation capacity was at that time. The contribution of the Fuyang River to the economic development along its route is remarkable. His contribution to Quzhou is unparalleled. Therefore, because of the Fuyang River, Quzhou County is unique. The city is lively in the city, and Quzhou is prosperous outside the city. The large wharf on the east bank of Jichuan Bridge on the Fuyang River, called Dongqiao Town, is a large wharf that has not been seen for dozens of miles around due to floods and droughts. All kinds of items must be transported in and out from here, which also established Quzhou's unshakable central position in the surrounding counties. Even after the founding of the People's Republic of China, three counties (Jize, Quzhou, and Qiuxian) and five counties (Jize, Quzhou, Qiuxian, Feixiang, and Guangping) were merged into Quzhou County, with the county government in Quzhou. The county seat of Zhou County shows his great achievements in Quzhou. As for the Jichuan Bridge, Liu Fengyuan of the Qing Dynasty wrote "Fuqiao Shishi", which said: "Under the bridge, the light cannot flow from the mountain. Along the stream, I can see the bamboo passing through the neighboring houses. The rain accumulates on the wall and grass grows, and the wind returns to the stream and flowers gather. The pen and inkstone are full of flowers." Whispering old sentences, flags, spears, tiles and cauldrons making new tea. Sleeping leisurely in Xixi River, watching the sunset in the long forest. "

Not many people in Zhou Dynasty know who Jichuan Bridge is, but you have to say it is great. Everyone knows Qiaotou, and it has even formed a culture of Qiaotou and a complex of Qiaotou. The Najichuan Bridge is built tall because boats need to pass under it, like a rainbow flying over the busy river. Since ancient times, people have said "going to the bridge" when they come to the county, whether they are going to the market or visiting relatives, and when talking about the big bridge, it is around Jichuan Bridge, because it is the representative place of the logistics center and a symbol of the prosperity of the county. Now the saying is Landmark building. Nowadays, the Fuyang River has long lost its function of water transportation, and the Jichuan Bridge is no longer tall, but the bridge head is still in people's memories and reality, and cannot be swept away. When it was bright and early in the morning, the bridgehead was filled with all kinds of noises, shadows were swaying, and all kinds of breakfast stalls were placed in the dim light according to the agreed positions. Amidst the whirring sound of the bellows, the flames in the stove are jumping, blending all kinds of attractive fragrances, such as sour and oily fragrances, into the morning breeze and floating on people's taste buds.

Fried fruits, tofu puffs, wontons, minced beans, multi-grain pancakes, crispy fire-flavored cakes - the two most delicious ones are the fried fruits and the pancake soup. Fried fruits are available everywhere. They are called fried dough sticks all over the country, and they are called Jiaowan in Beijing. Fried fruit here is just a general term, and there are many varieties and different flavors. Pancake soup is only available in Quzhou, and only in Daqiaotou is it authentic. Use mung bean noodles and white noodles to make thin pancakes, with the mouth of the bowl wide and small. The noodles are also mixed into soup, and there are seasonal vegetables in the soup. Its taste lies in the self-fried black pepper, sour old vinegar and secretly ground sesame oil. The sourness and spiciness change with the seasons. It is more sour in summer and spicy in winter. Adding three or two drops of sesame oil will make the fragrance spread for miles. When you smell it, you can't help but want to take a few deep breaths. Pairing the freshly baked fruits with pancake soup is like the old Beijing's coke rings with bean juice, it's a beauty.

The large docks in Quzhou are mainly located in Dongqiao Town on the east bank of the Fuyang River, which is now Qianhedong Village and Houhedong Village. The most central one is Beiting Street at the west end of Houhedong Village. This place is called Dongqiao Town because the economy around Jichuan Bridge, located to the east of the county seat, is prosperous and the population is like a city. The distance from Fuyang River to Beiting Street is only about ten feet, and there is a channel for unloading and loading ships every ten feet between the river and street. On both sides of Beiting Street are various goods yards, warehousing and wholesale trading shops. For example, Qujia Porcelain Store, Liu Laozu Foreign Goods Store, Dehechang Pickle Store, Demaochang Tea Store, Detai Grain Store, Yulaixing Coal Yard, Weijia Mill, Zhao Xiguang Forage Store, etc. Ships are constantly being loaded and unloaded every day, and horse-drawn carriages are constantly being pulled back and forth. Whenever a ship docked, there would be women recruiting stevedores, walking around the streets shouting "Carry the house, carry the house -". The coolies knew that they had a job, and hurried out of their homes to pour in. Towards the dock, a boatload of goods was unloaded into the warehouse amidst everyone's shouts of "Hey-yo-". At that time, most of the boat owners were from Ningjin. The rich ones bought their own boats and ran them to the wharf, while the poor people punted boats and pulled fibers to earn a living. Later, some people immigrated and settled here. Now there are still some residents in Beiting Street and Quzhou County. For example, the Wei family, Zhang family, Lu family, etc. are all from Ningjin.

There is also a commercial street, from Dongcheng Gate to Fuyang River, Dongguan and Hexifu streets are lined with a lot of business names. Since the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, most of the people doing business in Quzhou were Shanxi merchants. It is not an exaggeration to say that Shanxi merchants accounted for half of Quzhou's commercial activities. The father of the Wei family from Shanxi was prosperous and had been doing business in Quzhou for several generations. In the early years of the Republic of China, his family's business was the largest. Gong Xingsheng's store is located in the north of Dongguan Road and belongs to the front shop and back shop. The "Gongxingsheng" brand dry tobacco produced by this store was sold well in southern Hebei, northern Henan and northwest Shandong, and was quite famous. I remember that in the early 1980s this place was still a state-owned dry tobacco shop. It was packaged in square yellow straw paper with a red trademark pattern printed on it. As soon as you entered the store, you could smell the faint scent of tobacco. Famous brands include Qianfengtai, Xingshengli, Fuqingyong, etc. Qian Fengtai of the Chen family, opposite Gong Xingsheng's business house, mainly sells foreign cloth and wine pots. The wine pot is well-known far and wide, and its business has reached the Pingjin area. The Li family's prosperity was marked by the opening of a paint shop. At that time, every household weaved and dyed cloth, and dyes were essential daily necessities. When I was a child, dyes were sold in state-owned department stores under the store name Qianfeng. To the east of Thailand. Fu Qingyong is also a shop surnamed Li, which specializes in the wine pot business. The aroma of wine is not afraid of deep alleys. The business is large and the wine is sold far away. According to analysis, it has a lot to do with the good water here. Later, a public-private partnership became the county-paid food Company location. The "Quzhou County Chronicle" in the 22nd year of the Republic of China said, "The residents are also relatively well-off." "But Dongguan is a commercial city. It is connected to the west bank of the Fu River as Hexipu (pu and Fu are often used interchangeably, and today both are used as Pu), passing through Ji From Chuanqiao (that is, the bridge on the Fuyang River) to the east bank is Dongqiao Town (now Qian and Houhedong Village), which stands side by side with Dongguan. There is a market on the 24th and 79th every ten days, and people from all over the country rush to it. Trading." Nowadays, the market in Quzhou County is still on the 2479th day of the lunar calendar. However, with the increasing population and abundant commodities, there is no difference between the market and the non-market.

Although the concept of "emphasis on agriculture and light on commerce" has always been adhered to in ancient times, due to the development of the water transportation industry in Quzhou, there is a large flow of people, smooth information, and open minds, so the business atmosphere is very strong. People not only run transportation and business in the local area, but also "go out of Quzhou" to enter the world. They also have trading names in Peking, Tianjin, Wei, Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi and other places. They travel all over the country and have their own business world.

Some of them went to Tianjin to sell foreign cloth, oil, and foreign cars, some sold Pengcheng's porcelain products to all directions, and some transported Quzhou's famous curved noodles, millet, handmade noodles, vermicelli and other agricultural specialties to big cities. There are also those who sell old clothes, those who sell makeup and jewelry, those who sell iron and bronze wares, those who buy and sell private salt, and so on. Most of the ancient merchants in Quzhou adhered to the business principles of "wisdom, courage, benevolence, and strength". They took money benevolently, and "wealth leads to virtue." They performed righteous deeds and used their money to build bridges and pave roads, which became a social welfare The vitality of the cause.

Some of the ancient commercial activities of Quzhou still have ruins to this day. The famous ancient architectural ruins that later became place names are the old guild hall and the small guild hall. In fact, they are both Shanxi guild halls, which shows the scale and influence of Shanxi merchants in Quzhou. Now there is a temple by the Fuyang River in the northwest of Hebei Province, which worships Master Guan, the god of martial wealth. There are people waiting in the temple every day, and there is constant incense on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month. Every year, there are several days of operas at the temple fair, which is very lively. What kind of temple is it? There are four big characters written on the temple door: "Shanxi Guild Hall".