The Grand Canal bears a long history and culture, and it is of great significance to explore and study the historical relics along the canal and the profound accumulation of it for the protection and inheritance of the canal culture.
From the perspective of Wuxi local architecture, the author tells the story of "Hezhuang Muxing" in the past century. "Hezhuang Muxing" is a historical proof that the Grand Canal has promoted the economic development of people’s livelihood in Wuxi water town, and calls for the protection of this unique and scarce heritage of the Grand Canal.
Brief introduction of the author
Yang Jingming, male, from Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, lives in Hezhuang Muxing. Graduated from Shanghai Jiaotong University, senior engineer of mechanical power engineering, researcher of Wuxi Celebrity Culture Research Institute.
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Canal historical sites — — "Former site of Hezhuang Muhang"
Between the modern high-rise buildings of Taihu New Town in Wuxi, next to the intersection of Wudu Road and Lihu Avenue, there is a water town courtyard with distinctive white walls and tiles hidden in the shade, with patchwork horse head walls, fine plastic carvings of the door head, rhombic floor-to-ceiling windows, pillow water old buildings and wooden pavilions. This is the former site of the first rural wooden walk "Hezhuang Wooden Walk" in Wuxi and Jingui County. Villagers often come here, remembering the flowing Shanxi River, recalling the former farming countryside, and telling the story of the canal love and the past of the water town in Muxing.
The historical site of "Hezhuang Muxing" is included in Wuxi Literature and History Materials and Xuelang Local History. In August 2008, Wuxi Municipal People’s Government announced "Hezhuang Muhang" as the first batch of local protected buildings. In the third national cultural relics survey, "Hezhuang Muxing" was selected as "New Discovery" in the cultural relics survey of Jiangsu Province. In September 2016, the Wuxi Municipal People’s Government announced that the "Hezhuang Muxing former site" was a cultural relic protection unit in Wuxi.
"Hezhuang Muxing" is located in Hezhuang Village, Shanxi River, Changguangxi River in Sinan area of Taihu Lake, which belongs to Kaihua Township, Wuxi County. According to the historical records of "Xishan Yang’s Genealogy" collected in Daonan Temple, "There are people who are famous for their rivers and villages 30 miles south of Xicheng, in which the dangerous mountains are stacked around the east and west, and the waves in the meandering layer are reflected on the left and right, and the Zhong Ling Yuxiu generation is surprising". Here, "the water around Shitang in the west and the peak of snow waves in the south", the natural environment of Jiangnan water town is very beautiful. In the early Yuan Dynasty, the ninth grandson of Mr. Yang Shi, the ancestor of Yang in Xishan and the founder of Donglin Academy, "moved here because of the victory of landscape". In the first year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1862), the 26th Sun Yangqing Bridge established the first country wooden shop in Wuxi and Jingui County in Hezhuang to meet the needs of building villagers’ houses and repairing boats in water towns. Taking advantage of the convenience of the river in his hometown, he cooperated with timber merchants to organize the supply of goods from Anhui and Jiangxi, and transported the raft to the Hezhuang on the bank of Shanxi River for sale by relying on the natural channel of Xin ‘anjiang River and Yangtze River to enter the Grand Canal and Changguangxi Road in Lihu Lake. Because of the continuous supply of wood, it has brought great convenience to the villagers. Shipbuilding, farmhouse construction, carpentry and furniture and farm tools manufacturing industries in neighboring areas have been established one after another, and they have expanded rapidly around the river village, which has promoted the development of regional people’s livelihood economy.
Yang Qingqiao and "Hezhuang Muxing" became more and more famous, when children’s songs were sung:
Fireflies, red at night, and clear bridges in Hezhuang.
The raft docked beside the revetment, and the boat rested in the middle of the river.
Long shoots come from several provinces, and new houses are built all over Nansanxiang.
There are wooden guests in Huizhou, and the wood business is really prosperous.
The name of the new (clear) bridge in Hezhuang also started from this.
▲ Geographical location map of "Hezhuang Muxing"
"Hezhuang Muxing" is distributed on both sides of Shanxi River, standing beside the pillow river, with ancient bridges connected and cross-shaped river banks. Hexi is a shop and a house, with chairs along the river; Hedong is the shore boat (material storage) and workshop, and the east of the shore boat is Yang’s Ancestral Hall. Rafts stretch for miles on both sides of the Shanxi River and in the surrounding buckets. Stone revetments are built on both sides of the river at this site, and there is a boat dock next to the original stone bridge corridor shed, which is the main waterway transportation route for Sinan villagers to enter the city.
▲ Old landscape of Hezhuang Muxing on both sides of Shanxi River.
"Hezhuang Muxing" is a typical residential building in Jiangnan water town in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. The shop is a two-story building facing east, and the bottom floor is a door-plank pavement, old-fashioned accounting room and cabinet plate. The residence faces south, with plastic carved doors, floor-to-ceiling windows, patios and courtyards, and halls and side compartments. The wooden structure is in the shape of a convex olive, which is commonly called "Yuanbao" by Wuxi people, which means good luck and prosperity and has strong local characteristics. After the restoration of the old site, only the west bank houses and shops of Muhang were left, and a section of water features was rebuilt next to the old site. Cultural protection experts pointed out: "Muxing" is a unique and scarce type of cultural protection remains, which is very precious. It is not easy to protect the old site of Hezhuang Muxing.
"Hezhuang Muxing" lasted for a hundred years, and it was deeply marked by the canal from every stage of its establishment, inheritance and development. In the later period, it directly opened its business on the south gate ancient canal, struggled against the national disaster, liberated new students, and integrated into the socialist economic system after public-private partnership, thus completing its historical mission. "Hezhuang Muxing" is the historical evidence that the Grand Canal promotes the economic development of people’s livelihood in Wuxi. The children’s song "Huizhou has wooden guests" and "New houses have been built all over Nansanxiang" describes the scene that Huizhou’s wooden rafts have been continuously transported to Wuxi through the canal, making Sinan’s new and civilized regions (formerly known as Nansanxiang) covered with new houses, changing rural appearance, improving people’s livelihood and developing water economy. The former site of Hezhuang Muxing is a precious carrier of canal historical sites.
▲ Old shadow of Hezhuang Muxing
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The canal is long — — "Hezhuang Muxing" Centennial Love
After the establishment of "Hezhuang Muxing", "Xishan Young" was handed down from generation to generation, and it has passed through three generations and four hosts for a hundred years, becoming a well-known wooden family in the local area. In the 1930s, Sun Yangweiqing reached his peak when he was in charge, operating in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangxi provinces, and covering the "Southern Three Towns" in Wuxi (Xin ‘an, Kaihua and famous townships in Sinan in the old days) and hundreds of villages and towns along Taihu Lake.
▲ Hezhuang Muhang lineage table
Wood transportation is based on water, and water transportation is the most convenient and economical method. The Grand Canal runs through the north and south, connecting water systems, lakes and dense natural rivers along the east-west direction in series, forming a waterway transportation network extending in all directions. "Hezhuang Muxing" has had an indissoluble bond with the canal since its inception. The timber sources operated by Hezhuang Muhang mainly come from Anhui and Jiangxi, and the transportation routes are closely related to the Grand Canal.
▲ Map of supply distribution and transportation path of Hezhuang Muhang.
Cunninghamia lanceolata is usually the main variety sold by wood companies, which is suitable for building houses and making wood products. The Chinese fir operated by Hezhuang Muhang can be divided into two categories: "Ximu" and "Huishan". Ximu grows in the vast mountainous area around Poyang Lake in Jiangxi Province, and its growth is high, and the thickness of root and tip is relatively uniform, so it is suitable for court columns in halls or wide trusses. The transport waterway connects the Yangtze River via Poyang Lake and descends along the river. The largest distribution center of Ximu is Jiujiang, followed by Wuhu, Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Changzhou and Shanghai. Huishan grows in the vast mountainous areas in southern Anhui, especially in Shexian, Qimen, yi county, Wuyuan (now in Jiangxi Province) and Xiuning. This area used to be called Huizhou. The price of Huishan is relatively low, which is more suitable for building farmhouses. Tunxi is the main distribution center, followed by Hangzhou. Tunxi, Anhui Province is located in the upper reaches of Xin ‘an River. The confluence of Hengjiang River and Lvshui River is wide and turns around the mountain, forming a natural dock, which is an ideal place for timber parking. Therefore, the timber cut by Huizhou counties is transported here for distribution. Whenever the spring and summer flood season, it is often a gathering of Chinese fir and wood. After the business is settled, it will be tied into a raft, which will go down the river from Xin ‘an River and connect Fuchun River to Hangzhou by Qiantang River. The above sites were the main distribution centers of timber trade in Jiangnan area at that time, and they were all located along the waterway with superior water environment conditions.
The supply of Hezhuang Muhang is mainly purchased from the above-mentioned producing areas and distribution centers, and is transported by professional freight organizations after being woven into rafts, commonly known as supporting rafts. Shangxin River in the suburb of Nanjing is located on the bank of the Yangtze River, which is a famous timber distribution market, "within a few miles, wood merchants converge". Hezhuang Muhang goes to Nanjing to buy western wood in batches every year, and the raft first goes down the Yangtze River to Zhenjiang, turns into the canal and is transported to Wuxi via Danyang and Changzhou. Most of the Huishan trees operated by Hezhuang Muhang are wholesale from Huishang Muhang in Hangzhou. Many timber distribution centers in Hangzhou are located on the banks of Qiantang River. Rafts enter the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal nearby and arrive in Wuxi via Jiaxing, Wujiang and Hushuguan.
When the demand for wood is high, Hezhuang Muhang directly goes to Tunxi to select materials and batch goods. Hezhuang Muhang has been friends with Yishengchun and Yichanglong in Wuxi county, and Mr. Yang Weiqing went to Tunxi to purchase goods with them many times. A large number of rafts travel hundreds of kilometers from Tunxi to Wuxi, which takes several months. Although young and strong transport workers, there are as few as seven or eight people, and as many as one or twenty people. There are simple houses on rafts, and they travel by day and stay at night. There are also some bamboo and wood furniture on the raft, all of which are products of Huizhou mountain area and brought to Jiangsu and Zhejiang for sale by the way. The bamboo beds, bamboo couches, folding frustums, desks and other items used in Hezhuang Muhang are all Huizhou goods brought by rafts through the canal, which are cheap and good quality.
Hezhuang Muhang also went to Shanghai Shiliupu and other places to buy wood in batches, mainly used for processing pine barrels of plates. The earliest timber business in Shanghai was concentrated in Dongjiadu, the southern city — South pier — Lujiabang Road, which is known as "a hundred wooden passengers in Shilichang Street", has a special dock for timber industry. There are business relations with Hezhuang Wood Company, such as Jiuji Wood Company located in Shanghai South Wharf and several old-fashioned wood firms opened in Caojiadu. The barrels purchased in Shanghai are also transported in rafts, which are transferred from Suzhou River and Wusong River in Shanghai to the canal to Wuxi, and some are shipped from Huangpu River to Hezhuang via Taihu Lake.
Changzhou is close to the Yangtze River, and the water in the Grand Canal has a high sediment concentration, commonly known as mixed water. "Sand-mixed water is beneficial to wood conservation, which can keep the color of wood skin Huang Liang and the material unchanged." Therefore, Changzhou has also become the timber distribution and re-export market of the Canal. It is more convenient to take the canal to Luoshe to enter Wuxi, and Hezhuang Muhang often goes to Changzhou to transport timber. The son of Yang Wei ‘an, the third director of Hezhuang Muhang, once set up a business in Changzhou.
It can be seen from the above that the timber supply of Hezhuang Muhang is transported through the Grand Canal. Whenever a raft arrives at Shitangqiao, the workers of Hezhuang Muhang are ready to receive the goods. After the arrival of the goods, the big raft was adapted into a number of small rafts suitable for docking on the river bank, "surrounding wood" and "coding", the singing of codes on the raft and the answering sound on the shore came one after another, and it was a busy scene.
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Canal sentiment — — "Hezhuang Muxing" and People’s Livelihood in Water Villages
The canal is full of history and endless water feelings. It is inextricably linked with people’s production and life with a broad mind and a way of integration and communication. The cobweb-dense rivers of water towns in the south of the Yangtze River are the veins of the Grand Canal extending to all parts of urban and rural areas. With these water networks extending in all directions, the Grand Canal has nurtured and nurtured the people along the Hui Ze, and the development of water towns has gained momentum for continuous advancement. "Hezhuang Muxing" was conceived and founded by the Grand Canal and its connected Taihu Changguang stream system environment, and also relied on the dense Jiangnan water network to serve the people’s livelihood in water towns.
Hezhuang is located at the intersection where Changguangxi turns into Shanxi River, adjacent to the Chimazui site belonging to Majiabang culture. "Kaihua Township Records" narrates: "My city has beautiful mountains and rivers, and the western gods are charming and winding." "Civilization is a lake in the southwest. There are a lot of peaks (jí yè), and the smoke is vast. " The rivers here are densely covered, and it is a veritable "water town Zeguo". The ancestors lived on rice, wheat, silkworm and mulberry, and traveled by boat, which continued the farming and pastoral ecology for a long time.
Since ancient times, Changguangxi has been a water shortcut from Taihu Lake to Wuxi City, and many ships have taken Shanxi River to turn into Magang Port and Liangtang River to enter the city, so boats and boats have been passing through.
Most of the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River are plain and lack of trees. Timber needed for buildings, woodwork, production tools, etc. is mainly imported from forest areas in neighboring provinces. Timber trade is a traditional project operated by Huizhou merchants, and the Grand Canal and its communicating waterways are the active places for Huizhou timber merchants. With the unique geographical advantages of Hezhuang’s waterway transportation routes, the acquaintance of Huizhou wood merchants who were operated by the Canal to Wuxi in the past, the local rural housing and boat building, the needs of people’s livelihood, and the integration of the conditions of all parties, Yang Qingqiao founded the first rural wood shop in Wuxi and Jingui County in Hezhuang in the first year of Tongzhi (AD 1862). Once opened, it was very popular with the villagers. Rafts are continuously transported from the canal waterway, providing the villagers with the needed wood for building houses, shipbuilding and repairing ships. The farmhouse construction industry, wood paving industry, furniture and farm tools manufacturing industry in the surrounding areas have been established one after another, and they have expanded rapidly around the river village. The canal has brought vitality and hope to the water town, and the establishment of "Hezhuang Muxing" has had a far-reaching impact on promoting the rural economic development in Sinan.
When Yang Qingqiao started the "Hezhuang Muhang", it was a consignment nature. Most of the wood sources come from Huizhou forest area, and most of the wood guests are from Huizhou government in southern Anhui. They shipped the timber from the mountains, sold it in cash, and the timber company took the commission. When a batch of timber was basically sold out, the owner returned to the mountainous area of Anhui Province with the money to organize the shipment of the next batch of goods. Several wooden guests cross each other, and the business of Hezhuang Muhang keeps flowing, and its business and scale continue to expand. Later, when most of the timber was sold, the rest of the goods were purchased as the self-operated part of the wooden firm, so that Hezhuang wooden firm could continue to develop. With the expansion of the influence of "Hezhuang Muhang", "Muhangli" became the local name. The wooden arbor along the river revetment is the dock for the class boats from Nanxiang, Wuxi. In that year, every day, there were class boats going to the urban area to reach the bank of the canal, stopping at Beitang in the north gate and Huangniluang in the south gate respectively.
▲ Like Mr. Yang Yuqing
Mr. Yang Weiqing, the fourth host of "Hezhuang Muxing", once did business in Shanghai when he was young. He had extensive experience in Shili Foreign Exchange and was familiar with the way of business. After returning to his hometown in 1924 to take charge of Hezhuang Muhang, he was diligent in pioneering and brave in innovation. By analyzing the characteristics of the rural market in southern Jiangsu at that time and conducting extensive and in-depth investigations with a brand-new business concept, he carried out a series of determined reforms in marketing strategy, source organization, in-depth product development, internal management and capital operation, and adopted a set of brand-new management methods to make Hezhuang Muhang full of vitality.
"Hezhuang Muhang" is named "Yuchang Shenhao" and is wholly owned. In order to provide customers with goods with good materials, complete varieties and excellent prices, apart from purchasing materials from various wood merchants, Yang Weiqing went to Anhui and Jiangxi forest areas to select materials and purchase goods in batches, and often dispatched rafts to and from the wood distribution center located in the canal waterway, making the wood high-quality and marketable, reducing costs and benefiting the villagers.
▲ Shop at the former site of Hezhuang Muhang and the old signboard of "Yuchangshen"
According to the statistics of Hezhuang Muhang over the years, the main target of timber sales is villagers to build houses, accounting for about half of the total sales. The funds for farmers to build houses are usually the accumulation of income from agriculture and mulberry four times a year, that is, spring cocoon, summer wheat ripening, autumn cocoon and autumn rice harvest, especially spring silkworm and autumn harvest. It often takes several years for ordinary farmers to accumulate before they can have the economic ability to build houses. Hezhuang Muhang fully considers the actual situation of the villagers and adopts the method of quarterly payment suitable for the local economic characteristics. When the villagers come to buy building timber, if they can find an acquaintance guarantee, they only need to pay half of the payment at that time, and the rest can be paid in installments in the future and paid in two years. Another kind of handicraft users who are engaged in shipbuilding and paving industry account for about 30% of the total turnover. These users have exquisite woodworking skills themselves, and they will make a profit after making finished products, but the lack of capital and the difficulty in capital turnover will affect their business. Hezhuang Muhang is allowed to use credit sales to solve the urgent needs of their raw materials. When purchasing wood, they can pay 30% of the payment in cash and pay off the rest within one year. The above-mentioned sales measures for the convenience of the people have helped many villagers solve problems in building houses, improved their living conditions as soon as possible, and promoted the establishment and development of handicrafts in surrounding townships.
In order to facilitate the practical needs of the villagers, Hezhuang Muhang not only deals in whole wood and section materials, but also employs craftsmen to select shirts and pine logs all the year round to process them into various types of plates for sale in their own workshops. When building houses, farmers can directly purchase wood floors, room partitions, cabinets and other materials, while handicraft workshop owners can choose materials of various applicable specifications. This not only facilitates the people, but also expands the products and improves the operation.
Good credit and dedicated service make "Hezhuang Muxing" win the reputation and reputation of the people, and spread from near to far. In every village and town in Sinan, there are buildings related to Hezhuang Muhang, and customers from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces near Taihu Lake are also coming in an endless stream. Hezhuang Muhang adopts the marketing service mode of dicing management and division of labor cooperation in its business. With Hezhuang and its adjacent areas as the center, the rest are east, south, west, north and southeast, northeast, southwest and northwest, and nine districts are respectively responsible for establishing a mutually beneficial and honest customer marketing service and information exchange network. Workers in each division of labor are familiar with and closely related to the villages and towns in their own management areas, and contact people in each village Committee for frequent contacts. The internal management functions of Hezhuang Muhang are clear, and the salary incentive mechanism of performance distribution and annual reward is also implemented for the treatment of employees.
▲ Hezhuang Muhang Management Scribing Management Table
A whole set of brand-new management methods adopted by Mr. Yang Weiqing were welcomed by villagers and handicraft workshop owners, and also greatly encouraged the enthusiasm of employees in Muhang. Customers keep coming, and Hezhuang Muhang is bustling with business. Groups of long shoots and pieces of wood are shipped from the place of origin and sold in an endless stream. Hezhuang Muhang thus won the market, and in the mid-1930s, Yuchang Shenmu reached its peak. Rafts stretch for miles on both sides of the Shanxi River in Hezhuang, and timber piles are full on the shore and around the river.
Hezhuang Muhang is a node of the Grand Canal to promote the improvement of people’s livelihood and economic development in the water towns along the southwest and Taihu Lake. Through these ways, the flowing canal is inextricably linked with people’s production and life to benefit the people’s livelihood in the water towns.
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Years past — — "Hezhuang Muxing" and Nanmen Ancient Canal
"The water alley in the south of the Yangtze River is the place where the canal is out of print", and the Nanmen ancient canal in Wuxi is the most distinctive place in the Wuxi section of the Grand Canal. The "Hezhuang Muhang" located outside the South Gate has been in the city for several times to operate along the ancient canal. Since 1941, it has opened Taichang Muhang in Huangni Bridge of the South Gate. At the beginning of liberation, part of Hezhuang Muhang moved to Tongyang Bridge for business, and its name was also "Yuchang Shenhao". In 1955, the public-private partnership moved to Beichang Street and renamed it "Xiechang Shenmuhang", until Mr. Yang Weiqing retired in 1961. "Hezhuang Muxing" lasted for 20 years before and after its operation along the ancient canal in Nanmen, and experienced unforgettable years from national disaster to liberation and rebirth, and public-private partnership into the socialist economic system.
In the mid-1930s, the operation of Hezhuang Muhang was successful, and Mr. Yang Weiqing was preparing to continue to expand his grand plan. In 1937, Japanese imperialism launched a full-scale war of aggression against China, and Shanghai, Wuxi and Nanjing successively fell. In the winter of this year, Wuxi was repeatedly bombed by Japanese planes, houses were destroyed, goods were burned, factories were shut down, shops were closed, and people fled. In the past, the lively scene of customers coming and going in the wooden shop, the rafts in the river and the people on both sides of the bank measuring and recording wood and making bursts of singing voices disappeared. The timber in the mountains of Jiangxi and Anhui could not be transported, and the supply of wood shops was cut off. Hezhuang Muhang struggled to make ends meet by selling its inventory, which was basically sold out but could not be replenished. Prices in the occupied areas rose and the currency depreciated, so the accounts sold on credit could not be recovered. Living in turmoil and economic depression, the poor people in rural areas are in a difficult situation.
In order to find a way out, Mr. Yang Weiqing visited Wuxi city for many times and found that there was still a market for old wood there. The reason is: many local workshops and factories were closed for several years after the fall, and now they are resuming production one after another, all of which need to be repaired and some are added. There are abandoned sites or open spaces on both sides of each street, which are suitable for the construction of shops or homes, as well as the repair of destroyed houses, and old wood is selected for use. Workshops, ship repairs and shipyards nearby have been resumed one after another, and only old wood can be purchased as raw materials. After several considerations, Yang Weiqing decided to choose a location for business in the urban area, and to build a stove and start a stove to manage old wood first to make a living. So, near Huangni Bridge, which is located on the river outside Nanchengmen, Wuxi, we chose to lease a house 200 meters north of the bridge. At that time, the road was called Beichang Street, and the house was located in the east of the road, with the front door facing the street, the back door facing the river and the dock. After two months of intensive preparations, in the first half of 1941, "Taichang Muhang" opened its doors here. The source of goods comes from Zhenze, Huzhou Nanxun and other market towns at the junction of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Yang Weiqing personally organizes the procurement and ships tin in batches. Because there is no wood to tin for several years, there are old wood and old doors and windows for sale, which are very popular. Soon the business started to be formal, and the business was so busy that the rented house was too small to use. We also found an abandoned garden on the west side of the long street across the street, with a width of several hundred square meters. As a timber storage and business place, the turnover of building houses is increasing day by day. At that time, the wood used for the repair of the school building and the addition of the girls’ dormitory in Wuxi Girls’ Middle School was purchased from Taichang Muhang.President Xu Daiyun of Nanmen Gangnan Middle School is a native of Miaoqiao, Nanxiang. He is familiar with Yang Weiqing and often buys wood to repair the school building in Taichang Muhang. There is also an unexpected customer, that is, a trafficker from northern Jiangsu to Wuxi, who sells agricultural products, especially piglets, so everyone is used to calling them piggy guests. They transport several shipments of tin at a time, and then sell and buy goods to return home. It is said that it is the most cost-effective to sell back old wood, so Taichang Muhang has a lot of sales in this respect. After three years of hard work, Taichang Muhang once again opened the market in the urban area.
Hezhuang Muxing struggled for several years in the dilemma of national disaster, and it ended in August 1945 when the Japanese surrendered to War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Yang Weiqing was very happy, looking forward to a turnaround in the wood industry, and finally the wood supply that had been interrupted for eight years was reopened. At the beginning of 1946, just after the Spring Festival, Mr. Wei Qing immediately went to Hangzhou with money and learned that several batches of rafts had arrived, all of which had been snapped up by local wood merchants. Mr. Wei Qing immediately went upstream along the Fuchun River and went to the upper reaches of Xin ‘an River to buy a batch of timber. On the way, he signed a contract and purchased the first batch of new timber after the Anti-Japanese War.
When transporting timber in Hangzhou, Mr. Yang Weiqing paid a special visit to Hangguo, the leader of the Communist Party of China, who lived at No.61 Huangpailou Lane in Hangzhou at that time. Hangguo is a native of Xuelang Guxiang, Wuxi. He studied at Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow, Soviet Union, and led the peasant movement in Wuxi. He is also known for his contacts with Yang Weiqing. Hangs entertained and told Yang Weiqing: Now that the Japanese have surrendered unconditionally, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party are negotiating, and it may be concluded. By then, everyone will work together to build the country and the people of the whole country can live and work in peace and contentment. The construction of houses in enemy-occupied areas has been stopped for eight years, and now it will be carried out in large quantities. The timber you handle will be prosperous. However, if the two parties can’t talk properly, then the Nanjing government of the Kuomintang and the Yan ‘an government led by Zhu and Mao will be hostile, and the consequences will be difficult to predict. On the same day, Hang and Yang walked hand in hand along the Qiantang River beach and canal to watch the transportation of rafts.
But the good times didn’t last long, and then the Kuomintang reactionaries provoked a civil war, and the situation took a turn for the worse, and the people were once again in dire straits. Officials and outlaws run amok, extorting money from businessmen and people, imposing exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous fees, and the economy is declining again. Of course, the timber industry is also in a slump. When prices were rising three times a day, the Kuomintang government issued a gold certificate, which added fuel to the fire of inflation and caused the wood industry to be on the verge of extinction again. Struggle against the national disaster and look forward to the light. Mr. Yang Weiqing hopes that the people’s revolution led by the Communist Party of China (CPC) will win an all-round victory at an early date, so that the people can live and work in peace and contentment.
In April 1949, Wuxi was liberated. Mr. Yang Weiqing, who is nearly sixty years old, actively responded to the call of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the people’s government, took the road of developing economic security supply, maintained the Yuchang Shenmu company in the countryside, and listened to the arrangement of the government, and moved part of the wood company to Tongyang Bridge in Wuxi City for business, which can not only continue to meet the demand for wood in rural areas of Sinan, but also serve urban factories. In 1955, Mr. Yang Weiqing actively responded to the call of the party and the government for public-private partnership. Yuchang Shenmu Company moved to Nanchang Street, and the neighboring Xieyuan Shenmu Company merged. The Xiechang Shenmu Company, which was established as a public-private partnership, was integrated into the socialist economic system. Mr. Yang Weiqing, together with all the staff and workers, will continue to serve the people on the timber front and do his best for socialist construction in the new joint venture.
In 1962, when Yang Weiqing was 71 years old, he asked the public representative for retirement, and said with deep affection, "Our Yang family is a wooden family, and it has been three generations and one hundred years since I was born. There are buildings related to Hezhuang Muhang in every commune in Sinan, such as Xuelang, Huazhuang, Nanquan, Donglong and Dafu. My customers are all over Sinan and around Taihu Lake, and the amount of wood sold by Hezhuang Muhang is hard to count. It is not an exaggeration to say that it ranks first among peers in Wuxi. I was determined to work in the wood industry when I was young, and I didn’t dare to take a day off for forty years. I have been operating in the old society for more than 20 years in the first half of my life. I have really experienced many vicissitudes of life, and I have never lived a stable life. Only after liberation, under the leadership and care of the party and the government, can we live and work in peace and contentment. Now the motherland is thriving and becoming increasingly prosperous; All walks of life, talented people come forth in large numbers, successors, and our wood industry is no exception. In my lifetime, I can see such a good situation. I feel really satisfied. Now submit a report and apply for retirement. " Mr. Yang Weiqing died in 1964 at the age of 73. Sinan folks still miss him for a long time.
▲ Visit the old site — — Wuxi Nanmen Tongyang Bridge (the big tree on the left behind the bridge is the location of Yuchang Shenmu in the city)
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Canal culture — — The Cultural Heritage of People in Watertown
The canal is flowing continuously, accessible and widely beneficial to the world, which provides people with rich spiritual nourishment and cultural genes. Benevolence and kindness, respect for learning and education, and simple folk customs are infiltrated and rooted in water towns, and the canal culture has a long history.
Walking into the former site of "Hezhuang Muxing", you can see the four characters of "Blessed by the Road" carved on the plastic door, which is the ancestral motto handed down from generation to generation by people in water towns. If good is like water, there must be a way to do it. "Hezhuang Muxing" was founded to meet the needs of the people in the construction of boats and farmhouses in water towns. In the course of its operation, it also shows the concept of putting people first, respecting morality and doing good, and is enthusiastic about local public welfare undertakings, and enjoys everything that is beneficial to the neighbors.
▲ "Hezhuang Muxing" brick engraved threshold "Blessed by the road"
After its establishment, "Hezhuang Muxing" served the people’s livelihood and benefited the countryside. It was open-minded and honest, and was usually charitable. It often provided wood and money for neighboring villagers with poor families and solved the difficulties of life on the water for boat people passing by. The verandah along the river is a public place for villagers and passers-by to rest and enjoy the cool, and a place for boating in the river to rest. The owner of the wooden house is warm, kind and hospitable, and always keeps a vat of tea for the neighbors and passers-by to quench their thirst. Muhang’s revetment arbor is the boat dock for Nanxiang to enter the city. "Hezhuang Muhang" has always done its duty to serve the villagers enthusiastically, storing and keeping things, transmitting information, and blending with the villagers. It’s late at night, the lights of the windows and holes along the river in Hezhuang Muhang are always on, keeping a little light for the ships passing by at night, and showing the silhouette through the arbor, which is convenient for the ships to identify the channel. When boat people have difficulties, Muhang always gives them whatever they want. Decades later, descendants of boat people still come all the way to thank Muhang for his help to their ancestors. Because of Muhang’s qualifications and reputation, all the neighbors who have public affairs and parents are willing to come here to discuss and seek mediation and judgment until the matter is satisfactorily resolved. Whenever rural public activities are needed, Hezhuang Muhang always enthusiastically provides places and needed objects to support and take care of them. For example, the rural cultural classes in the early days of liberation and the collective sericulture room of rural cooperatives are all located in Hezhuang Muhang. Blessed are the streets and strong feelings in the neighborhood. The kindness of Hezhuang Muxing in the past generations has won unanimous praise and respect from the villagers.
Hezhuang Muxing is enthusiastic about local public welfare undertakings. It donated money to build ancestral halls and compile genealogy, and Muxing began to support rural cultural education when it achieved initial results. At that time, schools in rural areas were all private schools, and it was necessary to have a place, so teachers were invited, and students paid tuition fees to teachers and took turns to "provide meals". In the 14th year of Tongzhi (AD 1875), the ancestral hall of Hezhuang was renovated, and Yang Qingqiao was ready to start a rural school in the ancestral hall. The teacher was hired by Muhang, who lived in Muhang all the year round. All expenses were borne by Muhang, and students were charged half the tuition fee, while poor students were exempted from it. All the young people in Hezhuang read and write here, and they are given the three-character classics, hundreds of surnames, early childhood studies, the Analects of Confucius, Mencius and other traditional ancient texts. Older students also study calligraphy and abacus, and the books in the ancestral hall are loud all year round. The school lasted for thirty-eight years before and after its long-term opening. During this period, despite the change of several generations of Muhang hosts and teachers, there were also Huizhou wooden guests who taught here. However, the tradition of Hezhuang Muhang to help students was passed down from generation to generation, and the Hezhuang School funded by Muhang continued for a long time until the establishment of Litaoxiang Primary School in Wuxi County in 1913. In order to make it convenient for children to go to school in Taoxiang and the villagers to get to the market town, and to avoid the pain of rotten roads and slippery roads in rainy days, Yang Weiqing, the fourth host of Hezhuang Muhang, also invested in the construction of Shiban Township Road from Hezhuang to Taoxiang and surrounding towns. With the development of culture and education in Hezhuang, all men are illiterate, and everyone can write and write letters to Dont Ask For Help, which is a new village style.Half of the people go out to make a living in various industries, which is different from other villages. This is a manifestation of the progress of cultural development. The Grand Canal has a long-term influence on promoting the development of rural education.
Mr. Yang Weiqing is the fourth host of Hezhuang Muhang. He knows that strengthening the industry requires knowledge and talents, and he emphasizes intellectual investment and training. At that time, Mr. Yang Weiqing was known as the "No.1 scholar in the wood industry" because his four sons were all trained in universities and his two daughters were people’s teachers. His children’s growth was also influenced by the canal. It is a tradition of the water town families to pay attention to learning and teaching.
▲ Mr. Yang Yuqing’s children took a group photo at their ancestral home (photo taken in 1961). Photo background Both sides of the river are the former sites of Hezhuang Muhang.
Yang Ruizhen, the eldest daughter of Mr. Yang Weiqing, was a famous national model worker in Wuxi in 1950s and 1960s. She attended the National Heroes’ Meeting in Beijing twice and was cordially received by Party and state leaders such as Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou, and was praised as a red flag on the education front. Her husband, Hua Zhigang, was the principal of Dayao Road Primary School in the ancient canal. In the school, he actively cooperated with the underground party to carry out secret activities. On the eve of the liberation of Wuxi, he posted a slogan welcoming the PLA to the city all night, and Yang Ruizhen stayed up all night, finally ushered in the liberation of Wuxi.
Mr. Yang Weiqing’s third son, Chang Yang, witnessed the sufferings brought by Japanese aggression to Muhang workers when he was young, and went to Xushe ‘an xishan village to flee with his family. He received the enlightenment education of patriotism, and he grew up with the ambition of becoming a strong country and serving the country. In 1953, Chang Yang graduated from Nanmen Ancient Canal High School and was admitted to Shanghai Jiaotong University. After graduating from Jiaotong University, he volunteered to work in a national defense unit in Northwest China. In 1965, Qian Xuesen was named and transferred to Beijing with the approval of Premier Zhou Enlai, a special committee of the Central Committee, and he undertook and participated in the development and launch tasks of China’s first artificial satellite launch, manned space flight and Chang ‘e lunar exploration. In 1991, the Ministry of Aeronautics and Astronautics awarded Chang Yang the honorary title of "an old aerospace expert with outstanding contributions". When looking back on his life, he always remembers the canal years of his childhood.
The Grand Canal bears a long history and culture, and it is of great significance to explore and study the historical remains and profound accumulation along the Canal for the protection and inheritance of the Canal culture. "Hezhuang Muxing" lasted for a hundred years, which showed the promotion and promotion of the Grand Canal to the people’s livelihood and cultural development in water towns from a branch. The local conservation building of "Hezhuang Muxing former site" is a precious carrier of canal historical sites.
(Source/system of canals)