Travels in Southeast Guizhou-Zhanli and Xiasi

Before arriving at Xiasi, we first went to Zhanli Dong Village. This Dong village is located in the mountains of Gaozeng Township, Congjiang County, covering an area of less than 16 square kilometers.

The reason why I came here is because this little-known Dong village hidden in the lofty mountains actually formed a theory of "appropriate population" hundreds of years ago. For hundreds of years, the natural population growth rate has always been Close to zero.

This kind of family planning propaganda can be seen everywhere in the village.

According to the village rules and regulations, if a couple gives birth to more than two children, they will be liable for breach of contract according to the "three 120" (120 kilograms of pork, 120 rice, and 120 rice wine).

The village is very quiet, a clear stream flows by the village, and the unique Dong drum tower stands in the village.

We walked around the village to find out, but to no avail.

Found online:

In the late Yuan Dynasty, the ancestors of the Zhanli people settled here to escape the war. There are two mountains here. Between the mountains, water and the village, there is very little land. With the rapid growth of population, all the surrounding mountains and forests have been reclaimed. By the early Qing Dynasty, the contradiction between more people and less land had caused the once prosperous Zhanli to begin to decline. As a result, the ancestors of Zhanli had to think rationally about the future survival of the villagers: in the long run, their descendants would have no land to cultivate or cultivate. So the village rules were established: "A couple can only have one child each, and no more children are allowed."

Zhanli people let the birth of their first child take its course, and when giving birth to a second child, they will choose whether to have a boy or a girl based on the gender of the first child. The method of balancing the gender of the fetus is an almost mythical secret: using an herbal medicine called "Chanhuacao" as the main ingredient, plus seven or eight other kinds of herbs, and then combining it with water from two wells in the village. Men are asked to use water from the men's well, and women are asked to use water from the women's well.

If you accidentally get pregnant with a third child; or if the second child is of the same gender as the first child; or if the child is disabled, people will drop wine into the baby's mouth and let it slowly drink to death. . The Zhanli people believe that the dead babies will return to their ancestors.

The magical well in the village, the man on the left and the woman on the right.

However, the boy's mother told us that she has two sons.

Xiasi Ancient Town Scenic Area is located in Xiasi Town, Kaili City Economic Development Zone, adjacent to the Qingshui River. Along the river, you can directly reach the two lakes, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and upstream to Duyun City, Guizhou.

Because it connects Sichuan and Yunnan at the top and Hunan and Guangdong at the bottom, it was opened as a commercial port in the 13th year of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty (1808), and developed into a busy city during the Republic of China.

Although the Yuwang Palace in the Lianghu Guild Hall and the Guangdong Guild Hall with Lingnan characteristics are empty, the vivid golden dragons on the beams still tell the story of the prosperity of the past.

The cobblestone flower street was once a place of lively entertainment, but the "Xiasi" archway on the pier has been weathered.

The B&B we stayed in was near the riverside pier, with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the river and a panoramic view of the scenery outside the window. It's just that the colorful pleasure boats in the river are leaning against the ancient pier. They are too dazzling and seem to dominate the scene.

Because it is adjacent to Majiang County, which is rich in blueberries, to the west, the blueberries on the street are super cheap, and we ate them when we were full. Also because of an old school in the town, we paid attention to the study of mind.

Yangming Academy, a quiet ancient courtyard, is where Wang Yangming is said to have taught in person. We wandered here for a long time.

Original enlightenment, thought enlightenment, Qi enlightenment, gradual enlightenment, great enlightenment, transmission enlightenment, and time enlightenment. Every room in the academy is a process of Mr. Wang Yangming's enlightenment, the "Tao of my heart".

"The heart is reason, it leads to conscience, and knowledge and action are unified "

Your heart is the master of this world. You think you are happy, no matter how hard or tired you are, you still feel happy. You think you are in pain, even if you are well-dressed and well-fed, you are not satisfied.

Everyone has a conscience, "Everyone has a heart of compassion; everyone has a heart of shame and disgust; everyone has a heart of respect; everyone has a heart of right and wrong." "Everything has a Buddha. "Nature". Then: "Although the world is huge, if you have a good intention and a conscience in your heart, even ordinary people can become sages." "

Knowledge is the beginning of action, and action is the completion of knowledge. Just "knowing" without "doing" is just talking on paper. There is "action" but it doesn't work. The so-called "knowledge" is not true knowledge.

Travels in Southeast Guizhou-Zhanli and Xiasi

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