By Zhu Guangyu, January 24, 2002                              

The historical traditions and clan stories are lived out in the ancient villages of the Nanxi River Basin. But we may be the last generation to see their way of life.

The reputation of Zhejiang provincial capital Wenzhou for being China's entrepreneurial center gives credence to the myth that there is little of tourism or cultural value in the region. But in the county of Yongjia, in the southeast corner of the province, villages sit undisturbed by modern development. Clear streams are lined with ancient cypresses, and run along deep valleys that shelter humble thatched homes.

The Nanxi River carries the water that drains away from the Kuocang and Yandang mountain chains. People have been living along its banks for thousands of years, and villages measure their histories in thousands rather than hundreds of years. The newest village, Tanxia (established 1279 A.D.) seems like positively modern settlement when compared with the oldest in the region, Cangpo, the site of a village since 955 A.D.

Along the Nanxi River Basin, the noise of the modern city that infringes many areas of beauty in developed eastern China does not intrude. In recent years, thanks to local tourism development projects, increasing numbers of people have started to arrive in the region, to explore the lives and environments of local residents.

Clan Culture

Local architecture of the Nanxi River Basin region is distinctive from its nearest neighbor, the Jiangnan (southern Yangtze River). The overriding principle here is one of nurturing the beauty of the country scene, making the most of the green hills and clear water. The aesthetic sensibilities of the upper classes, built on former feudalistic principles, still prevail in the village and dwelling layouts.

Along the middle reaches of the Nanxi River lie around 200 villages, all with blood-ties, where people of a single family name live. Each village is a community in and of itself, based on patriarchal clan principles. The system oversees every aspect of village life, and maintains social order and self-sufficiency.

The origins of local culture are rooted in the migration of people from the north to the south. The first time happened at around A.D.317 from the north of Yangtze River to the south of Yangtze River. With the people traveled skills and talents, bringing much-needed development opportunities to the area. While the villages lived self-sufficiently, the names of outstanding citizens were still known further a-field, and its number include Dongjin-era literature and calligraphy master Wang Xizhi, poet and author Yan Yanzhi (A.D.384-546, era of Nan Dynasty), and Xie Lingyun, the first landscape poet in China (A.D. 385-433, ear of Nan Dynasty). As the cultural and literary representatives of their day, along with administrative duties in their villages they also stimulated a boom in the literature of the Nanxi River Basin. The descendents of Xie Lingyun later established Heyang Village, which later still separated out into 20 villages all carrying the family name of Xie.

The second wave of migration into the area arrived with the Song Family (A.D.1127), as they traveled across the river, heading south. Again, the sudden influx of art and literature stimulated another cultural renaissance, and poets and scholars including Zhang Jiucheng, Wang Shipeng, and Yang Jian arrived. The locals also had their share of imperial recognition: between the Tang and Qing Dynasties (618-1911) a total of 604 jin shi (successful candidates in the imperial examinations) hailed from Yongjia County. Self-cultivation was to be encouraged in the region, and historical records from the two waves of migration suggest that it was not economic reasons, but for the aesthetic side of rural life, that led people to settle along the Basin.

In the following Dynasties after the Southern Song, the prosperity of the Southern Song Dynasty already waning, small families had been replaced by large clans. Transportation around the mountainous region was insufficient to allow for frequent travel, and the clan societies closed, slowing the inflow of residents to a virtual standstill. As such, most of the present day families can trace their genealogy to those Song Dynasty days.

The architecture, unsurprisingly, also reflects the Song Dynasty preferences for simplicity, with graceful and free lines. From the outside, the houses present shapes of "一" , "H", "口", and "日". The two-story houses are symmetrical, and the ridge of a roof is in the shape of a bow, with the eaves turned up slightly. The overall shape is one of being stretched out, and unrestrained.

Lying among the southern mountains of Zhejiang, Yongjia is abundantly supplied with local stone, which is used in walls and streets, as well as ornamental sculptures. Brick and wooden sculptures also decorate the area.

Village layouts are clearly and strictly planned, with tidy village walls and good use of flowing water supplies contributing to excellent feng shui. The sites of villages were chosen for the views villagers would be afforded as much as the proximity to water supplies: the shapes of bordering mountain ranges were preferred be bijia shan (笔架山) - a landscape of five mountain peaks in a tidy line, just like a rack of calligraphy brushes. The village of Cangpo is blessed with bijia shan, while Yantou and Penglai villages must make do with mere wenbi shan (文笔山) skylines - a single calligraphy brush mountain.

In the modern day, preservation and environmental protection in the area comes largely from the clan heads themselves. Without doubt, Cangpo and Furong villages are the most carefully preserved in the area. Cangpo, with its ancient village gate, temple, halls, and pavilions, is home to some of the most exquisite examples of ancient relics: the Shuiyue Tang (Water and Moon Hall) was erected in the 9th Century in memory of the 8th Century ancestor Li Jinxi, a jin shi of the Northern Song Dynasty who sacrificed himself on the battlefield. Also still standing is the Renji Temple, built in 1180 and surrounded on three sides by water and cypress. Nowadays, it is home to a folk art museum that is open to the public.

With the impact of the developing modern market economy happening so close, China's countryside is changing rapidly. The villages of the Nanxi River Basin have not escaped progress, and many of the villagers' houses have been cleared to make way for newer buildings. With responsibility for the upkeep of the houses left in clan leaders hands, some of the finest examples of the architecture of the Song Dynasty is gradually rotting away, or being destroyed in fire. Sadly, the question must be asked: are we to be the last generation to be eyewitnesses of such relics of this traditional culture?

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