Jinjiang Memory 65: Talking about Charity from the "porridge factory"

When I was young, I lived by the river in the east of the city. At that time, most of the river banks were fields. Every day, I take a boat and go through an ancient winding alley to study in a primary school (the school address is in front of Tianxianqiao Street in Jinjiang District today). There is a wooden sign nailed to the end of the alley: "Zhouming Lane" (which no longer exists), and I still can't figure out the meaning of the name of this alley. There is a tinker named Inspector Wu on the street. He said, "Tea is tea and porridge is porridge. Before the Ming Dynasty, it was the site of Daci Temple, where a porridge temple was built to send medicinal tea and porridge to the poor. "

According to him, Ming Zhou Temple was originally a charity established here by the Ming government. The Qing dynasty also established a porridge factory here. However, in the Qing Dynasty, there were two porridge factories in Chengdu, here is the East Factory, and there is a North Factory in Douzhi Temple outside the North Gate. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Chengdu Prefecture raised 200,000 taels of silver for these two porridge factories and gave them to the banks in the city. At an annual interest rate of one point, I earned 22,000 yuan each year as a charity fund for the porridge factory. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were more than 2,000 people who ate porridge every day in Chengdu, accounting for about 1% of the city's population. When the Qing Dynasty was about to fall, the porridge factory here moved to the east gate, leaving the street name of Tea Porridge Lane.

? The porridge factory only applies porridge for three months around the end of the year. It opens on the first day of October every year and stops at the end of the following year. Adult Cheng Mianlu is the "general manager", Chengdu magistrate is the "conference manager", and officials in Chengdu and Huayang are the "transfer managers".

The porridge factory is surrounded by a big railing, and people who eat porridge line up outside the railing. Hungry people lined up at the gate and the handyman gave them a long bamboo stick. The top of the bamboo stick is marked with earth red, which tastes like a "meal ticket". People who eat porridge can't wait to rush into the column, and the person in charge of porridge will receive a "fish tank" filled with porridge. "Fish tank" is a big pottery bowl cooked in a kiln. It is four times as big as an ordinary rice bowl and can hold big fish, so it is called "fish tank".

There are few official biographies devoted to philanthropy. There are many miscellaneous books in unofficial history, with only a few words in the middle. In addition to the "porridge factory" in Chengdu, there are several famous places in Jinjiang District:

"Nursery" in Yusha Street: Only 60 poor babies and illegitimate children who are pregnant due to family poverty are adopted. Each baby employs a wet nurse, and the salary and meals are provided by the guild hall. The baby was adopted before and after "weaning" ... The nursery was officially put into operation, and the "deployment ambassador" (similar to the responsibility of the current provincial civil affairs department) appointed a county-level official to manage the hall affairs. The street name of the nursery still exists today.

"Cihuitang": This street name still exists today. It was founded in the 13th year of Yongzheng in Qing Dynasty (AD 1735). It is a major charity in the provincial capital, with hundreds of acres of land as funds for the operation of the church, and the government also receives monthly subsidies. Presided over by an alternate Taoist priest, he is called the "Prime Minister". Adopt hundreds of disabled people, such as widows and blind people, and teach them to "sing the truth" (play the piano and sing) and "count the stars" (be fortune tellers) until they can make a living by themselves after graduation.

"Pujitang": In the east gate of Chengdu, commonly known as "nursing home", it specializes in adopting the elderly who are lonely and helpless. The consideration of "lonely old people" is thoughtful. In addition to providing food in the lobby, everyone will give three or four hundred pence a month.

"Kindhearted place": located in Yanqing Temple in the city, it means "being kind to others" and doing charity, coffins and other good deeds.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, in Zhaozhongci Street at the entrance of Chengdu East School, the government also established "coolie hospital" (specialized in treating poor patients at the bottom of society) and "Jiliang Institute" (specialized in raising prostitutes who are willing to be good).

My grandfather used to be the "street leader" of Jiaozi Street in the late Qing Dynasty, and his "official title" is probably similar to that of today's "neighborhood committee" director. According to my parents, in addition to the above-mentioned official or private charities, at the end of each year, most of the "street leaders" in each street will invite "good people" in their own streets to donate money to send old clothes to the poor. It seems that Chengdu folk customs have been good since ancient times.

? (Part II: Chengdu was bombed for the first time)