Excuse me, has anyone heard of Gao Chun? Have you ever been there?

Gaochun County, Jiangsu Province is the hometown of hairy crabs. With crabs as media, the third China-Nanjing Gucheng Lake Crab Festival was held in Gaochun from September 26th to June 6th. 10.

Gaochun is a rich mining area of China folk culture! When you come to this place known as the first crab town in China, you can not only taste delicious hairy crabs, but also feel the unique folk culture and visit beautiful natural scenery and many places of interest.

The distant ancestor of Nanjing is in Gaochun.

1In August, 997, some cultural relics were accidentally unearthed in Xuecheng Township (now Xichun Town) while digging the foundation of a new health center. After learning this situation, the county cultural preservation institute immediately took control of the construction site and conducted a rescue excavation with the Nanjing Museum. This place is the Xuecheng site that was later awarded the "National Archaeological Important Discovery Nomination Honor Award". Covering an area of about 60,000 square meters, it is presumed by experts to be the largest and oldest prehistoric ancient cultural relic in Nanjing, about 6,300 years ago.

The cultural accumulation of Xuecheng site can be divided into three stages: upper, middle and lower, all of which are Neolithic Age. The early period is equivalent to the middle and late period of Majiabang culture, the middle period is equivalent to or slightly earlier than the third period of Beiyin Yingying culture, and the late period is equivalent to the middle and late period of Songze culture. Its upper layer is the clan cemetery, and the lower layer is the residential area. The site is located in Qingyi River in southern Anhui, and the Shuiyangjiang River joins the "Ancient Wuhu" at the mouth of the Yangtze River. The rich remains are quite distinctive, representing a new cultural type at the junction of Jiangsu, Xi and Anhui provinces and the junction of mountains and swamps.

More than 6,000 years ago, when Gaochun people who were born and raised here lived, they began to communicate in the original Gaochun dialect. Up to now, there are still many Tang sounds circulating here. Many Tang poems are recited in modern Mandarin without rhyme, but every sentence rhymes in Gaochun dialect. At present, Gaochun County has set up a declaration team headed by the county magistrate, and transferred a group of old comrades from the education and cultural circles to collect and sort out Gaochun dialect scientifically, comprehensively and representatively, and apply to UNESCO for protection as an intangible cultural heritage as soon as possible.

In Gaochun, in addition to ancient sites and dialects, the Sugagawa, which was dug here by Wu Zixu, the Prime Minister of Wu more than 2,000 years ago, is the oldest artificial canal in the world and still plays a shipping role. The site of the ancient city was the location of Wulai Zhu Yi in the Spring and Autumn Period, which was more than two centuries earlier than Jinling in ancient Nanjing. There are 320 Taoist statues and paintings in the late Qing Dynasty, which are the most complete and abundant Taoist cultural heritage in China. Dongba Opera House and Cangxi Opera House are rare in southern Jiangsu, reflecting the colorful folk entertainment activities and distinctive architectural and cultural characteristics at that time. In addition, the beautiful legend of "Two Women Refusing to Marry" and the touching poem by Cui Zhiyuan, a great Korean poet, made people cry and spread widely in Korea. Peking University, Yangzhou University and Nanjing Normal University have all held seminars on Cui Zhiyuan academic and cultural exchanges between China and South Korea. ...

"Gaochun Four Treasures of the Study" Glory Jiangnan

Gaochun, apart from the eight famous sights of Gaochun, such as "misty rain in the ancient city", "fishing songs in shijiu", "guarding the holy night bell" and "sleeping in Kansai", Four Treasures of the Study of Gaochun, "the square tower is a street with cypress trees planted upside down", is a household name with a bright future. No wonder when Emperor Qianlong went to Jiangnan, he only gave Gaochun the good name of "Jiangnan Holy Land".

As the head of the "Four Treasures of the Study", the "Baosheng Temple Tower" is said to have been built in the second year of Wu Chiwu in the Three Kingdoms period (239 years), and it has been more than 1700 years. It is said that Sun Quan built it to celebrate his mother's eightieth birthday. That is to say, after Zhou Yu died young, Sun Quan's mother pitied Zhou Yu's beloved wife Xiao Qiao and personally went to Zhoucheng (now Brick Wall Town) to take her back to Jianye (now Nanjing) for entertainment. When Ba Niu drove to Donglongcheng Mountain in Gaochun Town (now Xichun Town), he was stopped by two drunken Taoist priests. Grandma ordered her to win, only to find that two Taoist priests were frightened and died. Grandma believed in Buddhism all her life and was generous and kind to people. So people built a "seven-level pagoda" (namely Baosheng Temple Tower) in Longcheng Mountain to cross over the souls of two dead Taoist priests. This temple tower is unique and rare in China. Local officials in past dynasties regarded the tower as the treasure of towns and counties. The height of the tower is 3 1 m, and the tower body is stacked with special blue bricks. "It looks like a jade bamboo shoot pulling the ground at close range, and it looks like a healthy pen at a distance." Bird's-eye view of the tower, the county style, take in everything in a glance, lakes and mountains, panoramic view.

Ziyi Street, which had already disappeared at the bottom of Gucheng Lake, was built in the Southern Song Dynasty. Due to Zheng De's seven years in the Ming Dynasty, the Dongba dam was raised by three feet, which caused the water of the three lakes, which had been flowing for thousands of years, to stop flowing eastward. Gaochun was sunk by 65,438+10,000 mu, and more than 60 dikes in Gucheng Lake area were completely submerged as Gaochun Four Treasures of the Study.

According to legend, this inverted cypress was planted by Xu Xun, a famous Taoist priest in Jin Dynasty. Xu, a native of Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, was born in the second year of Wu Chiwu in the Three Kingdoms (239). When Xu Xun was young, he studied under Wu Meng, the real king of Dadong. During the chaos at the end of Jin Dynasty, he abandoned his official position and traveled around the world with Wu Meng. In 374 AD, Xu Xun rose from the West Hill of Nanchang and landed in Gaochun, becoming a reincarnation. He studied in Nandaoguan (realistic view) 20 miles east of Gaochun County since childhood. One day, the teacher was on a business trip, and the students competed to pull out small cypresses. Xu Xun pulled out two small cypresses in a row. Just then, the teacher came back. Afraid of the teacher's condemnation, he hastily threw two small cypress trees into two wells. Because of his panic, he turned down the branches and turned up the roots. The teacher looked back after drinking and didn't pay attention. A few months later, I found that the small cypress tree inserted in the well had pulled out new branches and green leaves from its roots, and it was full of vitality. Everyone thought it was made by a fairy. Therefore, as long as it is properly protected, it will grow up in a few years and become a well-known "inverted cypress". The circumference of the existing Millennium Cooper in Cooper Town 1.3 feet 7 inches. This tree is as tall and straight as iron, as stubborn as steel, intertwined, winding, green branches and leaves, full of vitality, showing the ingenuity of nature.

"Bai Mudan" grows in the crevice of Huashan stone slope. Legend has it that in ancient times, a young man named Lu went up the mountain to cut wood, and was accidentally bitten by a poisonous snake and was unconscious. When the immortal Tie Guai Li passed by, he took out the elixir from the gourd and fed it to him, but it was useless. At this time, a spider hung on a tree and took medicine on the wound bitten by a poisonous snake. The young man was saved, but the spider was safe. Tie Guai Li was surprised and ashamed. He felt that his painstaking alchemy was useless. In a rage, he smashed the gourd and said, "A thousand years of alchemy is in vain, and flowers bloom on the stone for a while." There happened to be an elixir in the smashed gourd, which rolled into the stone gap. Over time, a white peony flower with bright colors and fragrant flowers has grown.

What does Gao Chun know about folk customs?

In a threshing floor in Hanqiao Village, Dingbu Town, Gaochun County, the reporter once again saw the lively scene of "five-cabin jump": villagers dressed in ancient costumes either picked baskets, carried flags, knocked gongs or drums, and were jubilant. Soon, the main characters entered the stadium: first, five strong men with canopies entered and stood up, and then four performers with bright clothes, masks and different gait lined up on the field. They represent four "land gods" who plead for the people, namely, Taoist priests, land lords, monks and judges. Then the five people who entered the stadium wearing armor, carrying Jin Ling on their shoulders and holding double knives were the real protagonists-the "five-person cabin". Their canopies, masks and costumes are all matched in five colors. Red, blue, yellow, black and white represent the five emperors of East, South, West, North and Middle respectively, which are in harmony with the five elements of wood, fire, gold, water and earth. "Wu Cang" danced with many performers on the field, squatting or jumping, dancing unknown dances. The whole performance lasted more than two hours, with more than 100 performers.

The magic of "Five Cabins Dance" lies not only in the origin of Chinese folk dance, but also in the fact that as a traditional folk activity, it has disappeared in China for more than 60 years and is on the verge of extinction. According to "Chinese Folk Dance Integration", "Dance Warehouse" originated in the Yin and Shang Dynasties more than 3,000 years ago, and mainly spread in Gaochun County, Liyang County and Langxi County of Anhui Province. It was generally banned during the period of "breaking the capitalism". Most of today's performers have passed away, and even the "small audience" who were familiar with personnel in those days are already very old.

In Gaochun County, in addition to "jumping in five cabins", there are many little-known folk customs, such as the flower terrace meeting, fighting the water margin, big lanterns and so on. Huataihui, also known as social drama (introduced in Lu Xun's prose "Social Drama"), is a reserved program in Xuecheng Township, Gaochun County. Once every three years is a small play, once every nine years is a big play. At the water's edge or beside the land temple, a straw team staged various operas, and the audience was all villagers, which was very charming. Fighting the Water Margin is a unique folk martial art in Gaochun County. It originated in the Song Dynasty, and its real meaning is to perform the martial arts of the characters in the Water Margin. It is based on the legendary Liangshan hero, who is known as the star of the thirty-six highest day, with the equipment you made as props and 18 kinds of weapons with real knives and guns in turn. Fighting with swords and shadows is very dangerous. Song Wu's eighteen martial arts, Sun Erniang's double knives and Lu's drunken fist can not only strengthen the body, but also have great appreciation value. As we all know, "A Unique Skill in the South of the Yangtze River" is performed by two people together. The former is dressed as a horse's head with props, and the latter bends down to grab the former's waist and dress up as a horse's body. The two people hold each other back and the performance is quite difficult. 1993, the big lantern won the Golden Rose Award of Shenyang International Yangko Festival, and appeared at the awarding party of CCTV Spring Festival literary evening. "Fighting the Water Margin" and "Ocean's Arhat" are unique in China, combining folk martial arts and folk art performances. Ban Long in Xuecheng is 1 m in diameter and 100 m in length, with hundreds of performers, making it the best dragon dance in China. The "Dragon Song Car" is more than ten meters high. When traveling, its team is vast, accompanied by folk cultural activities, which is amazing.

Why does Gaochun have many folk customs?

Dr. Tao Siyan, the director of the Institute of Oriental Culture of Southeast University and the first doctor of folklore in China, who studied Gaochun folklore for 0/2 years, called Gaochun a "rich mining area" of Jiangsu folk culture. The formation of this "rich mining area" also has its historical and regional reasons. Although Gaochun is not far from Nanjing, due to the inconvenient transportation, it has long relied on land and water to have close cultural and wedding exchanges with Liyang, Anhui Xuanzhou and other horizontal areas. However, the vertical communication with Nanjing is much less, and it has hardly been radiated by the urban culture of the Six Dynasties. Historically, Gaochun did not have a large influx of outsiders, and locals rarely came to Nanjing. Until today, its language system still belongs to Wu dialect area, and its proximity can be seen.

In recent years, Gaochun County Party Committee and government have realized the unique charm of folk culture, organized the elderly who experienced it personally to recall and sort out, and at the same time strengthened the guidance and improvement of folk art performance forms, routines and music to overcome the original stylized performance mode, which mainly focused on the word "Peace in the World" (generally performed according to the strokes of the word "Peace in the World"), enriched the performance content, and paid attention to retaining the characteristics of folk art in the guidance. All levels and departments in the county are gradually strengthening the identification and protection of Gaochun's folk culture, but Gaochun's raising folk religious activities to the height of traditional culture, developing and utilizing them, transforming them into cultural resources and tourism resources, opening up and advancing folk areas, and maintaining and carrying forward traditional culture is only the beginning.