The cracks in the stones flow with history, history tells legends, legends unfold the winds and clouds, and the winds and clouds continue life.
Civilization needs inheritance, and it cannot be separated from the brewing of wind and frost. With a playful heart, I walked into Zhangsigou, and as I looked around, every gully in the mountains was telling countless moving legends.
As mischievous as I am, I fell on the stone steps, but I was fascinated by the totem-like pattern on the wall under the eaves. I took a picture with my camera and limped to a nearby farmer's house to seek the truth. An old man squatting on a stone bench at the door with a large bowl of rice told me that the ancestors of that family were once wealthy landlords, and when the family was prosperous, it was just that, but after falling into decline, they successively produced two scholars. The painting on the wall came from a jade pendant bestowed by the emperor, which was passed down in their family. It is said that one year, the emperor, disguised and traveling, encountered a heavy rain and happened to take shelter at their home. The next morning, after the rain cleared, he was captivated by the beautiful scenery outside the window and ended up staying for more than ten days before reluctantly leaving. Before departing, the emperor gifted a jade pendant he carried to the homeowner. At that time, the homeowner's family was still farming, facing the yellow earth and backing the sky, having never seen much of the world, so they thought it was just a beautiful stone given by someone and didn't think much of it. Many years later, the family learned that the person who took shelter from the rain was actually the reigning emperor, and they recalled that beautiful stone.
They knew that jade was a rare auspicious object, and the emperor's gift was even more precious. They wanted to enshrine it but were afraid of neglecting it, so they asked a craftsman to carve the pattern from the jade pendant under the eaves, both to shine on their door and to pray for blessings, but it was more of a show-off.
As the old man spoke, he recalled an interesting story passed down from the older generation about this family.
According to the ancestral rules, when a newborn child reaches their first birthday, the family must prepare various objects and place them in front of the child for them to grab. Generally, northern families are accustomed to preparing commonly used items such as brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, abacuses, coins, and books on this day. For boys, they use bows, arrows, paper, and brushes, while for girls, they use knives, rulers, needles, and threads, along with food and treasures for play. Family and friends gather around, watching the child take whatever they like. Usually, whatever object the child picks signifies their future profession and life trajectory. This method of testing greed, integrity, wisdom, and foolishness is also called "testing the child."
At that time, this family did not know whether they had benefited from the emperor's nobility or if that jade pendant truly accumulated virtue for their ancestors, but they had already become a well-known wealthy family in the area. On the day of the young master's first birthday, amidst the urging of the crowd, he bypassed the gold, silver, and jewels and directly picked up a brush to play with, even playfully dipping his saliva-covered fingers into the inkstone, smearing ink all over the face of the nurse who was holding him. However, the wealthy man, who had a son late in life, turned gloomy. He had always dreamed of passing on his estate to his son, hoping that his son would become a prosperous landlord like himself and carry on the family business. Who would have thought that the son would choose the brush, which he had deliberately placed in the corner, the least conspicuous? Helpless, he had to resign himself to fate. He couldn't help but cast his gaze on the newly acquired concubine, whose slightly bulging belly was nurturing another hope.
As time passed, the two young masters quickly grew into handsome young men. The eldest master, who had picked the brush, truly became a bookworm, spending every day locked in his study, completely oblivious to the world outside, solely focused on reading the classics. Fortunately, the second young master turned out to be a good businessman. The land contracts that the family had divided out, he could remember the details of the monthly accounts without fail. The old wealthy man's heart finally settled down. But good times did not last long; shortly after the old wealthy man's death, the family was invaded by an internal thief, and the servants scattered in a rush. In just a few days, the old mansion became an empty shell, beautiful on the outside but useless. The sudden disaster left the two young masters, who were used to a life of luxury, at a loss. The empty courtyard was left with only the two brothers and an old nanny who had raised them, now gray-haired and reluctant to leave.
Only when one is in a difficult situation can their potential be unleashed. After much wandering, hesitating, struggling, and confusion, the two brothers finally made up their minds to take the imperial examination and revive the family business.
……
Hundreds of years of changes in the world. The loft where the two brothers once hung their heads and pricked their thighs still seems to flicker with candlelight. I turned back to look at the old man who had just told the story, but he had long since disappeared. The mottled patterns on the wall were still faintly visible; closing my eyes, I experienced the illusion of traversing time and space, where two handsome young men, dressed simply, spoke eloquently...
A few wisps of smoke rose in the mountains, drifting under the slanting sun against the green mountains, giving off a unique flavor of human life. Years later, will there still be someone squatting on the stone bench at the door with a bowl of rice, eagerly recounting the legends of the past to travelers? It doesn't matter; amidst these green mountains, history still flows in the cracks of the stones, history tells legends, legends unfold the winds and clouds, and the winds and clouds continue life.
The End
Welcome to this beautiful place: China Henan Province Xinxiang City Huixian Zhangsigou Village