代表作3.
原文：
Huizhou heritage comes to life
Traditional architecture in ancient villages spurs tourism and cultural pride, Wang Ru reports. Wang Ru
It was a natural choice for veteran Huang Yu, after serving in the army and owning a business in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, for years, to go back to his hometown in Xidi village, Huangshan, Anhui province, in 2016. He took over the homestay his parents opened when he was a middle school student.
"I was born in 1986, the year when tourism started to develop in Xidi. I always feel proud as a local and want to make a contribution to the development of my hometown," says Huang.
In 2000, Xidi and the nearby Hongcun village were declared World Heritage sites by UNESCO for their outstanding preservation of rural architecture dating to the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.
Now, walking along the bluestone streets in Xidi or Hongcun, visitors can appreciate the distinctive Huizhou-style houses, featuring white walls, dark tiles and layered horse-head gables, and feel like they are immersed in a traditional Chinese ink painting.
This level of preservation could not be achieved without the participation of local residents. According to Huang, this awareness is not new — since all streets and alleys in Xidi are paved with bluestone, historically, street vendors carrying wares on shoulder poles were forbidden from letting their poles touch the ground in order to protect the bluestone.
A symbolic paifang, or traditional Chinese memorial arch structure, standing at the entrance to Xidi, was built in the 16th century in memory of Hu Wenguang, a Ming Dynasty official born in the village, who made a great contribution to improving people's education and livelihoods. It is preserved to this day because of people's desire to protect the local historical characteristics.
According to Huang, in the 1960s and '70s, Xidi residents made a living mainly through the production of lime. Some people proposed to burn the paifang, which is made of stone, to make lime, but most villagers opposed the idea. "Although people struggled to make a living, they still didn't want to destroy the legacy," says Huang.
Cheng Xiuli, a resident of Hongcun, says: "Preservation awareness is deeply rooted in our hearts. Our ancestors have left us a great legacy, and we must care for it well."
A local folk rhyme says: "One is not lucky to be born in Huizhou. At 13 or 14 he is kicked out of his hometown to make a living."
The rhyme hints at the struggles once endured by the people of Huizhou, a historical prefecture which straddled the border between southern Anhui province and the north of Jiangxi province and covered the area of what is today's Huangshan city.
Since it was a poor, mountainous region without good farming conditions, many local people had to migrate to other places to start businesses. Toward the end of the Ming Dynasty, a group of Huizhou merchants became eminent, trading in salt, wood and tea, and working as pawnbrokers with a reputation for morality and honesty.
When successful Huizhou merchants got old, they often went back to their hometown and built dwellings to spend their remaining years. Many of their houses are well-preserved today, especially in Xidi and Hongcun.
Dwellings with stories
Huizhou architecture, with its long tradition and great diversity, occupies an important place in Chinese architectural landscape, says Zhang Wangnan, director of the China Huizhou Culture Museum in Huangshan.
Huizhou dwellings tend to be built to conform to the natural terrain, since Huizhou is a mountainous area with few flat areas of land, according to Zhang.
Moreover, daylight is valued in Huizhou houses, which is reflected in the building of open interior courtyards, which allows sunshine to enter the rooms.
"Huizhou merchants also believed that water symbolizes wealth. When it rains, water falling on the pitched roof soon flows to the courtyard. It stands for retaining windfall profits," says Zhang.
Huizhou is famous for its stone, wood and brick carvings, which are widely used in the decoration of local dwellings. "People carve auspicious patterns and historical stories on the beams, windows and pillars of their houses. In this way, they integrate their aesthetic values and emotions into the buildings, making them more beautiful and educating their children through the meanings contained in the patterns," says Zhang.
Features of Huizhou dwellings display the characteristics of local people. "If you look at the outside of a Huizhou dwelling, it seems simple, enclosed by walls, but the insides are open and broad, with complicated decorations. It is just like Huizhou people, who are often reserved toward strangers but friendly when you get to know them," says Zhang.
Zhang says that Ming dwellings differ from those of the Qing Dynasty in many aspects, for example, having fewer horse-head gables and less complicated carvings. Remains of Ming dwellings can be seen in Chengkan village, Huangshan; those in Xidi and Hongcun are good examples of the Qing style.
Besides ancient dwellings and paifang, ancestral halls, where clans would gather to make sacrifices to their lineages, form what is considered to be the three wonders of ancient Huizhou architecture. The three types differ in style and function.
Since people in an ancient Huizhou village were organized into patriarchal clan systems closely linked by kinship, ancestral halls were the locus of public life, where clans would gather to discuss important issues, according to Zhang.
Many of the ancestral halls are now opened to the public as tourist attractions or exhibition halls. Some feature magnificent architecture and exquisite carvings, while others are small but elegant — all have high artistic value and are treasures left by ancient people, says Zhang.
Shexian county used to be the administrative center of Huizhou, where many officials settled. It still keeps many of the old paifang, which tell a number of glorious stories about the past.
"Paifang, in the old times, were often dedicated to individuals as an award for sterling qualities, like a present-day certificate awarded for role-model behavior. They witness the struggles of Huizhou people, showing their positive attitude to life and their spirit to strive for the better," says Zhou Hu, deputy director of Shexian's cultural heritage administration.
Zhang says: "Dwellings are people's personal space, ancestral halls are public space for villages or clans, and paifang praise the morality or contributions of individuals. They, together with ancient bridges, courtyards and gardens, join to constitute the profound heritage of Huizhou architecture."
Folk customs
After returning to Xidi, Huang renovated his homestay. He says the tourism boom helps to protect and breathe life into the ancient village.
"Our houses are often wooden structures with brick walls, which require a lot of maintenance," he says. "Once a vacant ancient building has its roof tiles weaken, it leads to water leakage when it rains, and the wooden structure will rot. Therefore, it's important to keep people living in these buildings in order to maintain them properly."
Tourism development has brought many people back to the village. "An old village often declines when many locals migrate to other places for work. To better protect them, we need to incentivize villagers to stay and continue contributing to local life, so that tourists can receive better service and local people can make money at home," says Huang.
Some folk customs have been retained and newly oriented toward tourism, offering glimpses into the lives of the ancient Huizhou people, for example, the sounding of the night watch in Xidi, or broadsword dancing in Xucun village, Shexian.
"These customs are revived as a demonstration for tourists, and to maintain the inheritance of traditional culture. This symbolizes the combination of intangible with tangible cultural heritage," says Zhang.
He further suggests that the old Huizhou villages explore and find their own unique, marketable themes. "Each of them should find a dominant local feature, whether it is tea, chrysanthemum or rapeseed flowers, and then make it the theme of the village, so that they can give full play to their distinctive cultural charm."
Wang Kaihao and Zhu Lixin contributed to this story.
译文：
皖南古村落：徽州遗韵再现生机
古村落的传统建筑在促进旅游业发展的同时也激发着文化自信，王茹报道。
当兵多年，并在浙江省杭州市做了几年生意以后，2016年退伍军人黄煜回到他位于安徽省黄山市西递村的家乡。这对他而言是一个自然而然的选择。他回来后从父母手中接手了他们家从他上中学时就开始做的民俗生意。
“我出生于1986年，正好是西递的旅游业开始发展的那一年。我总为自己是个西递人而骄傲，也想为家乡的发展出一份力。”黄煜说。
2000年，西递和附近的宏村以其保存良好的明(1368-1644)清(1644-1911)两代乡村建筑风貌被世界教科文组织列入世界文化遗产。
现在，走在西递或宏村的青石板路上，游客可以欣赏独特的徽派建筑。白墙黛瓦，层层迭落的马头墙，人们恍若置身于一幅中国传统水墨画中。
这种程度的保存离不开当地人的热心参与。根据黄煜的说法，当地人的保护意识并不是最近才有的。历史上，由于西递所有的街道和小巷都铺着青石板，人们不允许挑着扁担来西递贩卖货物的小贩让他们的扁担头接触地面，防止刮花石板路。
一座标志性的牌坊（传统中国一种纪念性质的拱形建筑）伫立在西递村口。这个牌坊是16世纪为了纪念胡文光而建。胡文光是明朝的一名官员，出生于西递，他曾在任上为提高人们的受教育水平和生活质量做出卓越的贡献。这座牌坊能够被保存至今，正是因为人们想要保护当地的历史特色。
根据黄煜介绍，上世纪六七十年代的时候，西递村的村民主要靠生产石灰为生。由于这座牌坊是石头做的，曾有人提议烧了它来做石灰，但大部分村民坚决反对。“虽然当时人们挣扎在温饱线上，他们仍然不愿意毁了文化遗产。”黄煜说。
宏村居民程秀利说：“保护的意识深深根植在我们心中。祖先给我们留下了伟大的遗产，我们必须好好保护它们。”
徽州当地民谣中有这么两句话：“前世不修，生在徽州。十三四岁，往外一丢。”
它点出了古代徽州人艰难维持生计的过往。徽州在历史上是一个行政区，横跨安徽省南部和江西省北部，覆盖今天的黄山市地区。
由于地处穷困山区，没有发展农业的条件，很多徽州人不得不迁徙到别处去做生意。明朝晚期，徽商逐渐崛起，在盐、典、茶、木四大行业大显身手，并享有诚信为本、讲求道德的美誉。
这些成功的徽商老了以后，他们往往选择回到家乡建造房子作为养老居所。他们的很多房子至今依然保存完好，尤其是在西递和宏村。
古民居的故事
徽派建筑凭借其悠久历史和丰富门类，在中国建筑中占有一席之地，安徽中国徽州文化博物馆馆长章望南如是说。
章望南表示，由于徽州处于山区，少有平地，徽州古民居的建造讲究随坡就势。
此外，徽州建筑重视采光，这体现在天井的建造上。天井让阳光能够进入室内。
“徽商认为水象征财富。下雨天雨水落在斜坡屋顶上很快流入天井，这意味着天降横财。”章望南说。
徽州以石雕、木雕和砖雕而闻名，这些都被广泛应用于徽州古民居的装饰。“人们在他们房子的梁柱、窗框上刻上吉祥的图案以及历史故事，从而把他们自己的审美价值和情感融入建筑中，让建筑更加美观，也起到教化子女的作用。”章望南说。
徽州古民居的特点也正体现了徽州人的特点。“从外面看来，徽州古民居简朴，被高墙环绕，但内里却开放宽阔，并有着复杂的装饰。这就像徽州人的性格特质。他们对陌生人较为内敛，但深交会发现他们其实非常友好。”章望南说。
他还表示，明代的民居和清代的有很多方面的不同，比如明代民居马头墙相对较少，雕刻装饰相对简单。明代民居以黄山市呈坎村的建筑为代表，而西递和宏村的古民居则是清代民居中的典型。
古民居、牌坊和祠堂（各宗族聚集在一起祭祀先祖的地方）被认为是徽派古建筑三绝。这三种建筑风格各异，起到不同的作用。
章望南说，由于徽州古村是由父系血缘关系为纽带而形成的宗族社会，祠堂曾经是公共生活的中心，宗族在这里聚集讨论重要事项。
当年的很多祠堂已经作为旅游景点或者展览馆对公众开放。有些是规模宏大的建筑，雕刻精美，也有些规模较小却十分优雅。“它们都有很高的艺术价值，是古人留给我们的财富。”章望南说。
歙县曾经是徽州的行政中心，许多官员居住于此。这里仍然保留着许多古牌坊，讲述着许许多多过去充满光辉的故事。
“在古代，牌坊往往被用来表彰人们的优秀品质，就像今天的获奖证书，赞美榜样人物。它们见证了徽州人的奋斗，展现了他们积极的生活态度和努力追求美好生活的精神。”周虎，歙县文物事务中心副主任如是说。
章望南表示：“民居是人们的私人空间，祠堂是村民和宗族的公共空间，牌坊则表彰个人的品德和贡献。它们和古桥梁、古园林一起，组成了博大精深的徽派建筑遗产。”
民间传统
回到西递以后，黄煜重新装修了他家的民宿。他表示旅游业的发展有助于保护古村落，使之焕发新的生机。
“我们的房子大多是木质机构加上砖与瓦，它是需要很多维护的。一旦房子空了瓦松动了没有及时加固，房子就会漏水，里面的木质结构浸水就会烂。因此，留人住在里面维护好它们是非常重要的。”
随着旅游业的发展，很多人回到了家乡。“如果当地人都去外地打工，那么古村落往往会没落。为了更好地保护它们，我们应该鼓励村民留下来，继续为当地做贡献。这样游客能享受更好的服务，当地人在家就能挣钱。”黄煜说。
一些民间习俗，比如西递村的夜晚打更和歙县许村的舞大刀流传下来，服务于旅游业，让人一瞥古代徽州人的生活面貌。
“这些习俗面向游客展示，也作为传统文化得以复兴和传承。这是非物质文化遗产和物质文化遗产的结合。”章望南表示。
他进一步建议徽州古村落探索寻找自己独特的主题，适应市场需求。“每个古村落应该找到当地的主要特色，比如茶叶、菊花、油菜花，作为自己村的主题。这样他们可以充分发挥每个村落独特的文化魅力。”
（王恺昊和朱立新对此文亦有贡献）
