Village revels in former glories(2)

Chen Jia is a famous general from the village, who defeated the invading French army coming from Vietnam in the Sino-French War (1883-1885). Chen died from war wounds and was buried in the village at the age of 46 in 1885.

Chen's memorial hall, which is in his former ancestral home, and his statue, stand in the village's small square, the site for important village activities.

The village covers an area of 4,000 square meters and most of its buildings were built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. Most of the buildings, built with mud, gray bricks, wood, and black tiles on solid stone bases, are two-story and have four rooms on the first floor with a big hall in between as a praying site and guest room. The second floor is used as a warehouse to store grain.

Nine fishponds are scattered amid the houses and are connected by canals. The villagers built dozens of waterwheels in and around the villages over the brook and canals to push the mills to grind flour and corn, making it a business for the village. Three waterwheels and mills are still in operation.

Twelve slate lanes divide the residential areas into several parts, each of which is able to defend itself from invaders, with 10 high stone gates built on the lanes as defensive passes.

There are two high walls encircling the village, protecting half the residential area, the other half is protected by the peak.

The outer wall, measuring 6 kilometers, was three meters high and 50 centimeters thick and separated the residential area from the farmland. It was demolished in the "cultural revolution" (1966-76). The inner wall is formed by the gable walls of the houses.

According to the villagers, a squad from the invading Japanese army failed to break into the village after attacking it for four days.

At the outside of the main gate of the inner wall stands a one-meter-high stone pillar, on the four sides of which the village's regulations are carved.

"This is the law of our village since 1810 when the pillar was erected here," says Long Aiting, a 60-year-old villager. "We are united and have lived by the code for generations. It teaches us to be honest, brave, modest and generous."