Real Peach Blossom Spring: An Unspoiled Miao Village in the Deep Guizhou Mountains
I've forgotten the name of this Miao village, it's quite complicated. I just remember it's located at the foot of Mount Lei Gong in the deep recesses of the, about 3 hours drive from the West River Thousand Households Miao Village.
Originally, I came here because of her original ecology, and here there are genuine Miao ethnic minority intangible cultural heritage. Some old Miao people. Their traditional crafts have been learned by few young people, and once they are gone, some cultural heritage may be lost forever.
Even before arriving, you can see a gnarled ancient tree emerging from an old wooden house. The quiet village is nestled in a green forest, gray-tiled Miao houses surround a small pond, arranged in a picturesque manner.
The village is small, you can walk through it in about forty-five minutes. But there are still scattered dwellings located in nearby valleys, separated from the village.
The car can only be parked on the side of the road, houses built on the slopes and valleys, the way to the village is a narrow, paved stone road. On one side, the stone steps are covered in moss, on the other side, a winding path passes through the pond and rice fields. The pond is covered with green lily pads, the rice seedlings are neatly arranged.
As you climb up the steps, the rock walls, besides moss, also have wildflowers growing on them. What's most unforgettable is the smell of cow dung, which hits your nostrils. This is not a tourist attraction, it's a very natural village, it seemsRegardless of how much time passes, the villagers still live their lives as they do.
Several elderly people wearing clothes were sitting on stones chatting, they probably have long been accustomed to this smell. Seeing us outsiders, they smiled kindly at us and spoke in words I didn't understand.
We were going to visit here a 'non-heritage' inheritor, specializing in crafting Miao silver jewelry. The National People's Bank hired him as a consultant to create Miao jewelry, and he gives him a subsidy every year. But he hasn't received any apprentices, he said his skills are about to be lost.
He was telling the truth. We walked around, and besides a few old people and two children, we only saw a stray white dog, two vigilant white geese, and a flock of chickens foraging.
The village is very quiet, only the sound of nature's breathing, it seems that this place has been forgotten by the outside world.
Standing by the village entrance for a long time, I realized that a large red flower-adorned elder was standing gracefully over the rice straw bundles in the field, exuding composure and elegance.
It seems as if they were waiting for us, the village suddenly came to life.
Several people wearing ethnic costumes or with headscarves and flower adornments walked through the narrow rice paddies. Then, two children seemed to be chasing the white dog and playing. Then, a woman carrying a bamboo basket of rice appeared, walking through the rice field...
The more I looked, the more strange I felt. How familiar this picture is!
These people and scenery are actually happening before my eyes, not arranged by anyone. My mind immediately thought of this passage:
A courtyard, with fertile fields and ponds with bamboo and mulberry trees. Roads intersect, chickens and dogs are heard. Among them, there are exchanges of crops, men and women are dressed similarly to outsiders. Gray hair hangs down, and they enjoy their own leisure.
Is this not a match? Besides the need to enter without a 'boat', we 'enter by car', which is slightly different, isn't this just what Tao Yuanming wrote about – 'Peach Blossom Spring'?
Courtyard, rice field, beautiful pond, bamboo and mulberry trees, intersecting roads, chickens and dogs, it doesn't need to be said. Unlike outsiders, there are different clothes and people chatting at the village entrance, and children playing and chasing dogs – how can it not be a real 'Peach Blossom Spring'?
In the yard, the persimmon tree is full of fruit, no one picks it. Under the hill, the pavilion listens to the sound of wind and rain.
From afar, a family of three appeared in festive attire, the little girl and her mother seemed to be going to attend a celebration, their silver jewelry glittered in the sunlight, making a tinkling sound...
If it weren't for the villagers to kill chickens for guests, I would have almost doubted that I had gone to the wrong place, and arrived in another world.
