Huimin Weishi Manor is the only remaining castle-like building complex in the Qing Dynasty in northern China.
This is a miracle that started in Huo Ran, Lubei Plain.
The blue tiles of the blue brick house constitute a mysterious historical palace.
Depart from Jinan, drive along the northeast of National Highway 220 100 kilometers, and arrive at Wiki in Huimin County. Not far from the national highway, the place that is about to reach the Yellow River Dam is the mysterious Weishi Manor. This is the only remaining castle-like building complex in the Qing Dynasty in northern China. The blue tiles of the blue brick house constitute a mysterious historical palace.
Representatives of Shandong businessmen in the Qing Dynasty for a hundred years
The ancestor of the Wei family is Wei Zixian, a farmer in Zaoqiang County, Hebei Province. Ming Hongwu moved to Yong 'an Town, Shandong Prefecture, which is now Wiki Village, Huimin County. Later generations gradually became rich and reached the peak of the family in the tenth century. It is said that the Wei family had been mainly farming until V. By the time of Changzhi V, many people were officials. By the 11th century, in addition to many students born in cities and counties, 24 were students, more than 20 had official positions, and 13 above the fifth grade, the highest from the second class, were married to 23 bureaucrats.
The Wei family broke out in wealth a little later than in politics. Wei, who was born in the Imperial College and later served as the secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, started to do business at the behest of his father, and shifted his business focus from "Tao Zhu" and groceries to some emerging profiteering industries such as banking, salt and pawn shops. Its "Xiehe" firm has semicolons in Huimin and Putai County (now the resident of Bincheng District, Binzhou City). In addition, a wharf was built on the bank of the Yellow River in the south of the village, and more than a dozen ships were purchased, and the land transportation was changed to safe and fast water transportation, which greatly accelerated the entry and exit of goods and seized the opportunity in one fell swoop. We have established stable business relations with merchants in Tianjin, Dalian, Lianyungang, Jinan and other places, and also have business cooperation with Jinshang Qianzhuang. From this point of view, as the representative of Shandong merchants in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, the wealth accumulation mode of Wei family was no different from that of Zhejiang merchants, Shanxi merchants and Beijing merchants at that time.
As for Wei Zhaoqing, the most important figure in the history of Wei family, what we know is that he was born in 1853 and is the great-grandson of Tang. Donating silver 1000 as a salary during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 was honored as a tongzhi title, with five titles, and the rest were unknown. However, it can be inferred that Tongzhi served as a magistrate or magistrate in the Qing Dynasty, and was in charge of official duties such as grain supervision, arrest or water conservancy. This is an official position that combines judicial, administrative and some local policy-making powers, and it is a very affordable and profitable job. It can be said that Wei Zhaoqing is a typical official and businessman. All successful businessmen in the feudal history of China either had deep official background or were simply officials.
At this time, the camp of Wei Zhaoqing's family seems to be no different from his ancestors except for its expanded scale. His family set up banks, salt shops and pawn shops in Beijing, Tianjin and other cities, and participated in cloth shops and textile mills in Jinan and other places. At that time, salt was collected for official sale. With its special status, the Wei family not only obtained the right to sell salt, but even opened a salt shop in Huimin area, and the sales of salt accounted for half of the total sales in the county.
The "eschatology" of manor owners
Wei's manor consists of three groups of buildings. The oldest Fushoutang was built by Wei Zhenchang, the fifth son of Wei and the richest man at that time, in Tongzhi four years, namely 1865. There are 70 rooms, covering an area of more than 4 acres. Qianyitang was built by Wei Yu, the tenth generation member of Wei family, in the 18th year of Guangxu (1892). There are more than 80 original houses, covering an area of nearly 5 mu. It should be said that these two houses were among the best in Huimin county at that time and even in the north of the Yellow River, but compared with Shudetang, they can only be regarded as one or two scenic spots.
Shudetang is the residence of Wei Zhaoqing, the tenth family of Wei, located in the southeast of the village. Shudetang was founded in 1890 and lasted for 3 years. The whole building complex includes city walls, houses, ponds, squares, ancestral halls, gardens and more than 40 houses/kloc-0, covering an area of more than 50 mu. The building adopts traditional masonry and wood-soil mixed materials, which integrates the functions of ancient defensive city walls and Beijing quadrangles. The inner courtyard is also the style of traditional houses in the north and attic-style buildings in the south. It is a miracle from the Lubei Plain and the imagination of the Wei family.
It is said that for the design of Shudetang, Wei Zhaoqing visited the official residences in Lubei and Jiaodong, and was dissatisfied, so he went to Beijing for a visit. Wei Zhaoqing himself went to imperial academy in Beijing when he was young. He was deeply impressed by the style of royal architecture and the significance of Beijing residential architecture, and injected his early dreams. Wei Zhaoqing's biological father and stepfather are both officials in Beijing. With his relationship, it is not difficult to find a court designer. The designer said, "It's easy to design me, but I'm afraid you have no money to build it." Wei Zhaoqing smiled and said, "I just don't want money." Finally, it is said that Wei Zhaoqing's silver consumption in establishing Deshutang is 65,438+2 million. The author checked that 1890, which was built in Shudetang, was exactly one thirteenth of the annual military expenditure of the whole Beiyang Navy in Qing Dynasty.
What kind of manor is this expensive manor? Many years later, the so-called "defense function" impressed the descendants who came here the most: the foundation of the whole manor was raised by one foot by the excavated soil, making Shudetang a high platform on the plain, which is said to prevent the Yellow River from flooding. The whole manor is surrounded by a circle of walls several feet high, with tunnels and castles on the walls and watchtowers at the four corners. Yards and houses are full of armories, soldiers' dormitories, darkrooms, back channels and defensive suspension bridges, which are said to be used to deal with bandits.
It is difficult for later generations to understand the morbid wariness of the manor owner, but it is very natural for Wei Zhaoqing who lived in that special turbulent era. Before Wei Zhaoqing was born 185 1 year, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Nian Army in Henan began to rebel. 1868, when Wei Zhaoqing 15 years old, the nian army fought for the benefit of the people, and the Wei family once donated green locusts to build dikes. Since then, Japanese dramas have been in social turmoil, and bandits have been rampant in Lubei area at the junction of Shandong and Hebei provinces, and incidents of robbing the rich have occurred frequently. Two years before the manor was built, that is, 1888, a "giant thief" once entered the Wei family at night, leaving a lingering fear in the hearts of the Wei clan. Moreover, due to the decline of the government, the Yellow River Dam has been in disrepair for a long time. In the five years before the construction of Shudetang, the lower reaches of the Yellow River burst three times, and the latest breach, Liuwangzhuang, was only 60 miles away from Wiki Village. Wei Zhaoqing dreamed that the Yellow River burst and turned his accumulated property into Shui Piao.
Castle can't resist the decline of a family.
Wei Zhaoqing finally failed to keep his family business.
The following spring, when Xiu De Hall was completed, Wei Zhaoqing chose an auspicious day and moved to a new house with his wife, two sons and two daughters. Wei Zhaoqing himself is a chronic illness, and he can't be cured for a long time. Eight years later, in the 20th year of Guangxu (1902), Wei Zhaoqing, 49, died of rheumatism. It is said that Wei Zhaoqing has always adhered to the monogamous family style and never took concubines. His wife gave birth to two sons and two daughters. Eldest son Wei? I worked as a cabinet secretary in Beijing, doing some secretarial work, and then I left my job and went back to my hometown to manage the family. But Wei, who was born as a juren? Obviously lacking his father's business ability and interest, shops all over the country let their own people and relatives operate independently, and each shop lost money year after year and closed down one after another. Pucheng pawnshop was destroyed by fire, and the savings at home were not even enough to repay the debts of the pawn. There is another saying, Wei? He married five wives and smoked opium, and the decline of Wei's Concord began with him.
Wei, who is unhappy? After his death, he left two sons. The boss once joined the Kuomintang army to fight against the Japanese aggressors and sold his property to buy military uniform weapons. Unfortunately, the whereabouts are unknown and there is no future. The second child remarried with his mother when he was young. Wei Zhaoqing's second son, Wei Jie, died young without a queen.
Wei Zhaoqing's daughter is born beautiful and aloof. She never found a suitable husband, but she became an old maid and died of depression at the age of 38. Nowadays, tourists can easily find my little daughter's boudoir in the deep courtyard, and they can also find the toilet wall built by Wei Zhaoqing for her beloved daughter. The quiet sunset on the wooden window sill of this high wall and deep courtyard brings endless sighs to tourists.
Although Wei Zhaoqing's castle was not attacked by bandits or submerged by the Yellow River, it could not resist the decline of a family. When a dynasty is about to die, its courtiers naturally disappear from the political stage of society.