Baodi Ancient Village

Baodi Ancient Village

A Millennium-Old Village Hidden in the Deep Mountains — Baodi

Baodi is a natural village in Wenjiao Township, Qingliu County. At its peak, Baodi was home to over 300 households and more than 1,000 residents. Today, the population is around 200. Most residents bear the surname Li, descendants of the 70th-generation ancestor Sishidalianggong. On the 13th day of the eighth lunar month in the second year of Tianyou (905) during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang, Sishidalianggong was born in Huangli Village, Yong’an. In 934, he came to Chen Village near Baodi in Qingliu to teach. In the second year of Tianfu (937) during the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Jin, he moved to the home of the widowed daughter-in-law Chen Zhuan’nian at Yongfu Bridge, Twelve Sons’ House in Baodi, where he became her son-in-law by marriage. He also brought his relative Sanliugong to live with them. Sishidalianggong and Chen Zhuan’nian had three sons named Jingrong, Jingshou, and Jinge. Chen Zhuan’nian passed away at the age of 49 on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month in the year Xinyou (961) and was buried at Dapingtou in Dahuhu, facing the You (west) mountain and Mao (east) direction. Sishidalianggong died on the 21st day of the fifth lunar month in the first year of Qiande (963) during the reign of Emperor Taizu of Song and was buried at Chaigeng Mountain in Dahuhu, facing the Jia (armor) direction. The eldest of the 71st generation, Jingrong, was born in the third year of Tianfu (938). After growing up, he went to Wudi, where he had a son named Wu Yilang. Later, Li Jingrong moved to the Li family in Qingliu, where he had two sons, Siyi and Sier. The 71st-generation Jingshou was born in the fifth year of Tianfu (940). He had two sons, Axiao and A’xin (Zhang), and traveled between his two sons in Baodi, Qingliu, and Xiawei, Mingxi. The 71st-generation Jinge, the youngest, became the son-in-law of Zhang Wujiumalang’s family in Gusha County, Linghou Cave. His wife was Zhang Sinian, and they had four sons. After his passing, he was buried in Jianzhukuo. The eldest of the 72nd generation, Axiao, lived in Baodi and had five sons: Xiaoyi and Xia’er went to Dahuhu in Yong’an, Xiaosi and Xia’qi went to Mingxi, and Xiaosan remained in Baodi. The 72nd-generation A’xin (Zhang) has an unknown whereabouts. Descendants of the Li family from Baodi have spread to Dahuhu, Wudi, Lijia, Mingxi, Qingliu, Songxi, Linshe, and Linghou Cave. There are also descendants in Hutou and those of Li Meng, which await confirmation. Many descendants of Baodi who ventured out achieved success. The *Qingliu Daoguang County Annals* recorded that in Baodi: Li Mengchun served as Tongpan of Wuzhou Prefecture and was promoted to Changshi of Huaifu Prefecture, a sixth-rank official. Li Zhuo, a Confucian student of the county, was posthumously awarded the title of Vice Commissioner of Zhejiang Education Commission. Li Jian, through his son Yu Jian, was honored as Zhejiang Education Councillor. Li Hua, a Confucian student of the county, was posthumously awarded the title of Vice Commissioner of Zhejiang Education Inspectorate. Li Yu Jian passed the imperial examination in the year Xinyou of the Chongzhen era, initially serving as a judicial officer in Bingzhou. He was later promoted to Langzhong of the Ministry of Personnel in Nanjing, then appointed as Salt Administration Commissioner in Huguang, and again as Vice Commissioner of Zhejiang Education Commission, a fourth-rank official. Li Yucheng, recommended as a Taixue student, was awarded the position of Xiancheng, an eighth-rank official. Li Yu Jie was of noble character. Li Yan was recommended and appointed as the Chief Clerk of the Bureau of Military Affairs in the Ministry of War, later promoted to Youwailang. Li Ting, a Confucian student of the county, was well-known, with the county annals containing his biography. Li Jiefu, the virtuous wife of Li Ting, was born upright and kind, well-versed in classics and history. As for the *Genealogy of the Li Clan* published by the World Li Clan Association in Taiwan, it records that Li Gang’s grandfather was Jingshou of Baodi, and even the location of the tomb at Song (Wall) Forest Mountain matches; in the preface written by Li Yu Jian, the Ming dynasty Xinyou Imperial Examination scholar and Vice Commissioner of Zhejiang Education Commission, in the fifth year of Chongzhen (1632), he mentioned being of the same clan as the then-obscure Li clan of Hutou, Quanzhou; Li Guangdi’s nephew, Li Tianchong, who passed the imperial examination in the 54th year of Kangxi (1715) and served as a tribute in the Wuying Hall and as the Chief Examiner for the Shaanxi Provincial Examination in 1732, also referred to Sishigong as his ancestor in the *Record of the Reconstruction of Jiangwang Shrine* in the second year of Qianlong (1737). In 2004, I found an ox-bell at the home of Li Shengfu in Baodi. Seeing that it was old, I examined it closely and discovered it was a large bell from the Yuan dynasty. This iron bell from the first year of Zhi Zheng (1341) of the Yuan dynasty bears the inscription: “May the late fathers Li Meng and Silang ascend to heaven early, and bless all with peace and safety — first year of Zhi Zheng.” Is this Li Meng the same as Li Meng, grandfather of Huode? Since thorough investigation has not yet been conducted, these remain to be verified.

The ancestral temple of the Li clan in Baodi is located in a small valley at the foot of San Gongzhai Mountain, facing Qian (north) and overlooking Xun (southeast). Feng shui masters describe it as having a “child sitting in a basket” formation, suggesting that for a child to thrive, they must leave the cradle — hence, the prosperity of descendants who venture far from home. The Li ancestral temple was originally built during the Song dynasty, though the exact date is unknown. The original site spanned over 1,000 square meters, but today the temple covers only about 200 square meters. Originally, there was a row of stables on the right side of the temple, as many visitors arrived on horseback. Water flows out from the pond at the right corner of the temple. In the past, there was a roofed bridge over the pond, serving as a water outlet. The temple was rebuilt in the 1990s in a relatively simple style. On the main hall’s altar, spirit tablets of Siliu, Sishidalianggong, Jingrong, Jingshou, Jinge, Axiao, and A’xin (Zhang) are enshrined. The temple has a management committee, with Director Li Shengfu and members: Cigeng, Mubao, Cilin, Jinwang, Cifan, Mingqing, Jinsheng, and Chaozhong. The temple is not within the village and once invited monks to reside there, commonly referred to as “Baodi Hermitage.” In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, a monk came to the hermitage. Li Qixian from Wudi greatly admired him and became his disciple. Before his passing, the monk told Qixian that there were six jars, each containing 18 dan (a unit of weight) of silver dollars buried underground behind the hermitage. After his nirvana, the silver was to be used to build a sea meeting pagoda for him. He also said the silver had been discarded by bandits passing through. In the year Bingwu of Yongzheng (1726), Li Qixian built a wooden pagoda at the Shuikou in Wudi. In the year Renshu of Qianlong (1742), his son replaced the wooden pagoda with a stone one. This is the only well-preserved Qing dynasty stone pagoda in Qingliu.

After the deaths of Jingshou and his wife, they were initially buried in Mingxi but were later relocated back to Baodi and interred at Song (Wall) Forest Mountain in Baodi. The joint tomb of Jingshou, Axiao, their wives, and mother-in-law faces Shen (southwest) and Yin (northeast), forming a tiger-shaped formation known as “returning dragon guarding ancestors.” It is now listed as a cross-strait cultural relic. One afternoon in April 1969, around 3 or 4 PM, while people were digging the fields in preparation for planting taro, they suddenly heard strains of music played on wind and string instruments. The sound came from a small gully beside Jingshou’s tomb. Since there was a path leading to Shuiluping from there — about ten li away, where the Yanjiang Engineering Team was building a road — everyone assumed it was the Mao Zedong Thought Propaganda Team from the engineering team coming to perform in the village and didn’t take it too seriously. But when no one appeared after a long time, curious youths went to investigate. The music continued to drift from the gully, yet no one was in sight. This went on for some time. According to elders, a similar incident had occurred in Baodi before when puppets stopped moving after a spirit-invocation ritual. Following custom, the puppet troupe leader held a funeral for the puppets, burying the entire troupe in the gully to the right of Li Jingshou’s tomb — the same gully from which the music was emanating. Is there a connection between the music and the puppets?

Compiled by Zhang Shuifan, former educated youth of Baodi

Photo: Zhang Shuifan