An old street with a story

just after the grain in the ear, I gradually felt the coming of the hot summer. Taking advantage of the fine weather, I decided to visit "Ancient Culture Street " , one of the ten scenic spots in Tianjin. This is an old street that can satisfy eating, drinking and having fun, and at the same time feel the history and culture. It is also a childhood paradise for those of us after 80 .

The whole street of Ancient Culture Street is full of Tianjin flavor, gathering many time-honored brands and folk craftsmen, and retaining many centuries-old landscapes and objects. Most of the shop courtyards are distinctive Ming and Qing architectural styles. The green bricks, green tiles and red walls set off the various shops on the street, as if you have completed a crossing when you step into this street.

In the past few years, I have always bought something with Tianjin cultural characteristics for friends from other places, such as clay figurines, New Year pictures, paper cuts, snuff bottles, kites, etc., because I think this is the best embodiment of Chinese style. Walking on the ancient culture street, you can better realize this.

There is never a shortage of artists and craftsmen in the ancient culture street. Noodle kneaders and sugar blowers are children's favorites. The teahouse is a good place to drink tea and listen to crosstalk after 60 or even after 90 . Ma Sanli, a master of contemporary crosstalk art, is a native of Tianjin. Musical instruments, cheongsam, fan, jade, calligraphy and painting ...... is to add a lot of ancient rhyme to this street. Interestingly, because the founder of many time-honored brands is surnamed Zhang, the name of the store will also have a "" character, such as nut sheet, skin sugar sheet, clay figure sheet and collapse bean sheet. Similarly, there are kite Wei and carved brick Liu, whose source is clear at a glance on the signboard.

The most important thing in the old street is all kinds of snacks. Of course, the least important thing is Tianjin Sanjue - Goubuli steamed buns, shiba street twist and ear-eye fried cakes. There are also many kinds of snacks such as tea soup and cooked pear cakes. When I was a child, what I looked forward to most was to come to this old street to eat a bowl of steaming tea soup. Now, a mouthful of sweet tea soup can evoke full childhood memories.

Every time I come to Ancient Culture Street, there is one place I must go, and that is "Heavenly Palace " .

Tianhou Palace is located in the middle of the ancient culture street, a famous subject in Tianjin. Because the palace is dedicated to Queen of Heaven, that is, Mazu, it is also called "Niang Palace " . Tianhougong was built in Yuan Dynasty 1326 . The most recent major renovation was in 2012 . It is one of the earliest existing Mazu temples in China. Tianhougong is a historical witness to the formation and development of Tianjin city, so it is known as "has Tianhougong first, Tianjin Wei " .

Mazu belief originated from Meizhou Island in Putian, Fujian Province, as the patron saint of fishermen at sea. The queen's mother, surnamed Lin Mingmo, is a fisherman's woman in Putian County, Fujian Province. She has excellent water quality. Whenever there is a shipwreck, she will always sail to the sea to rescue the victims. She is also proficient in medicine and tries her best to apply medicine to help the villagers when the plague occurs. Unfortunately, Lin Mo only lived to be 27 years old. The people remembered her kindness and respected her as a goddess. Because she repeatedly appeared to save the people from the disaster, the court in the Song Dynasty named her "Mrs. Shunji " , the Yuan Dynasty named her "Tianfei " , and the Qing Dynasty named her "Days Later " , which is also the origin of the name "Tianhou Palace " .

Tianjin Tianhau Palace is one of the three major Mazu temples in the world. The other two are Mazu Temple on Meizhou Island in Putian and Chaotiangong Palace in Beigang, Taiwan. Lunar calendar 3 February 23 is the birthday of Mazu in the day of heaven, and it is also commonly known as "little year " . every year on this day, the temple of heaven will hold "emperor's meeting " , with folk performances such as stilts, dragon lanterns, dry boats and lion dances. this is also an important celebration of the temple of the temple of heaven. Praying to the queen of heaven is mainly to seek peace, financial resources, heirs, and relief from illness. In Tianjin, the folk customs related to Empress Tin Hau are not only on the day of the little year, but also on the first month of the lunar calendar, there will be "tied doll ", "Xie grandma ", "padlock " , etc. Therefore, Empress Tin Hau has also become the protector of the old Tianjin people who bless all sides and respond to all their needs.

Tianhou Palace is divided into front hall, main hall, Fengwei Hall, sutra depository, 7 partial hall and Tianjin Folk Museum, with more than 120 gods. Entering the palace gate, the first thing you see is the former temple protector Wang Lingguan and the four donkey kong. Go through the front hall and you'll see the main hall. In front of the main hall is a half-person-high iron incense burner, where believers burn incense. In the past two years, the ritual of burning incense and praying in temples in Tianjin has been gradually abolished and replaced by silk flowers and incense offerings. The moment you step into the palace gate, even those who do not understand the temple culture will be in awe. The stone lions and beasts in front of each palace are the guardians of justice and the mascots of dispelling disasters and protecting blessings. In the middle of the main hall is a statue of the Virgin of the Queen, kind-looking, and well-groomed under the protection of the maid in colorful clothes.

No matter how rapid changes in the era of science and technology, China's history and culture handed down for thousands of years will never disappear. Affected by the novel coronavirus epidemic this year, great changes have taken place in the lives of 14 .6 billion people in the 115 of the country since Wuhan was announced to be closed on January 1 and December 23 . I wish our motherland peace and security is the wish of everyone. The hardships we have endured will eventually become history, and the great bodies who have silently paid and sacrificed for it will always be remembered in the hearts of the people. I am proud of my motherland. The history of the people of the whole country in fighting the epidemic is like this old street. It cannot be extinguished and will not be forgotten. (Mu Ruixin)