A Journey to Shi Liudeng's Hometown
Shi Liudeng was one of the initiators of the Miao People's Uprising during the Qianjia period. His hometown is now Dazhaiying Village, Changxingbao Town, Songtao County, Guizhou Province. After touring Yayou in Huayuan, Xiangxi, I, together with photographer Zhong Yifu and his wife, arrived on the evening of the ninth day of the fourth lunar month in 2007 at a hotel in Changxingbao Town, Songtao County, to stay overnight. After breakfast the next day, we drove about 4 kilometers further and reached a place called Jiulong. Near the center of the street here stands a…
Shi Liudeng was one of the initiators of the Miao People's Uprising during the Qianjia period. His hometown is now Dazhaiying Village, Changxingbao Town, Songtao County, Guizhou Province.
After touring Yayou in Huayuan, Xiangxi, I, together with photographer Zhong Yifu and his wife, arrived on the evening of the ninth day of the fourth lunar month in 2007 at a hotel in Changxingbao Town, Songtao County, to stay overnight. After breakfast the next day, we drove about 4 kilometers further and reached a place called Jiulong. Near the center of the street here stands a stone tablet over 3 meters high, inscribed with the large characters "Shi Liudeng Uprising Site." We took photos in front of the tablet. I estimate that Jiulong is the place recorded in historical materials as Shi Liudeng's hometown, "Datangxun," but when I asked several villagers here, they all shook their heads, saying they did not know the name "Datangxun." However, everyone here clearly knew that Shi Liudeng's former residence was in Dazhaiying, only two kilometers from Jiulong. We then drove about two li toward Changxingbao, turned off at a mountain ridge, and continued on a simple road for over a kilometer until we reached the side of a densely wooded mountain. A large area of wooden houses appeared, and a man in his forties came to our car. After talking, we learned that this was Dazhaiying. The man's name was Shi Bangzhen, a descendant of Shi Liudeng, and he was currently serving as the village Party secretary and village committee director. Led by him, we first looked at the site of Shi Liudeng's former residence. There is now a family living at the site, but this old house is not Shi Liudeng's original wooden house. It is said that Shi Liudeng's old house was much more imposing than this small wooden house, but it was later destroyed by Qing troops. From this house site, not far up, we also visited the top of Mount E'li, the highest point in Dazhaiying. Although Mount E'li is not high from the village, the other side of the summit is all cliffs, several hundred meters deep. Looking into the distance from the summit, a few li away there is a large village called Baomuying, and nearby there is also a large village inhabited by Han people, both with relatively many households. Over 200 years ago, Shi Liudeng first raised the banner of uprising in this village, opening the prelude to the Miao People's Uprising during the Qianjia period that shook the imperial court at the time. I asked the village Party secretary, since Shi Liudeng's uprising should have been in Dazhaiying, why was the commemorative stone tablet erected at Jiulong? Shi Bangzhen replied: "When the tablet was first erected, Dazhaiying had no road access, and the tablet could not be transported in, so it was placed beside the Jiulong road."
Standing on the top of Mount E'li, Shi Bangzhen also pointed to a distant peak and said: "That distant mountain is Minle in Huayuan, Hunan. Going up is the direction of La'ershan, and it is only a little over a day's journey from Yayou Huanggua Village." Shi Liudeng often went to La'ershan to contact Shi Sanbao and others; their uprisings were all coordinated in advance before being launched simultaneously. Shi Liudeng once mobilized tens of thousands of Miao people in the Songtao and Xiushan areas to rise up, and besieged Zhengda, Xionao, Songtao Hall, and other places for several months, annihilating many Qing soldiers. Later, Fukang'an led a large army to suppress them, and after more than a month of fierce fighting, the Miao army was defeated. Shi Liudeng led the remnants to retreat to Yongshui, first fighting Qing soldiers alongside Shi Sanbao, and later continuing the struggle with Wu Bayue and Wu Tingyi. They fought for nearly three years, until the Qing soldiers broke through Pinglong, and Shi Liudeng was killed by a bullet in a battle at Guiyupo.
Shi Bangzhen also told us that about three kilometers away there is a tomb of Shi Liudeng, which is probably his cenotaph. Because it was relatively far, we did not go to see it.
After touring Dazhaiying, I felt that the village scenery was very beautiful, the houses in the village were relatively neat, and every household's front door was clean. Among the several Miao villages we visited, this one left the best impression. The village Party secretary also seemed very capable. He told us that the county also attaches great importance to this village and estimated that it would soon be developed into a cultural tourism site. By then, Dazhaiying's appearance will surely undergo even greater changes.