The Lonely Lao Si Cheng
From Yongshun county town to Lao Si Cheng, the road wound through high mountains and steep ridges, then turned into a narrow valley. About an hour later, the car reached a river, and Lao Si Cheng lay right before our eyes. The river is called Shi River, also known as Lingxi, its water clear and emerald green, with pools over a zhang deep. Along the river are cliffs, ancient trees, and a small wooden bridge about two or three zhang long. Crossing the bridge and walking a hundred or so steps brings you to Lao Si Cheng, nestled against the mountain on the opposite bank. Though called a city, it is actually just a few dozen...
From Yongshun county town to Lao Si Cheng, the road wound through high mountains and steep ridges, then turned into a narrow valley. About an hour later, the car reached a river, and Lao Si Cheng lay right before our eyes. The river is called Shi River, also known as Lingxi, its water clear and emerald green, with pools over a zhang deep. Along the river are cliffs, ancient trees, and a small wooden bridge about two or three zhang long. Crossing the bridge and walking a hundred or so steps brings you to Lao Si Cheng, nestled against the mountain on the opposite bank. Though called a city, it is actually just a few dozen farming households. The town has only a few narrow streets. Pedestrians are rarely seen, and everything seems desolate and lonely. The prosperity of the ancient Tusi city is long gone; only some ruins remain visible: abandoned city walls, magnificent ancestral temples, tall palace wooden buildings, a lone stone memorial archway, stone horse statues, and the cobblestone streets beneath our feet paved with various patterns. These relics seem to still bear witness to the glory this Tusi city once had. What caused this ancient Tusi seat of government—which since the Southern Song dynasty had held sway over the borders of Xiang, Qian, E, and Chuan, governing 6 si, 58 qi, and 380 dong—to suddenly lose its prosperity two hundred years ago and become so desolate and lonely?
After the Yuan dynasty, the Tusi of Xiangxi could roughly be divided into four major ones: Yongshun, Baojing, Sangzhi, and Dayong Maogang. Among them, the Yongshun Tusi lasted the longest. The Yongshun and Baojing Tusi were both descendants of Peng Shichou. Peng Shichou's father, Peng Cheng, was originally an official from Jiangxi. During the Kaiping era of the Later Liang, Peng led troops to Xizhou (present-day Huixiping area of Yongshun) and eliminated the local chieftain Wu Zhuchong, becoming the overlord of the region. After the Battle of Xizhou, Peng Shichou's eldest son, Peng Shiyu, took control of Xizhou and became the ancestor of the Yongshun Tusi, while his second son, Peng Shigao, became the ancestor of the Baojing Tusi. The Yongshun Tusi passed down through generations, and by the Southern Song (around 1135), the Tusi lord Peng Fushi moved the seat of government from Huixiping in Lower Xizhou to Lao Si Cheng by Lingxi. For the following 600 years, the Yongshun Tusi administrative office remained at Lao Si Cheng. Over more than ten generations of Tusi succession, the rule of “father to son, and if the son has no legitimate brother, then to the next” was basically maintained. Only in a few cases did special changes occur.
Among the Yongshun Tusi, there were quite a few capable lords over the generations. Many Tusi lords were conscripted by the imperial court and won great military merits in campaigns to suppress rebellions in all directions. Some were appointed by the court as zongbing or generals, and some as buzhengshi, taizi taibao, or even first- and second-rank officials. The rewards given by emperors of successive dynasties were also numerous, most commonly gold and silver treasures, flying-fish robes, bright red python robes, qilin robes, and so on. The tribute the Tusi offered the court was even more astonishing, the most common being large timber and horses. There is a record of offering as many as 600 large timbers at one time. The famous palaces built by the Ming and Qing courts probably all used large timber offered by the Yongshun Tusi. From Yongshun to Beijing is thousands of li; just imagine how much manpower and material resources the transport alone would have required. This shows how the Tusi mobilized great numbers of people and wasted resources for tribute.
In the early years of the Yongzheng reign of the Qing dynasty, the minister Ortai, then governor-general of Yunnan, first proposed the policy of “gaitu guiliu” (replacing native chieftains with appointed officials), which was strongly praised by the Yongzheng Emperor. Thereafter, the court used various means—division and disintegration or military coercion—to gradually eliminate the Tusi of the various barbarian regions across the country.
Even before the wave of gaitu guiliu arrived, the internal rule of the Yongshun Tusi was already fraught with crisis. At this time the Tusi lord still held supreme authority over the native people. The people could only obey absolutely; for the slightest disobedience or crimes such as theft or rebellion, the light punishment was cutting off fingers, ears, or hamstrings, while the heavy punishment was beheading or slow slicing. The Tusi lord lived in tall mansions and enjoyed a life of luxury, while the common people could only live in thatched huts—even tile-roofed houses were stipulated as permissible only for high-ranking Tusi officials. Tusi lords were generally licentious; when commoners married, he claimed the right to the bride's first three nights. The last White-Nosed Tusi was extremely licentious and tyrannical. This White-Nosed Tusi probably contracted a venereal disease from his lust, and his nose often hurt; whenever the pain struck, he would kill people. Because he offended too many of the native people, fearing rebellion in the Tusi city, he finally had to move the seat of government to Kesha in the fourth year of Yongzheng. The last Yongshun Tusi lord was actually named Peng Zhaohuai, but was he the White-Nosed Tusi of folk legend? According to historical records, Peng Zhaohuai retired due to illness and voluntarily accepted gaitu guiliu in 1726. The Yongzheng Emperor thereupon granted him the title Tuoshala Hafan, permitted him to return to his original home in Jiangxi, and allowed him to inherit the post of canjiang. Peng Zhaohuai's final end appears relatively honorable, but there is no doubt that the Yongshun Tusi was finally brought to an end in his hands.
More than 200 years have passed, and Lao Si Cheng is now just a small village in Macha Township, Yongshun. The world has changed greatly; the Yongshun Tusi, which lasted over 800 years, has vanished without a trace. Today people's awareness of the cultural relic and scenic value of Lao Si Cheng is constantly increasing. Not long ago, Lao Si Cheng was approved as a national key cultural relic protection area. Various protection measures are being implemented, and the tourist access route into Lao Si Cheng is being built urgently. Before long, the lonely Lao Si Cheng will become lively again.