Jiangyong County 江永县

History

The county was first set up under the Qin and was known in the past as Yongming (永明), a name set up in the Tang. The county government groups its heritage as the "three qian" (三千文化): Qianjiadong (千家峒), which it calls the place of origin and ancestral home of the Yao people; Nushu (女书), the "thousand-year riddle"; and the thousand-year-old village of Shanggantang (上甘棠).

What to see

Nushu is a script once used only by women to write the local dialect. Its use centred on Shangjiangxu (上江圩) and reached neighbouring townships of Dao County. Women wrote prayers in it on paper and fans for the goddess Powang (婆王) at her temple, also called Huashan Temple (花山庙), on the tenth day of the fifth lunar month. Women doing needlework together in one room would listen to Nushu texts being read and sung, and a girl who hoped to become sworn sisters with a friend wrote her a Nushu letter proposing it. Because women had their Nushu burned when they died, very few originals from the Qing or earlier survive. It is on the national intangible heritage list.

Shanggantang (上甘棠) stands where Xiemu County (谢沐县), founded in 111 BC, had its seat for seven hundred years. The Zhou (周) clan settled here in 828 and named the village after the "Gantang" poem of the Book of Songs (诗经). More than 200 Ming and Qing houses remain, along with the Wenchang Pavilion (文昌阁), the Buying Bridge (步瀛桥) and inscriptions at the Yuebei Pavilion (月陂亭). Among the carvings are four large characters, "loyalty, filial piety, integrity, honour" (忠、孝、廉、节), attributed to Wen Tianxiang (文天祥). The village is a national key protected site and a Chinese historic and cultural village.

Food and local products

Jiangyong's "five fragrances" (江永五香) are the fragrant pomelo, taro, ginger, rice and mushroom. The county pomelo (江永香柚) is large, from one to one and a half kilograms, pear- or gourd-shaped with pale yellow skin, and is picked from early to mid November. Besides being eaten fresh, it can be stewed with chicken or made into pomelo wine. The spongy pith is blanched and braised in chicken stock, made into pomelo-peel stuffed tofu, or chopped into dumpling filling.

Highlights

• Shanggantang Village 上甘棠村: Zhou clan village since 828, with more than 200 Ming and Qing houses; a national key protected site.
• Nushu 女书: A women's script of the Shangjiangxu area, on the national intangible heritage list.
• Qianjiadong 千家峒: Called by the county the place of origin and ancestral home of the Yao.
• Jiangyong pomelo 江永香柚: A large pear- or gourd-shaped pomelo picked from early to mid November.