【雲上嶺南】Huizhou: The ancient wells are scattered throughout the streets and these cultural relics express homesickness
惠州:古井星羅棋佈,遺迹寄託鄉愁
Walking on the ancient streets in Huizhou, we can always find some old wells with unique and different shapes. In the past, people used to live by the wells and would share a well with their neighbors. In the traditional agricultural-based society, apart from providing water for daily life, wells adopted various cultural features, becoming a symbol of belief for people to pray to for the harvest and good weather. With the advance of modern society, although a large number of wells do not provide water any more, they have started to become objects synonymous with 「home」 and a carrier of the homesickness felt by many, recording the memories of those who have lived alongside them.
穿行在惠州的古街老巷中,總能看到形制各異的古井。古代人聚井而居,共井為鄰,在特定的農耕歷史背景下,井的文化外延甚至逐漸突破最初的汲水功能,成為百姓寄託願景、祈求風調雨順的信仰載體。隨著時代的發展變遷,如今不少古井的飲用功能正在逐漸褪去,演變為百姓心中故鄉的標誌,成為鄉愁的載體。