The Zoumatang Village./走馬塘村。[Photo by Yan Long]嚴龍攝
By Dong Na
The thousand-year-old ancient village of Zoumatang is located in Jiangshan Town, Yinzhou District. It is considered "one of the oldest settlements in Ningbo, where many great scholars were born, surrounded by majestic rivers and hills, and embraced by fertile lands and rivers".
In the village, there are many ancient buildings from the Ming and Qing Dynasties (14^th to early 20^th century). The villagers are simple and honest folk. Throughout the dynasties, 76 scholars from Zoumatang received the Jinshi degree, the highest and final degree in the imperial examination in Imperial China, earning the village the name "home of China's Jinshi ".
千年古村走馬塘位于鄞州區姜山鎮，人稱其為“四明古郡，文獻之邦，有江山之勝，水陸之饒”。村中明清古建筑眾多，民風淳樸。歷朝歷代，這里出過76位進士，被譽為“中國進士第一村”。
Historical records show the village was built in 988 AD during the Duangong Period of the Northern Song Dynasty, when a family surnamed Chen moved to the area from Changzhou, Jiangsu Province. Eight Ming Dynasty buildings and many Qing Dynasty buildings are still standing. There are also three buildings from the early 20^th century, bearing typical signs of Western architectural influence.
據歷史記載，它始建于北宋端拱年間(公元988年)，當年陳氏從江蘇長洲遷此歇腳居住，至今已逾千年。村中明代建筑尚有8處，清代建筑比比皆是，另外三幢民國時期具有西洋痕跡的建筑也極為典型。
What makes Zoumatang Village even more impressive is its stone art, the best of which being the homes' stone lattice windows. Stone lattice windows are rare in China. The stone lattice windows of Zoumatang are not only exquisitely carved, but also rich in symbolism.
走馬塘更令人贊嘆的是它的石頭藝術，其中最著名的就是石雕花窗。以石頭做窗在國內實屬罕見，走馬塘的石花窗不僅雕刻精美，且寓意豐富。
In an old residence near the village's North River, one window's stone latticework form the Chinese characters第一(di yi, "number one"), meant to inspire younger generations to seize the first place; another window's lattice form the characters乾坤(qian kun, "heaven and earth"), serving as a reminder for younger generations to always keep the world in mind and serve the country.
古村的北河老屋上石雕“第一”文字窗，鼓勵后人搶奪第一；“乾坤”文字窗，希望后人胸中有乾坤，時刻不忘報效國家。