China News Service, Qionghai, September 20 (Reporter Li Mingyang) On the afternoon of the 19th, the overseas Chinese media Hainan Collective Group of "Chasing Dreams of China and Entering the Free Trade Port" came to the Liuke Village in Boao and visited the "No. Cai's house is known as the house.
"Dream of China, Entering the Free Trade Port" Overseas Chinese Media Hainan Caifeng Group visited Cai's house.
Photo courtesy of Hainan Overseas Chinese Federation
Located in the lower reaches of Wanquan River, Liuke Village is a well-known overseas Chinese village. There are 123 households in the village, with more than 1,700 overseas Chinese, distributed in more than 20 countries and regions in the world.
Enter the village along the ancient road, and turn around an old tree in Chongyang with a history of more than 800 years. You can see a tall house with a combination of Chinese and Western green brick walls. This is the Cai family house built in 1934 by the Indonesian overseas Chinese leaders Cai Jiasen brothers.
There are a total of four houses in the Cai family, with similar styles, among which Cai Jiasen’s house is the largest.
Stepping into the door of the house, what you see is the enclosed patio. Looking up, the carved fence on the second floor circles the patio with mottled paintings, witnessing the passage of time.
A carved fence around the patio.
Photo by Li Mingyang
Caijiasen’s house covers an area of more than 600 square meters. It is a mixed structure of brick, tile, wood, cement and steel. The hall has three entrances, two patios, and there are many corridors on both sides. There are kitchens, firewood rooms, toilets, and bathrooms. Pig house etc.
The whole house is exquisitely crafted, from the shell carvings on the roof to the flowers and trees in the patio, all are very delicate and exquisite.
Exquisite carved shells.
Photo by Li Mingyang
The design of the house is also very clever.
The main house, the horizontal house, and the front and rear well courtyards are surrounded by each other. The front and back courtyards in the courtyard are connected by corridors and stairs, extending in all directions.
The tightly connected corridors block wind, light and rain, so the house is refreshing and pleasant all year round, and it is like spring.
If it rains, you can walk around every corner of the house without getting your shoes wet.
In addition, the "safety factor" of Cai's house is also very high.
There are shooting holes hidden in the staircase outside the gate, which can effectively prevent bandits from attacking.
Hidden shooting hole in the stairwell.
Photo by Li Mingyang
In 1886, Cai Jiasen was born in Liuke Village.
His father died young, there are many brothers in the family, and his mother is struggling to survive.
In order to seek a livelihood, the teenage Cai Jiasen set off from the wharf beside the Wanquan River at the village head and ventured into the South China Sea alone. After all the hardships and dangers, he finally arrived in Indonesia.
Cai Jiasen worked for the Dutch and opened a small grocery store. Later, he started on a small wooden boat. With his ingenuity and hardworking spirit, he gradually developed his own shipping business.
By the time he was in his forties, Cai Jiasen had become a well-known local wealthy businessman.
After a successful career, Cai Jiasen does not forget to give back to the society.
He was enthusiastic about the work of the overseas Chinese community, and was named "Kapitan" by the Dutch royal family that ruled Indonesia at that time (a gift granted to Chinese leaders as a government to manage local affairs).
In order to prevent the Chinese from forgetting their mother tongue, he also invested in the establishment of Chinese schools. In order to ensure the quality of teaching, he even painstakingly selected talents from Qionghai to take them to Indonesia as the principal.
Although he owns many manor houses and real estate overseas, Cai Jiasen still returns to his hometown with his brothers to build houses.
After nearly ten years of construction of Caijiazhuang, almost all building materials were shipped back from abroad, including cement, floor tiles, glass, rebar and other building materials.
During the Anti-Japanese War, Cai Jiazhai was once used as a transportation station for the anti-Japanese guerrillas.
Cai's house in the Liuke Village of Boao is full of Southeast Asian style.
Photo by Li Mingyang
The Cai family has a special family rule, all married wives must speak Hainanese.
The family motto of "Justice and trustworthiness, diligence, thrift and prosperity" hangs on the middle hall of the Cai family house, and the ancestors of the Cai family are enshrined on the high pavilion.
This is the ancestral motto that the Cai family has adhered to for generations, and it is also the deepest concern for the hometown of overseas wanderers.
The Cai family ancestors hanging on both sides of the gate.
Photo by Li Mingyang
Today, Cai Jiasen's former long-term daughter-in-law, Cai Wang Pujun, carefully guards this old house. Although he is 70 years old, he is full of energy.
According to Cai Wang Pujun, there are currently more than 300 descendants of the Cai family, distributed in 12 countries and regions around the world.
"I am here to guard the ancestors," said Cai Wang Pujun, "This is a house with a soul." (End)