二奇楼——最美石头古村落 Erqilou Village-- the Most Beautiful Ancient Stone Village

Hi, Steemit friends. Here is an old story, which I would like to share with you.
Erqilou is not a building, but the name of a village, all the houses of which are built of stones.
Located in Daolang Town, Daiyue District, Taian City, Shandong Province, this village has a landmark building which is a two-storey stone building, the first thing to see when you enter the village.

二奇楼不是楼，而是一个村落的名字，该村落的所有房子都是用石头盖起来的。
二奇楼位于山东省泰安市岱岳区道朗镇，走进该村，首先看到的就是这个村子的标志性建筑——一个全部用石头砌成的二层石头小楼。

More peculiar is that there is a stone sculpture in the middle of the building top, which is considered to be the totem of worship of reproduction, symbolizing multiplying descendants.
About this stone sculpture there is a convention passing on from generation to generation in the village: No one can touch the stone, otherwise a great calamity is at hand. Therefore, during the Cultural Revolution, the village and the stone sculpture on the building top were spared, without being destroyed.
Called Stone village, it is really worthy of the name. You can see stone roads, stone houses, stone mills, stone rollers, and stone cellars.

这个小楼奇特的地方就是顶部中间有一个石雕，被认为是生殖崇拜的图腾，象征子孙繁衍，传宗接代。
关于此石雕，村里人还有个世代相传的约定：任何人不能触碰石雕，否则会大难临头。所以，在文革期间，二奇楼和楼顶的石雕也得以幸免，没有遭到破坏。
说是石头村，真是名副其实。石头铺的路、石头盖的房子，随处可见石磨、石碾、石头水窖。

During the Cultural Revolution, some people thought that the village name was unlucky: The Chinese character (奇) “odd" means "strange"(怪), which is not auspicious to the development of the village, so renamed "二起楼村" (Erqilou Village).
Last year, with the development of the tourism industry, the government restored the name of "二奇楼村"(Erqilou Village) on the basis of local conditions and customs.
About the origin of the village:
According to historical documents, in the middle of Qing Dynasty, a family of Xiao moved here for refuge. Two brothers grazed cattle for other people. To prevent wild animals from attacking, they built such a two-storey building, where they lived above and the cattle were kept below.

文革期间，“破四旧、立四新”，部分村里人认为村名不吉利：“奇”就是“怪”，对村子的发展不吉利，所以改名为“二起楼村”。

去年，随着旅游产业的发展，政府征求村民意见，在综合考虑当地风土人情的基础上，又更名恢复为“二奇楼村”。

关于二奇楼村的来历：

据考证，清朝中期，有萧（肖）氏一族因避难而迁居此处。肖氏兄弟替人看牛，晚上在此过夜。为防止野兽，便盖了这样的二层小楼。上面住人，下面拦牛。