The Zoumatang Village./走马塘村。[Photo by Yan Long]严龙摄
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 ".
千年古村走马塘位于鄞州区姜山镇，人称其为“四明古郡，文献之邦，有江山之胜，水陆之饶”。村中明清古建筑众多，民风淳朴。历朝历代，这里出过76位进士，被誉为“中国进士第一村”。
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.
据历史记载，它始建于北宋端拱年间(公元988年)，当年陈氏从江苏长洲迁此歇脚居住，至今已逾千年。村中明代建筑尚有8处，清代建筑比比皆是，另外三幢民国时期具有西洋痕迹的建筑也极为典型。
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.
走马塘更令人赞叹的是它的石头艺术，其中最著名的就是石雕花窗。以石头做窗在国内实属罕见，走马塘的石花窗不仅雕刻精美，且寓意丰富。
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，鼓励后人抢夺第一；“乾坤”文字窗，希望后人胸中有乾坤，时刻不忘报效国家。