Today Dong squints through thick glasses compiling family trees and a detailed history of Liu Keng. He still finds it easier to wield a brush than write with a pen. Such skills have long faded, as has knowledge of the illustrious past. Dong worries that after he and the handful of other educated village elders pass away, no one will be able to finish his work. Most villagers are semi-illiterate at best, including his two sons who are both farmers.
Today is a far cry from the village's heyday.
Liu Keng first came to prominence in 1009, when Dong Wenchuang became the first villager to pass the civil service examinations. Success brought imperial employ, the only ticket out of poverty for a commoner. Spurning high office, Dong later returned home to spend his fortune establishing schools to allow more youngsters to pursue his route to glory through education. One villager kept retaking the examination until he was 99, when the Qing emperor was finally moved to grant him an official position and academic title. Tourism is the key For village head Dong Shaosheng, tourism is the way to restore local prosperity.