Baoshan Dacheng Hall

Baoshan Dacheng Hall

Baoshan Dacheng Hall is a cultural tourism attraction.

At the northern end of Linjiang Park in Baoshan stands the only ancient hall in the urban area — Dacheng Hall.

Dacheng Hall was a main structure within the former temple-school architectural complex. In the eighth year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty (1743), Zhao You, the magistrate of Baoshan, noticed that scholars had no place for gatherings and had to travel to the Confucius Temple in Jiading every year to worship Confucius. He actively applied for the construction of a temple-school, but approval was delayed. Zhao You himself donated 200 taels of silver. Scholars and local philanthropists in the county also generously contributed.

Zhao You also proposed using 4,100 taels of silver, leftover from water conservancy projects, as funding for the temple-school. At that time, a provincial treasurer surnamed Wang happened to be visiting. Zhao You took the opportunity to propose the project to him. After the treasurer submitted the proposal to the governor and received approval, construction began in the twelfth year of the Qianlong reign (1747).

The temple-school complex centered around Dacheng Hall, which housed a statue of Confucius. Outside the hall was an altar surrounded by stone railings. On both sides of the hall were eight rooms each on the east and west sides, known as the eastern and western corridors, where plaques of Confucius’ disciples and sages who promoted Confucianism were enshrined. To the northeast of the hall was the Chongsheng Shrine, to the south was the East Gate, and further south was the Lingxing Gate. On both sides of this gate were memorial archways inscribed with the phrases “Virtue Matches Heaven and Earth” and “Morality Leads Past and Present.” Nearby were structures such as the Minglun Hall and the Zunjing Pavilion. On the city wall southeast of the Lingxing Gate was also built the Kuixing Pavilion, which offered a view over the river and sea. The entire temple-school complex cost 5,000 taels of silver and became the largest and most magnificent architectural ensemble in the urban area of Baoshan.

From then on, scholars in Baoshan no longer had to rise before dawn and rush to Jiading to worship Confucius. On the first Ding day of the mid-spring and mid-autumn months, after the first crow of the rooster, candlelight flickered and incense smoke curled inside and outside Dacheng Hall. Ritual dancers performed to the sound of bells and drums. City officials, military officers, gentry, and students, led by the magistrate, entered in solemn procession. Dressed in ceremonial attire, they performed the kowtow ritual of three kneelings and nine prostrations, conducting the ceremony with utmost reverence.

However, in the fortieth year of the Qianlong reign (1775), a rare hurricane almost completely destroyed the temple-school buildings, including Dacheng Hall. From then on, the temple-school was abandoned. It wasn’t until the fifty-fifth year of the Qianlong reign (1790), when Peng Yuanli took office as magistrate of Baoshan, that he visited the site upon arrival. He saw only broken tiles and overgrown weeds, with only the swaying Zunjing Pavilion and Qisheng Shrine remaining — the once-majestic Dacheng Hall and towering Kuixing Pavilion had vanished without a trace. He was moved to tears and knelt nine times at the steps of Dacheng Hall before leaving. He strongly advocated for rebuilding the temple-school, raised nearly 10,000 taels of silver through donations, and spent three years restoring the complex to its former glory.

Later, in the twentieth year of the Daoguang reign (1840), Magistrate Liu Guangdou, in the seventh year of the Guangxu reign (1881), Magistrate Wang Shuyi of Qiu County, and in the twenty-fifth year of the Republic of China (1926), County Magistrate Feng Chengjun all carried out renovations of the temple-school. Until the August 13th Battle of Shanghai during the Second Sino-Japanese War, when Japanese forces heavily bombed Baoshan City, most of the temple-school buildings were destroyed by artillery fire, with only Dacheng Hall surviving.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the government conducted two renovations of Dacheng Hall in 1956 and 1960 alone, spending over 10,000 yuan in 1960.

In May 1991, Dacheng Hall underwent another renovation. On June 16 of the following year, the renovated Dacheng Hall was opened to the public as the “Chen Huacheng Memorial Hall.” The museum displays historical materials, photographs, relics, cannons, weapons, and other artifacts or replicas. The renovated Dacheng Hall retains the style of ancient architecture and is a typical example of Qing Dynasty hip-and-gable roof architecture found in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region.