Zhongyuan Talents' Archway

Zhongyuan Talents' Archway

Zhongyuan Talents' Archway is a cultural relic protection unit of Xinghua City.

Zhongyuan Talents' Archway is located on the southwest side of today’s Confucianism Square. It is made of stone, has four pillars and three gates, a double-eaved brick-and-wood structure, and runs east-west, sitting above the former Confucianism Street. The archway was first built in the 29th year of the Jiajing era (1550) to commemorate Zong Zhou, the top scholar in the Classics category in the 10th year of Jiajing (1531) who later became Prefect of Mapu in Sichuan, and his son Zong Chen, who passed the imperial examination in the 29th year of Jiajing (1550). Originally named “Father and Son Scholarly Honors,” it was erected in their honor. In the 39th year of Jiajing (1560), following the death of Zong Chen, the inscription “Zhongyuan Talents” was added to the back of the “Father and Son Scholarly Honors” archway, and a plaque bearing the same name was hung on the Four-Gate Tower. Due to years of neglect, the double eaves and inscribed archway panels were lost, leaving only the four stone pillars. In 2009, it was reconstructed according to its historical appearance, and the ground level was lowered to match the original height of the old Confucianism Street.

Zong Chen (1525–1560), styled Zixiang and also known as Fangcheng, was a native of Xinghua during the Ming dynasty. A renowned literary figure and one of the “Seven Masters of the Jiajing Era” (also called the “Later Seven Masters”), he was honored as the “Zhongyuan Talent.” He passed the imperial examination in the 29th year of Jiajing (1550) and served as Deputy Surveillance Commissioner of Fujian. His 15-volume collected works, Collected Writings of Zong Zixiang, were included in the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries, and his essay “Letter in Reply to Uncle Liu” was featured in the Classic of Prose Models. It was once part of the high school Chinese curriculum after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

The Zhongyuan Talents Archway holds significant historical, cultural, and architectural value. In 2009, it was designated as a cultural relic protection unit by the Xinghua Municipal People’s Government.