Memorial Hall of Zheng Banqiao & Fan Zhongyan

Memorial Hall of Zheng Banqiao & Fan Zhongyan

The Memorial Hall of Zheng Banqiao & Fan Zhongyan is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

The Memorial Hall of Zheng Banqiao & Fan Zhongyan consists of six permanent exhibition areas — “The Versatile Genius – Zheng Banqiao,” “The Long Flowing Chu River – A Brief History of Xinghua,” “Memorial Hall of Fan Zhongyan,” and others — two temporary exhibition halls, the Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit Li Garden, the former Xinghua County Government Office, the Four-Gate Tower, the ancient architectural complex along East Street in the city, and the Four-Gate Tower Cultural Square.

Four-Gate Tower Cultural Square: In the Ming Dynasty, Xinghua’s Four-Gate Tower was called “Four Clustered Markets,” and after the Qing Dynasty, it became known as the Four-Gate Tower. Hung high on the tower are 47 plaques commemorating 75 individuals from Xinghua, honored 81 times in total, telling the long and rich cultural history of the area. The Four-Gate Tower Cultural Square is designed based on the historical connection between the Four-Gate Tower and the “Ancient Eight-Character Bridge,” resembling an unfurled fan.

Zheng Xie (1693–1765), a painter and calligrapher of the Qing Dynasty in China, was one of the “Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou.” His courtesy name was Kerou and his pseudonym was Banqiao. He was a native of Xinghua, Jiangsu Province. Born into a poor intellectual family, he lost his mother at a young age and was raised by his stepmother. As a teenager, he studied under the local scholar Lu Zhen, passed the imperial examination to become a scholar (xiucai) in his twenties, achieved the juren degree in the 10th year of the Yongzheng reign (1732), and earned the jinshi degree in the 1st year of the Qianlong reign (1736). In the 7th year of Qianlong, he served as magistrate of Fan County in Shandong. A year later, he was transferred to Weixian County. In the 13th year, when Emperor Qianlong visited Mount Tai, Zheng served as an official in charge of paintings and calligraphy. In the 18th year, he was dismissed from office for offending senior officials by requesting famine relief. Zheng Xie was influenced by Confucian... More details about Zheng Banqiao ++