Yixing Chaoyin Temple

Yixing King’s Mansion of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

The Yixing King’s Mansion of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

The King’s Mansion of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom faces south and is located at the intersection of Tongzhen Guan Lane and Renmin Road in Yixing. Originally the private residence of Zhu Junming, it was sold to the Shi family in the 19th year of the Jiaqing reign. During the Taiping Rebellion, the Shi family fled to the countryside. When they returned to the city four years later, they found their house completely intact and newly renovated. They immediately hired people to remove the blue lions and white elephant carvings on the screen door of the hall chamber—decorations that were not appropriate for commoners—and whitewashed other murals with lime. In 1955, Zhu Shengyuan, a teacher from Yicheng, reported to higher authorities that the residence of Shi Jishou contained Taiping Heavenly Kingdom murals. The Provincial Cultural Relics Management Committee promptly sent personnel to conduct multiple investigations, and the site was finally confirmed in the early 1980s. In 1982, the Yixing King’s Mansion of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was designated as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit.

The King’s Mansion of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom served as the residence of Yang Fuqing, the auxiliary king of the Taiping Army when they occupied Yixing, and as the field headquarters of Li Xiucheng, the loyal king. The mansion originally had four courtyards, with a narrow alley on the east side leading directly to the backyard. The entire structure faces south, is 23 meters wide, and extends 52 meters deep. The fourth courtyard was a revolving tower building, which was destroyed by fire in the second year of the Republic of China.

Inside the first courtyard gate are four screen doors painted with a colorful scene of carp leaping over the dragon gate under a red sun. Further inside is a stone-gate courtyard wall, with a brick-carved gate tower adorned on both sides with landscape and figure carvings.

In front of the second courtyard gate are two cultural relics: one is a large broadsword, the training sword of Lu Xiangsheng, a famous anti-Qing general and Minister of War from Yixing during the late Ming Dynasty; the other is an ancient cannon from the Qing Dynasty, though it remains uncertain whether it was used during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom period. The main hall of the second courtyard features a half-body statue of a Taiping Heavenly Kingdom general in the center, with walls displaying historical information and related motifs about the movement. The main hall is divided into two sections—the front section has a half-body statue of the Loyal King Li Xiucheng in the center, flanked by coiling dragon pillars. The east and west walls feature eight murals: on the east wall are landscapes with trees, pond lotuses, mountain cottages, and heavenly bamboo with wintersweet; on the west wall are landscapes with pavilions, spring lakes, red plums with green willows, and old trees with sprawling branches. These murals depict the harmonious scenes of local officials patrolling, farmers working, and people living in peace and prosperity amid beautiful natural surroundings during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom era.

Yicheng Subdistrict: Yicheng Subdistrict Office is the seat of the Yixing municipal government and serves as the political, economic, and cultural center of the city, as well as the window of Yixing’s opening-up. Covering an area of 40 square kilometers with a population of 240,000, it governs 30 community neighborhood committees and 6 administrative villages. The jurisdiction of Yicheng Town is divided by the Wuxi-Shanghai Canal: the area within the canal adjacent to the town is under Yicheng’s administration, while the area outside the canal falls under the Yixing Economic Development Zone. Within this external zone, the original community neighborhood committees, villages (groups), and enterprises belonging to Yicheng Town are managed by the Yixing Economic Development Zone. Non-established villages (groups) may establish new village committees or be incorporated into neighboring ones... Yicheng Subdistrict Detailed Information++