Yan Family Chastity Memorial Wooden Archway

Yan Family Chastity Memorial Wooden Archway

The Yan Family Chastity Memorial Wooden Archway is a Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Yan Family Chastity Memorial Wooden Archway is located southeast of Xiaozuo Village, Datong Township, Jingning County. It dates back to the Qing Dynasty.

The Mei Family Chastity Archway, located in Xiaozuo Village, Datong Township, Jingning She Autonomous County, Lishui City, was built in the 17th year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1837) in honor of Madam Mei, wife of Confucian scholar Yan Qishang.

The Mei Family Chastity Archway has a main wooden structure, oriented northeast to southwest, with three bays and eight pillars, a double-eave suspended gable roof, standing 5.3 meters high, 7.8 meters wide, and 5.1 meters deep.

The Mei Family Chastity Archway is surrounded by stone foundations and earthen walls, with a rammed earth floor. It features a three-bay width and a three-pillar, five-purlin depth, using a post-and-lintel construction method. The wooden pillars are thick and sturdy, while the eave beams and bracket arms are exquisitely carved with intricate details. The carvings depict lifelike themes such as flowers, figures, auspicious animals, and cloud patterns.

The central bay features, from bottom to top, a lower beam, a floral beam, and an upper beam. The lower beam is relatively wide, with thirteen characters written in ink in the center: “Erected in honor of Madam Mei, wife of Confucian scholar Yan Qishang.” Below, on the left and right sides, there are corbels to support and reduce the span of the lower beam; these corbels are carved with hollow cloud-dragon designs. The front of the floral beam prominently displays the two large characters “Chastity” (节孝) in relief, with vertical inscriptions on both sides listing the local officials who petitioned the imperial court. The right side reads: “[List of Officials]...”, and the left side reads: “[List of Officials]...”. The inscriptions praise her virtues and commemorate her dedication.

The side bays each have only one beam, designed in the style of wooden moon beams, with cloud scrolls carved on the left and right. Below, on the left and right, there are corbels decorated with relief carvings of auspicious floral patterns.

In front of the beams and pillars, hanging columns are used for decoration. At the center of the front crossbeam of the central bay hangs a wooden plaque inscribed vertically with the two characters “Imperial Edict” (圣旨), flanked by upward-facing dragons. The bases of the beams and pillars are lotus-shaped stone drum pedestals, which rest on lotus-patterned ground bases—an unusual design. In the front and back of the central pillars, there are bluestone drum stones for stability, adorned with scroll and grass motifs. The roof is covered with small blue tiles, laid in a yin-yang pattern.

Inside the central bay stands a stone stele inscribed with the “Record of the Qing Dynasty Mei Family Chastity Memorial Archway”: “From the time the village ancestor Qian Qi opened the settlement to the eleventh generation, there was Madam Mei, wife of Confucian scholar Yan Qishang. She was born in the 16th year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, 1751, and died in the 17th year of the Daoguang reign, 1837, at the age of 86. Yan Qishang passed away in the 42nd year of Qianlong, 1775, when Madam Mei was only 25 years old, and their son Fa Bao was just four. Despite their impoverished circumstances, she endured hardship to raise her child, care for her family, and uphold her chastity for sixty-two years. To recognize her virtue, in the final years of the Daoguang reign, the imperial court ordered the construction of this wooden chastity memorial archway.” Additionally, in front of the archway, there is a pair of rectangular inscribed post plaques, inscribed with: “Erected by Yan Yongguang, a Juren (successful candidate in the imperial examinations) of the Daoguang Jiyou Year, Qing Dynasty.”

The Mei Family Chastity Archway is relatively well-preserved, with thick materials and exquisite detailed carvings, making it of great historical and cultural value. The inscriptions on the archway, including those of the officials who petitioned for its construction, are also well-preserved, providing important evidence for the study of the filial piety and ritual systems in the Lishui region during the Qing Dynasty. In 2005, repairs were made to the surrounding stone walls, earthen structures, and roof tiles. In 1996, the Mei Family Chastity Memorial Archway was designated as a county-level cultural relics protection unit.

On January 13, 2017, the People's Government of Zhejiang Province announced it as part of the seventh batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Xiaozuo Village: Under the correct leadership and support of the township Party committee and government, Xiaozuo Village has consistently implemented the Scientific Outlook on Development. The village’s two committees have united with unified thinking and careful planning, prioritizing the management of village affairs. The village has successively been awarded municipal and county-level honors such as Ecological Civilization Village, Sanitary Village, Advanced Grassroots Party Organization, and Credit Village. Here is an introduction to Xiaozuo Village: (1) Basic Information: Xiaozuo Village is located in the southwestern part of Datong Township, 6 kilometers from the township government seat. The village consists of one natural village, four villager groups, 88 households, and a population of 33… More detailed information about Xiaozuo Village++

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units