The South Pavilion Archway Cluster

The South Pavilion Archway Cluster

The South Pavilion Archway Cluster is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The South Pavilion Archway Cluster is located in the Xianshengmen Scenic Area, at the entrance of Nanzhou Village in Xianxi Town. The South Pavilion is the entrance to the Xianshengmen Scenic Area. Along a straight street paved with cobblestones forming decorative patterns, stand five archways. On their tall, crimson plaques are written large golden regular-script characters: “World’s Scholar,” “Imperial Favor,” “Regional Governor,” “Minister,” “Number One in the Metropolitan Examination,” displaying the achievements and status of several generations of the Zhang family.

The “World’s Scholar” archway was erected in the 23rd year of the Jiajing reign for Zhang Lun, Zhang Xuanying, and Zhang Chaofeng; the “Imperial Favor” archway was built for Zhang Xuanyue during the Zhengde era; the “Regional Governor” archway was constructed for Zhang Xuanying during the Zhengde era; the “Minister” archway was established around the early Hongzhi period, and the “Number One in the Metropolitan Examination” archway was built in the 4th year of the Zhengtong era—all in honor of Zhang Lun.

The structure and form of the five archways are all single-bay, wooden-and-stone structures with three ridge roofs and double eaves supported by six pillars (with one additional pillar added in front and behind each of the two main pillars to support the eaves). The ridges are adorned with dragon heads. Each archway is about 8 meters high. The two main pillars are square stone pillars with rounded corners, while the four side pillars are round wooden ones. The bases of the pillars are made of layered stone slabs, about 50 or 80 centimeters high. The bracket sets (dougong) on the pillars and beams feature distinctive characteristics of the period and region.

The archway cluster underwent renovations in the early Qing Dynasty, but the main parts still retain the architectural style of the Ming Dynasty.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units