The Shiruyang Memorial Archway

The Shiruyang Memorial Archway

The Shiruyang Memorial Archway is a cultural relic protection unit of Zhejiang Province.

The “Shiruyang” Memorial Archway

The “Shiruyang” Memorial Archway is located on Ponan Street in Pingyang County, facing south.

Zheng Sigong (1566–1646), courtesy name Yunzhi, sobriquet Taihe, was a native of Ponan in Ming-era Pingyang. In the 14th year of the Wanli reign, he was selected as a tribute student and appointed as an instructor in Yongkang. He used his own salary to purchase teaching materials and provided relief to impoverished students. Later promoted to instructor in Lanshan, he resigned upon his father Yingxiang reaching old age and stayed at home to care for him until the end of his life. Yao Yongji, the Right Provincial Administration Commissioner of Zhejiang, and Mi Wanzhong, the Military Defense Commissioner of Wenzhou and Lishui, specially commissioned the construction of the archway. For over twenty years at home, Zheng authored 26 works of concern for the world, including "The Golden Needle of the Book of Changes" and "Biographies of Eastern Kun’s Sages." When Qing troops entered Wenzhou, Zheng refused to shave his head in compliance with new laws, left a letter stating his principles, and died without eating. Scholars and officials from near and far mourned him with poetry. Wang Zhibiao of Yongjia wrote: “Who in the court upholds decorum and rank? A mere scholar-official keeps his integrity high!” “The house of filial piety breeds unyielding bones, who would beg for life by shaving their head!” “In the hills of Kunyang bracken and ferns abound, as songs end, blood is swallowed in silent grief!”

The archway is made of granite, featuring a four-pillared, three-bay, pavilion-style wooden imitation structure. It has a total width of 5.5 meters and a height of 6.5 meters. Each pillar originally had a stone drum at the front and back, later destroyed, with a carved stone lion placed atop each column. The main and secondary bays, on both the front and back of the horizontal beams, are adorned with hollow-carved stone panels depicting dragons, phoenixes, lions, qilins, and human figures. The central bay features a relief carving of two dragons playing with a pearl, depicted soaring through the air with fierce eyes, sharp claws, and strong tails as if swimming midair—an outstanding craftsmanship. The plaque on the south side is inscribed with “Endless Grace from the World,” while the north side bears “Scholarly Filial Devotion,” both in regular script and raised characters. The archway is topped with layered stone corbel brackets, supported by hanging pillars, and features a flush-gable roof style with tiled ridges and tubular tiles sculpted along the roofline. It was listed as a Cultural Relic Protection Unit of Pingyang County in the fifth batch in 1996.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Zhejiang Province