The Ancient Cheng Family Residence

The Ancient Cheng Family Residence

The Ancient Cheng Family Residence is a cultural relic protection unit of Wenzhou City.

The Ancient Cheng Family Residence (including the Imperial Edict Stele, Yiguan Bridge, and Cheng Yi’s Tomb)

The Imperial Edict Stele is located at the foot of Turtle Mountain in Yitou’Ao Di Village, Linjiang Town, Lucheng District. It was built during the Ming Dynasty’s Chenghua era. The front of the bluestone stele bears the two characters “Imperial Edict” at the top, followed by the inscription “A Stone in Commendation of Cheng Yi’s Righteousness.” In front of the pavilion stands a stone bridge called Yiguan Bridge, built in the fifth year of the Ming Zhengde era (1510), constructed by Cheng Yi’s two sons, Cheng Xi and Cheng Zhi. It is a three-span granite beam-type stone bridge. In 2000, it was listed as part of the second batch of cultural relic protection units in Ouhai District.

The Ancient Cheng Family Residence is located in Heping Village, Linjiang Town, Lucheng District. Built in the late Qing Dynasty, it consists of three residences. The ancestral home of Cheng Rangping faces east and has two courtyards, with a brick gate tower on the outside. To its west is another residence, a single-courtyard wooden structure spanning 32.3 meters in width and 16.2 meters in depth. Across the creek lies another residence, facing south, with a single-unit brick-and-wood gate tower. The main hall has two stories and eleven rooms, measuring 47.9 meters in width and 13.9 meters in depth. Cheng Rangping is currently the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Gabon in Africa.

Cheng Yi’s Tomb is located about 100 meters south of the Imperial Edict Stele, at the foot of Turtle Mountain, and consists of three terraces. In front of the tomb is a stone epitaph tablet inscribed by Ren Daoxun. The tomb chamber is in the shape of an armchair, with a semi-circular mound, and the lower two terraces spread out in a V-shape, all built with block stones. Cheng Yi, styled Bingyin and also known as Meian, was a descendant of Cheng Yi, the renowned Neo-Confucian scholar of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Municipal-Level Cultural Relic Protection Units in Wenzhou City