Zhu Bei Archway

Zhu Bei Archway

Zhu Bei Archway is a Yinzhou District cultural heritage site.

Zhu Bei Archway is located in Simingshan Village, Jishigang, Yinzhou District, and was designated as a district-level cultural heritage site on October 13, 2002.

This archway was constructed during the late Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen era, as a memorial gateway in front of the tomb of Zhu Bei. Zhu Bei, whose courtesy name was Bosheng and art name Yuqiao, passed the imperial examination in the second year of the Tianqi reign (1622) and was appointed magistrate of Anfu County. Following a period of mourning, he was reinstated as magistrate of Xiuning. The archway stands at the foot of Zhu Family Hill in Miaojia'ao, Simingshan Village, Yinzhou District, oriented west to east. It is a four-pillar, three-bay, three-story stone structure. Its total width is 6.5 meters, with the central bay measuring 2.87 meters wide and the side bays each 1.59 meters wide. The central bay pillars are 5.72 meters tall, divided into upper and lower sections — the lower section is 3.78 meters high and the upper section features connected stone lions at the top that are 1.94 meters high, including a round openwork lion sculpture standing 0.6 meters tall. The side bay pillars are 2.71 meters tall, and all pillars are square with chamfered corners.

The Zhu Bei Archway complex consists of steps leading up to the archway, the stone archway itself, a stone bridge, a ceremonial path, and the tomb. The entire structure is built against the mountain from east to west, ascending progressively with an overall elevation difference of about 9.8 meters. It stretches approximately 60 meters in length and reaches a maximum width of about 12 meters, covering an area of around 720 square meters. Behind the memorial archway lies a small stone slab bridge about 3 meters long and 2.7 meters wide, equipped with stone railings and a dry drainage ditch beneath. At distances of 28.5 meters, 35.5 meters, and 43.4 meters west of the archway are three step-like barriers, each followed by a terrace, with the third barrier leading to the main tomb structure. From the final terrace, one can ascend eight disordered stone steps to reach a burial mound with earthen covering, atop which grow wild trees as thick as bowls. Part of the front of the mound has partially collapsed, likely due to grave robbery. Looking inside through the suspected looting hole reveals a stone-chamber tomb constructed from massive slabs, with the four corners interlocked using “ingot-shaped” tenons. It follows the design of paired burial chambers — one body and one coffin per chamber. From the hole, two chambers can be seen, with an estimated total of around four. The rear of the chambers is enclosed by a surrounding stone wall. The left and right ends of the wall follow the terrain in a three-tiered stepped fashion, topped with stone roofing resembling traditional house eaves, with the roof ridges featuring carved coin patterns reminiscent of architectural elements found in residential buildings. Between the surrounding wall and the tomb chambers lies a perimeter pathway, which serves both to ventilate, drain, and keep the area dry, and to facilitate ceremonial activities during tomb sweeping. The surrounding wall also plays a role in the practical layout and beautification of the tomb complex, while helping to block potential landslides from the mountain.

Although the archway has suffered severe damage over time, the remaining carvings and motifs reveal that it features a unique style and subject matter unmatched in the region. While most other archways feature carvings of dragons, phoenixes, lions, and qilins on their crossbeams, the Zhu Bei Archway’s horizontal beams depict marine creatures. Other towering archways typically have crane and cloud motifs on their column tops along with finials, but the Zhu Bei Archway is distinguished by its round, openwork stone lions seated in a pose symbolizing “roaring toward the heavens.” This distinctive artistic approach has provided invaluable historical insight for future generations. Currently, the southern column lion on the central bay has fallen to the ground, separated from its base but repairable. The column tops on both sides of the side bays are missing, and all cloud-wing carvings have either fallen or are absent. The base of the archway is a stone platform, with steps and vertical bands that are also damaged.

The archway carvings employ a variety of techniques, including round carving, openwork carving, high relief, low relief, and line engraving. The lions atop the columns are rendered in round carving combined with openwork. The lower crossbeams of each bay use high relief with openwork elements, while the upper crossbeams use low relief. The inscribed stone plaque embedded in the central bay combines double-line outlines with engraved text.