Former Residence of Ni Zongzheng

Former Residence of Ni Zongzheng

The former residence of Ni Zongzheng is located at No. 78 and No. 82 Wushengmen Road, Yangming Subdistrict, Yuyao City. It consists of the Qinghui Jiaqi Tower at No. 82 Wushengmen Road and the Ni Family Residence at No. 78.

Ni Zongzheng, styled Benchuan and also known as Xiaoye, passed the imperial examination in the 18th year of the Hongzhi Emperor’s reign and was selected as a Hanlin Bachelor. He eventually rose to the rank of Vice Director of the Ministry of War Selection and was later appointed Prefect of Nanxiong in Guangdong. He achieved notable political accomplishments and was posthumously awarded the title of Scholar and conferred the posthumous name Wen Zhong. A master of poetry and calligraphy throughout his life, Wang Yangming once praised his literary works as being close in style to those of Tao Yuanming and Du Fu. Ni Zongzheng left behind a number of works, including the Xie Wenzhenggong Nianpu (Chronological Biography of Xie Wenzheng), Yishuo Fengshi Ji (Collected Discussions on the Book of Changes), Xiaoye Ji (Collected Works of Xiaoye), Guanhai Ji (Sea View Collection), Taicang Ji (Taicang Collection), and Tuwu Ji (Lofty Collection), among others.

The Qinghui Jiaqi Tower faces south and features a flush-gable roof with double eaves. It is nine meters wide, divided into three bays, and ten point two two meters deep. The central bay uses a raised-beam frame structure with nine purlins and five columns. The building employs relatively small materials but retains an overall intact structure, although some components have suffered significant damage or decay. The surviving wooden plaque inscribed with “Qinghui Jiaqi Tower” is said to have been bestowed by Wang Yangming himself. In the courtyard in front of the tower stands a stone stele engraved with: “In the third year of the Wanli era during the Ming Dynasty, this was the hometown of Ni Wenjie, Vice Minister of Rites. Established by Li Shilicheng, Magistrate of Yuyao County.”

According to the “Historical Sites” section of the Guangxu-era Yuyao County Annals, figures such as Xie Qian, Feng Lan, and Wang Shouren once composed poems praising the Qinghui Jiaqi Tower. Wang Shouren wrote: “Ancestral virtue shines brightly across the southern land, the place borders Penglai near the Dipper and Ox. The spirit of Yuan Long soars a hundred feet high, literary prowess matches Sima’s, grand for a thousand years. Early counsel brought great honors in office, retiring while still vigorous earned widespread respect. For thirty years we shared paths of rise and fall, Qinghui Tower facing Ruiyun Tower.” The Ni Family Residence at No. 78 is located east of the Qinghui Jiaqi Tower, also facing south. It follows a central axis comprising a reverse-seat hall, main hall, principal building, and rear wing. The east axis includes a reverse-seat hall, a study hall, and side rooms. Each individual structure is separated by its own courtyard.

The Qinghui Jiaqi Tower was designated as a municipal cultural relics protection unit by the Yuyao Municipal People’s Government on March 19, 1997. On April 6, 2011, the Yuyao Municipal People’s Government combined the Qinghui Jiaqi Tower at No. 82 Wushengmen Road and the cultural relics protection site—the Ni Family Residence at No. 78 Wushengmen Road—into a single municipal cultural relics protection unit named the Former Residence of Ni Zongzheng.

Source: Yuyao Cultural Relics Protection Office