Winter Officials’ Archway

Winter Officials’ Archway

A Ming Dynasty structure located at No. 26 Minzhu Road, Cicheng, just one meter away from the Qing Dynasty’s Enrong Archway.

It was erected by Zhao Jian, a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations (Jinshi) of the Hongzhi era of the Ming Dynasty and an official in the Ministry of Works.

The archway has a single bay with a width of 5.6 meters, two pillars, and a slightly octagonal cross-section, built from blue and red stone materials. The two pillars and the horizontal beam are made of red stone, while the upper and lower lintels and the filler slabs are made of blue stone. Both sides of the horizontal beam are carved with triangular and cloud patterns. The front of the upper lintel features high-relief carvings of a peacock and peony, with square patterns on the sides; the back has high-relief carvings of mandarin ducks and lotus flowers.

The filler slab is horizontally inscribed with the characters “Hongzhi Ji Mo Jinshi Zhao Jian” (Zhao Jian, Successful Imperial Examination Candidate of Hongzhi Era), which are identical on both the front and back.

The front of the lower lintel features high-relief carvings of two lions playing with a brocade ball, with symmetrical dragon carvings on the sides; the back has high-relief carvings of two qilins competing for a pearl, also with matching dragon carvings on the sides. Cloud motifs fill the center, and the ends of the lower lintel are adorned with openwork scroll-pattern spandrels for decoration.

The Winter Officials’ Archway is a representative work of mid-Ming Dynasty memorial archways.