Zhongwu Shrine and Magong Mansion

Zhongwu Shrine and Magong Mansion

Zhongwu Shrine and Magong Mansion is a cultural tourism attraction.

About 50 li west of Mengcheng County in Maji Town lies a beautiful complex of Qing Dynasty architecture — this is Magong Mansion.

Magong, whose given name was Yu-kun and courtesy name Jing-shan, was a native of Maji Town, Mengcheng County, and a renowned anti-imperialist patriotic general of the late Qing Dynasty. During the Tongzhi era, he was ordered to lead troops to Xinjiang to resist Russian aggression. He galloped across battlefields, campaigning for 16 years, successively recapturing more than ten cities north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, making outstanding contributions to defending China’s territorial integrity. When the First Sino-Japanese War broke out, he was ordered to assist Korea, defending the southern side of the Daedong River near Pyongyang, where he fought bloody battles against tens of thousands of Japanese troops and repelled their attacks. During his forces’ deployment in Korea, they maintained strict military discipline, causing no disturbance even to chickens or dogs, leaving no trace of plunder, and thus earned deep respect from the Korean people. The Koreans honored Ma Yu-kun alongside the Tang Dynasty general Xue Rengui and the Ming Dynasty anti-pirate hero Qi Jiguang as the “Three Greats of China,” even building temples and erecting statues in their memory. In the 26th year of the Guangxu reign (1900), when the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Tianjin and Beijing, Ma Yu-kun led his troops in resistance, personally charging bare-chested with weapons and annihilating over 1,000 enemy soldiers. For his military achievements, he was successively promoted to Zongbing (General), Tudui (Commander-in-Chief), and Zhili Tudui, and was granted the honorary titles of Shaoshi (Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent) and Shao Bao (Senior Guardian of the Heir Apparent). The imperial court also allocated special funds to build him a mansion and shrine in his hometown.

Magong Mansion consists of two parts: the Zhongwu Shrine and the Magong residence.

The Zhongwu Shrine, also known as the Magong Shrine, was built and destroyed twice before its final construction in the 33rd year of the Guangxu reign (1907). At that time, Ma Yu-kun was still alive, and it was initially built to commemorate his ancestors. The following year, on the 19th day of the eighth lunar month in the 34th year of Guangxu (1908), Ma Yu-kun passed away in Tongzhou while on military duty. A week later, on the 27th of August, the Qing court issued an imperial edict: “Ma Yu-kun, Commander of the Left Wuwei Army and Governor-General of Zhili, possessed loyal and courageous character, along with both bravery and strategy... The court relied on him as a pillar of strength... Now upon hearing of his sudden passing, we deeply mourn his loss. Ma Yu-kun is hereby posthumously awarded the title of Shao Bao, granted the hereditary rank of Second Class Light Chariot Commandant, bestowed with condolences and benefits according to the standards for a Tudui, and additionally honored with a posthumous title. Special shrines shall be established in his hometown and the provinces where he rendered meritorious service, and his life achievements and military exploits shall be recorded in the National History Museum. When his coffin is transported back to his hometown, local officials along the route shall provide proper care... to demonstrate the court’s profound and enduring remembrance of its loyal ministers.” Thereafter, this ancestral temple of the Ma family effectively became the “Zhongwu Shrine.”

Outside the main gate of the “Zhongwu Shrine” stood two towering flagpoles on either side, with the plaque above the gate inscribed with the four large characters “Yi Pin Dang Chao” (A First-Rank Official in Court). Inside the shrine were two main halls, front and rear. The front hall (also called the central hall, as it faced the porch and was centrally located) prominently displayed an imperial plaque inscribed with “Sui Bian Xi Hu” (Bestow Peace and Blessings), written by Empress Dowager Cixi. On its sides were elegiac writings, couplets, and various ritual objects respectfully offered by provincial governors and commanders, including bronze incense burners and cloisonné porcelain. The rear hall (also called the main hall) housed a shrine dedicated to the three generations of ancestors of the Ma family, with a portrait of Ma Zhongwu and imperial plaques and couplets displayed on the back wall. The plaque read: “Shou Yue Ning Li” (Grant Authority and Bestow Harmony); the couplet and other imperial gifts and ritual items included calligraphy by the emperor such as “Dragon Character,” “Pine and Bamboo Character,” and “Fortune and Longevity Character,” as well as spring couplets reading “Peace Abounds”; an imperial painting of lotus on a folding fan, a painting of “Five Blessings and Pine”; imperial gifts such as an inlaid jade ruyi (scepter) of the Bodhisattva of Infinite Life, a python-embroidered ruyi and a double-dragon porcelain plate in white jade, lacquer plates, gold-traced porcelain vases, and bronze incense burners, among others.

Ma Yu-kun had once inflicted heavy losses on Japanese troops during the First Sino-Japanese War. Decades later, harboring resentment for past defeats, Japanese imperialists dispatched a unit from Bengbu to Maji in 1940, setting fire to the Zhongwu Shrine. Ritual objects and offerings inside the shrine were looted, the halls and palaces were almost completely destroyed, leaving only the porch, the front hall, and about ten rooms in the western wing.

Magong Mansion is located dozens of meters west of the Zhongwu Shrine and served as the residence of Ma Yu-kun. In front of the gate were also two tall flagpoles and a pair of stone lions, with the wooden plaque above the gate carved with the characters “Yi Pin Dang Chao.” The mansion had two courtyards, front and rear, featuring carved beams and painted rafters, exuding grandeur. Today, the gate tower, rear hall, and nearly 40 rooms of side chambers still remain, designated as a county-level key cultural relics protection unit.