Former Residence of Yuan Dahua

Former Residence of Yuan Dahua

The former residence of Yuan Dahua is a cultural relic protection site under Woyang County.

The former residence of Yuan Dahua is located in Qingting Town, Woyang County, Anhui Province. Covering an area of 4,000 square meters, it consists of over 40 surviving rooms. It is currently a key cultural relic protection site under Woyang County.

　In a typical small village on the Huaibei Plain, there stands quietly a decaying former residence. The rustling of the pine forest next to the ancestral hall tells passersby about its hundred years of history, and recounts a legend that originated here: in a place called Dayuan Village, there once emerged a prominent Qing court official named Yuan Dahua, who accomplished many important and commendable deeds, but also had some controversial flaws.

The former residence of Yuan Dahua is located in Dayuan Village, Qingtuan Town, Woyang County. Recently, reporters visiting the site saw that the main gate had been newly built. Upon entering, one is immediately struck by a sense of antiquity and decay. The courtyard has some crops drying in the sun, while the former western garden is planted with vegetables and overgrown with weeds. Some of the rooms appear to be on the verge of collapse. This three-courtyard compound has lost its original appearance, and there are no old furnishings inside the rooms. Liu Shuping, deputy director of the Woyang County Cultural Relics Management Office, said that the former residence of Yuan Dahua was severely damaged, especially during the Cultural Revolution when most of the houses, furnishings, stone carvings, gates, and walls were destroyed. It was later used as a grain station, elementary school, and village affairs office. Now, only these ruins remain.

According to the 1983 "Qingtuan District Annals", the old Yuan residence “included a main hall with nine bays and five rooms, three rooms on each side of the east and west wings, a kitchen in the east wing, a single room for the second gate passage, enclosed within an inner wall. Outside the second gate were three rooms on each side of the east and west, a three-room main gate, with guard rooms on both sides, and two side rooms on the east and west. Behind the hall were 11 storage rooms, with three rooms on each side of the east and west, enclosed within an outer wall. Outside the west side gate, there was a well.” Other written sources also mention that the compound not only had grand gate towers and screen walls, but also upturned eaves and carved rafters. A small river running through the village connected several residential compounds into a unified whole. At its peak, the area was filled with flowers and plants, pavilions and terraces, blending simplicity and complexity in a well-arranged layout, “vividly transplanting the architectural style of the southern water towns onto the northern plain of Anhui.”

Today, the 22 remaining main structures of the ancestral hall still stand tall and imposing, though empty inside, with broken stone steps at the entrance. Liu Shuping said it is the only relatively intact ancestral hall remaining in Woyang County.

Yuan Dahua (1851–1935), courtesy name Xingnan, was a native of Dayuan Village, Qingtuan District, Woyang County. After entering the scholarly ranks and being awarded a stipend, he grew restless and, in the 17th year of the Guangxu reign (1891), went to the northeast to seek opportunities. At that time, Wu, an official in charge of foreign affairs, sent Yuan Dahua to Blagoveshchensk, Vladivostok, and Double City (Fengtian) to scout Russian military movements. Later, he surveyed the Mohe gold mines along the Argun River and proposed gold mining methods, earning the appreciation of Li Hongzhang, who entrusted him with important responsibilities and specially granted him the title of “Tongzhi” (a provincial judicial officer), appointing him as the chief administrator of Mohe. He managed the mines for eight years, generating annual surpluses amounting to tens of thousands, and was promoted to the rank of second-class official with peacock feathers on his hat. Because the Minister of Revenue... More details about Yuan Dahua ++

Dayuan Village: Dayuan Village is a typical agricultural village, mainly engaged in farming and animal husbandry, with a significant number of residents working outside the village, bringing back funds and technology to their hometown. The village has a population of 3,427, covering 6,985 mu of land, and comprises 17 villager groups. The village’s Party and administrative committees adhere to the Scientific Outlook on Development, earnestly studying, publicizing, and implementing the Party’s theories, guidelines, policies, and principles in rural areas. With economic development at the core, they promote all undertakings and ensure comprehensive and coordinated progress. ... More details about Dayuan Village ++