Nanzhao Father-Son Jinshi Archway

Nanzhao Father-Son Jinshi Archway

The Father-Son Jinshi Archway is located on Xianqian Street in Nanzhao Town and was built in the Ming Dynasty in 1585. It faces east-west, is built of granite in imitation of wooden structure, and stands 9.6 meters tall and 9.6 meters wide. It features a single-eave hip-and-gable roof combined with two slopes, spans three bays and has three stories. At the top was a vertical plaque inscribed with “Imperial Favor” (now missing), in the center is the archway plaque reading “Father-Son Jinshi,” and the main beam bears the inscription “Jiajing Bingchen scholar Hu Wen, Wanli Dingchou scholar Hu Shiao,” and “Erected on the auspicious day of the winter’s end in the 13th year of Wanli, year of Yiyou.” The text is in regular script, identical on both sides. The lower part of the stone pillars includes drum-shaped pedestals, stone lions, and carvings of motifs such as pine and crane, lotus petals, flowers, and cloud patterns. The brackets are of the one-bracket-three-riser style, and the smaller beams are adorned with bluestone carvings showing the individuals who commissioned the archway: Shen Renzhong, Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Fujian Regional Surveillance Commission and Imperial Inspector General of Fujian; Gan Laixue, Left Consultant of the Fujian Provincial Administration Commission; Zhang Wen Yao, Investigating Censor of the Fujian Provincial Surveillance Commission; Yang Jihui, Prefect of Zhangzhou; and Zhang Dachi, Magistrate of Zhao’an County. In July 1939, the archway was damaged by Japanese aerial bombing—one southern stone pillar and parts of the middle and lower beams were destroyed, some carved elements were lost, but the main structure and remaining parts are well preserved.

Nanzhao Town: Nanzhao Town is located in the southern part of Zhao’an County, bordering the Dongxi River to the east. It serves as the economic, political, and cultural center of Zhao’an County, and is recognized as the “Hometown of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Art” and the “Hometown of Chinese Folk Culture and Art.” It is also a provincial-level “Civilized Town,” “Trade Hub Town,” and “Ecological Township.” The town currently covers an area of 17.5 square kilometers, with a planned area of 36.7 square kilometers. It administers 15 communities and 2 administrative villages, with a total population of about 81,000. In 2015, the total rural economic income was 261.11 million yuan, and the per capita net income of farmers was 14,000 yuan.

In recent years, with the development of urbanization... Nanzhao Town detailed information++