Cliff Inscription "By Imperial Order Relocating Boundaries" on an Ancient House

Cliff Inscription "By Imperial Order Relocating Boundaries" on an Ancient House

The cliff inscription "By Imperial Order Relocating Boundaries" on an ancient house is a cultural relic protection unit of Jinjiang City.

The cliff inscription "By Imperial Order Relocating Boundaries" on an ancient house is located in Gucuo Village, Yonghe Town. Dating back to the Qing Dynasty, it falls under the category of grotto temples and stone carvings.

This Qing Dynasty cliff inscription is located on the southeastern side of a massive rock in front of Gucuo Village, facing southeast from the northwest. It features two vertically engraved lines of four characters: the left character is "奉" (by imperial order), and the right is "旨迁界" (order to relocate boundaries), written in regular script. The inscription has suffered considerable weathering, but the characters are still faintly discernible. This cliff carving reflects the history of the brutal "relocation of boundaries" policy implemented by the Qing government after Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) recovered Taiwan, aimed at severing the connection between Zheng Chenggong and the coastal populace.

On February 5, 2013, the cliff inscription "By Imperial Order Relocating Boundaries" on an ancient house was announced as part of the fifth batch of municipal-level cultural relic protection units in Jinjiang City.

Protected area: 10 meters outward from the main structure.

Gucuo Village: Originally called Xushe or Xucuo, Gucuo Village traces its roots to Yingchuan. In 1375 AD, Chen Canwu, the founding ancestor of Gucuo Village, relocated to Chenyi (i.e., Xushe) with his family to escape war. As his son went missing during the chaos, he adopted his grandson Xu Yuanjun as his own, a practice commonly referred to as "nephew inheriting maternal uncle," and listed him as the third-generation ancestor in the genealogy. To honor the ancestral ties between the Chen and Xu lineages, the descendants of the Chen family referred to Chenyi as Xushe (cuo), hence the folk saying that "Xucuo may be good, but though it’s called Xu, it’s not surnamed Xu but Chen." When the clan genealogy was revised in the 24th year of the Republic of China (1935), to avoid duplication with place names in other regions and prevent misdelivery of correspondence... More detailed information about Gucuo Village++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Municipal-Level Cultural Relic Protection Units in Jinjiang City