Former Residence of Li Zengjie

Former Residence of Li Zengjie

The Former Residence of Li Zengjie is a cultural tourism attraction.

Li Zengjie, courtesy name Yibo, art name Qiantang, was a native of Houbin in Maxiang during the Qing Dynasty and the adopted son of Li Changgeng, the Viceroy of the Zhejiang Navy (younger brother of Li Tingyu). In the third year of the Jiaqing reign (1798), he accompanied his adoptive father Li Changgeng in the campaign against the maritime armed group led by Cai Qian, proving to be highly capable. On December 25 of the twelfth year (1807), Li Changgeng was killed by Cai Qian’s cannon fire in the Black Water Ocean of Guangdong waters. Li Zengjie, filled with grief and indignation, wept bitterly and resolved to dedicate himself to eradicating Cai Qian. Soon after, he followed naval commander Qiu Lianggong (from Houpu, Kinmen) as part of an 800-strong vanguard. They employed the tactic of stabbing iron spikes into the enemy ships and continued the offensive against Cai Qian in the Black Water Ocean. On August 17 of the fourteenth year, the naval battle was extremely fierce, “with both sides fighting desperately at close quarters, blades clashing and rockets flying wildly.” After two days and one night of intense combat, Cai Qian, overwhelmed and seeing defeat inevitable, split his ship open and perished in the sea. This naval battle resulted in heavy casualties on both sides; only nineteen of Li Zengjie’s soldiers survived, and he himself was wounded and fell into the water before being rescued by his men. Li Zengjie spent over twenty years at sea, engaging in more than two hundred battles. Due to his outstanding military achievements, he rose from a junior officer to become the Viceroy of the Guangdong Army and Navy. During the Daoguang reign, he was appointed Inspector-General of the Southern Seas, awarded double-peacock feather ornaments, and granted a jade thumb ring. He also organized and published his father’s posthumous work, Essentials of Naval Campaigns and Sea Routes. Li Zengjie passed away in Guangdong on September 17 of the nineteenth year of the Daoguang reign (1839) and was buried in Dazhai, Chenban, Maxiang.

The Former Residence of Li Zengjie is located at No. 64, Houbin Village, Maxiang Town, Xiang’an District, commonly known as the “New Official Mansion” (the residence of Li Changgeng, “Bo Fu,” is called the “Old Official Mansion”). It was built in the third year of the Daoguang reign (1823). The house faces south with a slight western orientation, consisting of two courtyards with a central courtyard and small side wings (ju tou) on both sides. Outside the eastern wing is a well. The main building has protective wings on both the east and west sides, with a total width of 25.7 meters and a depth of 21 meters. The front block has three bays, with a recessed entrance porch and foyer in the center, side rooms, a post-and-lintel beam structure, a hard mountain tile roof with swallowtail ridges, and three rows of roof tiles on each side. The hall houses a portrait of Li Zengjie and clay figurines of deities. The tower at the lane entrance once displayed Li Zengjie’s official robes and shoes, preserved by family descendants.

Source: Yan Lishui