Former Residence of Wei Jie

Former Residence of Wei Jie

The former residence of Wei Jie is a cultural relic protection unit of Fuzhou City.

The former residence of Wei Jie was originally located on Tatou Street, Dongmen, Gulou District, Fuzhou. It faced south with a northern orientation, surrounded by walls on three sides, and had four courtyards. The fourth courtyard had long collapsed, leaving only an open space.

The "Heshan Thatched Cottage" covered an area of over 1,000 square meters, also facing south with walls on all four sides. The main ancestral hall had left, middle, and right entrances, with a six-panel main gate. Upon entering, there were corridors on three sides, with a courtyard under the corridors. The main hall was three bays wide and two bays deep, featuring a post-and-lintel wooden structure and a double-sloped roof. Its brackets, hanging ornaments, eaves, and lintels were exquisitely carved. It served as the ancestral hall dedicated to Wei Jie’s birth father, Fu You. Other structures included the Emperor-built Jingxiu Study, Shouquan Hall, and Quanshi Ju (Flower Pavilion), which were used respectively for worship, study, calligraphy and painting, and lodging. Quanshi Ju was the main residence and garden where Wei Jie lived for extended periods.

The former residence of Wei Jie has now been relocated and rebuilt atop Jinji Mountain, retaining only two courtyards. The front wall features a stone-framed gate with a multi-tiered bracketed awning above and a plaque inscribed “Former Residence of Wei Jie” hanging below, leading down to a three-step stone staircase. Inside the gate is a courtyard with corridors, and the screen door is inscribed with “Poetic Farmer’s Debt.” The couplet reads, “A commoner yet noble, proud among misty clouds; a farming poet, a soulmate of landscapes.” The first courtyard hall has a post-and-lintel wooden structure and a double-sloped roof, is three bays wide and two bays deep, and is divided into front and rear sections by a screen door. The front hall displays a bust of Wei Jie at its center, with a couplet that reads, “Uphold loyalty and filial piety, practice benevolence and righteousness.” There are four wing rooms on both sides. The second courtyard has a structure largely similar to the first but is slightly shallower in depth. It is inscribed with “Mysterious Design, Naturally Formed,” with a central portrait of Wei Zheng, and a stone altar table in front. The hall couplet reads, “Timeless words endure, ancestral virtues live on.” The back courtyard’s rear gate and courtyard have not been restored and are enclosed directly by walls, with only a rear gate remaining. Outside the gate lies a bamboo grove.

This building was originally constructed during the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong era, renovated during the Xianfeng era, and belonged to the estate of “Lin Banjie” on Tatou.

During the Qing Dynasty’s Daoguang and Tongzhi eras (1821–1874), Wei Jie, a wealthy merchant from Tatou Street, purchased ten houses from the “Lin Banjie” estate after making his fortune in business. He distributed them among his seven younger brothers and three sons. This residence was where the eldest son’s family lived.

After purchasing the residence, Wei Jie built the “Heshan Thatched Cottage” in Tzaizilong, which included an ancestral hall dedicated to his birth father Fu You, as well as the Jingxiu Study, Shouquan Hall, and Quanshi Ju (Flower Pavilion), used respectively for worship, study, calligraphy and painting, and lodging.

In March 1987, descendants of the Wei family agreed to reinstate the ancestral worship ceremony held on the second day of the second lunar month at this residence. In August of the same year, Wei Yurong discovered a stone stele of Wei Jie’s statue at the site of the “Heshan Thatched Cottage,” and subsequently brought back a seated statue of Wei Jie from the site of Quanshi Ju. Starting the following year, an annual ancestral worship event has been held here on the second day of the second lunar month.

In 1988, the Gulou District People’s Government designated the “Statue of Wei Jie” as a district-level cultural relic protection unit. In October 1991, the former residence of Wei Jie was recognized by the Fuzhou Municipal People’s Government as a “Representative Ancient Building of Fuzhou” and was granted protected status with a commemorative plaque.

In 1993, Tatou Street was demolished under the guise of “urban redevelopment” for real estate development, and this building was within the demolition zone. Later, through coordination by the Fuzhou Cultural Relics Management Committee, it was decided to rebuild the structure elsewhere. The site selection process was fraught with difficulties until 2001, when an 800-square-meter plot was allocated atop Jinji Mountain. The reconstruction was completed in October 2002.

In 2003, the “China Wei Zheng Culture Development Promotion Association” and the “World Wei Clan Association” jointly organized a visit to this site.

On February 15, 2016, it was announced as part of the seventh batch of municipal cultural relic protection units. The protected area includes: east to the bamboo grove, south to the small cement plaza in front of the residence’s main gate, and west and north to the mountain slope revetments.

Wei Jie (1796–1876), styled Congyan and also known as Zhuofu, was originally from Wenlin, Donghan Town, Fuqing City. He was born in Fuzhou and was a renowned poet and calligrapher. Numerous stone inscriptions by him remain at sites such as the Drinking Water Rock and Richi on Mount Drum. He authored the two-volume “Yiyuan Poetry Collection.” … More details about Wei Jie ++

Yuefeng Town: Located in the bustling area east of the Jin River in Fuzhou’s Dongmen, Yuefeng Town covers a plain area of 11.3 square kilometers. It administers four administrative villages—Dongmen, Yuefeng, Zhuyu, and Helin—and 13 communities: Dengyun, Sanhua, Jiulongcheng, Dongzhan, Erhua, Wanjia, Xinhua, Puxia, Guixiang, Tatou, Taohuashan, Kangshan, and Guanwei, with a population of nearly 70,000. It is a provincial-level civilized town and one of Fuzhou’s economically strong towns. In 2004, the town’s total social output value reached 5.1 billion yuan, fiscal revenue totaled 36.5 million yuan, average village finance income was 12.2 million yuan, and per capita rural income was 7,554 yuan… More details about Yuefeng Town ++

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Municipal Cultural Relic Protection Units in Fuzhou