Cheng'en Archway

Cheng'en Archway

Cheng'en Archway: Also known as the Merit Memorial Archway, it is located at the lower street entrance of Tangyin Town. Originally built in the fifth year of the Ming Dynasty's Xuande era (1430), it was constructed by Magistrate Tan Zheng in honor of Wu Yuqing, who was granted imperial favor to return home in glory to worship his ancestors—hence the name "Cheng'en" (meaning "Receiving Imperial Grace"). It was rebuilt in the xinwei year of the Longqing era (1570) during the Ming Dynasty and restored again in 1985. The archway is entirely made of wood, standing 8.35 meters high and 5.1 meters wide, with a four-pillar, three-gate, three-story design. The archway has three levels: the bottom level consists of two 1.12-meter-long castorwood pillars standing on a stone base, each flanked by two carved protective stone slabs. The central gate is 3.13 meters high and 3.1 meters wide. Above the gate is a horizontal plaque intricately engraved with 13 regular script characters reading “中宪大夫通政司右通政吴余庆” (Wu Yuqing, Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Bureau of Transmission), beneath which are embedded four wooden sunflower-patterned pillars. Above the plaque is the second level, where bracket sets directly support the rafters and eaves, with eight-character eaves extending left and right. At the center is a rectangular plaque inset with a black border and red background, inscribed with the bold and elegant characters “承恩” (Receiving Imperial Grace), said to be in Wu Yuqing’s own handwriting. The top level features a tiled hip-and-gable roof, with bracket sets arranged in well-proportioned complexity, upturned wing corners, and numerous downward braces between the brackets. At the very top is a design depicting a carp leaping through the Dragon Gate, reflecting the exquisite craftsmanship of folk artisans at the time.