Song Xiaozitang (Hall of Filial Piety of Song)

Song Xiaozitang

Song Xiaozitang is a cultural relic protection unit of Shandong Province.

Located beside the Yellow River embankment in the north of Dongkou Village, Dongkou Town, Juancheng County, Heze City, Shandong Province. Originally built during the Ming Dynasty to honor the filial piety and virtue of Song Xianzhang and his wife, it was then called the Xiaolie Shrine.

According to the Puzhou Annals: Song Xianzhang, courtesy name Wen Guang, was a scholar during the Zhengde era of the Ming Dynasty. He was very filial. After his father passed away, he guarded the grave for three years. In the year of Xinwei (1511), the peasant rebel army led by Zhao Fengzi reached the Dongkou area. Some soldiers cut down trees on the ancestral burial ground of Song Xianzhang, which caused him to burst into tears. When the incident reached Zhao Fengzi, he was furious and ordered the soldier who cut the trees to be executed. He also instructed his troops: “This is the hometown of a filial son; no one is to harm the local people.” From then on, the people in the Dongkou area lived in peace. Villagers from the surrounding areas also came here to escape the chaos of war, and naturally, they held Song Xianzhang in even higher esteem.

Song Xianzhang passed away at the age of forty. His wife, Lady Xin, was so grief-stricken that she could not bear to live. She arranged her family property for her nephew and then hanged herself to follow her husband in death. Though extreme, this act was widely publicized as an example of a chaste and loyal widow at the time. The prefect (county magistrate) reported the filial and martyred deeds of Song Xianzhang and his wife, requesting official recognition. However, due to delays in reporting up the chain of command and a lack of personnel to handle the case, approval was long delayed. Later, the censor Qian Hong submitted a memorial and ordered the construction of the Xiaolie Shrine. By the Gengshen year of the Jiajing era (1560), the censor Zhu Heng and the imperial inspector Liu Cunyi were granted permission to bestow twenty acres of land for the renovation of the Xiaolie Shrine. Since then, although the buildings had suffered damage over time, they were all repaired. Some structures and stone carvings were preserved until the founding of the People’s Republic of China. During the 1954 renovation, two new stone steles were added: one recorded the Song family lineage and genealogy, and the other was a renovation stele inscription, which re-engraved parts of the original text written by Song Xianzhang’s friends—Ministry of War Minister Su You and Imperial Inspector Yi Zongyue. Due to years of neglect and other reasons, the Xiaolie Shrine buildings were completely destroyed, and all stone carvings were lost before the establishment of the People’s Republic.

The existing Xiaozitang was rebuilt in 1990 by local members of the Song clan on the original site of the Xiaolie Shrine. It covers a construction area of about 100 square meters. The hall is a brick-and-wood structure, with three main rooms and a side room to the west. To the right of the entrance under the corridor stands the 1954 renovation stele; to the left of the entrance under the corridor is a newly erected stele commemorating the rebuilding of Xiaozitang. In front of the hall are a stele recording the Song family lineage and distribution, and a “County-Level Key Cultural Relic Protection Unit” stele erected by the People’s Government of Juancheng County.

Dongkou Village: Dongkou Village... Detailed information on Dongkou Village++

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Shandong Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units