The Jing Tree Hall

The Jing Tree Hall

Originally named the Jing Tree Study, the Jing Tree Hall was the study of two brothers from the seventh generation of the Tian family—Tian Qiao and Tian E. Tian Qiao, styled Yunyue and also known as Zongfu, was a jinshi degree holder excelling in literature. His younger brother, Tian E, styled Douyue and also known as Zhanfu, was a successful candidate in the imperial examination during the Wanli Wuzi year, skilled in poetry and calligraphy. Both were renowned scholars in Caozhou and maintained close friendships with cultural figures of the time such as Dong Qichang, Mi Wanzhong, and Xing Tong. Together, they authored the collected works titled *Collected Writings of the Jing Tree Study*, which had a profound influence and earned them the reputation of “One Dong (Qichang) in the South, Two Tians (Qiao and E) in the North.” Their sons and descendants also achieved great success—“with numerous official seals and honors, successive generations excelled in both civil and military examinations,” and “the family grew wealthier, their lands fertile and homes prosperous, ranking among the foremost prominent households in the county.” They became a distinguished and influential family. With a solid economic foundation and a rich cultural environment, the Tian family “first established a family ancestral hall, crafted ritual vessels, and gathered kin to hold regular memorial ceremonies.” They then expanded the study, renovating and enlarging it, and renamed it the Jing Tree Hall. The names Jing Tree Study and Jing Tree Hall originate from the historical tale of “the Tian family dividing their estate, whereupon the thriving jing tree in their courtyard suddenly withered.” In ancient times, three brothers—Tian Zhen, Tian Qing, and Tian Guang—lived together. Their wives wanted to divide the family property and proposed splitting even the large, flourishing purple-leafed jing tree in front of their hall into three. One morning, they suddenly noticed the jing tree’s leaves drooping and withering, which shocked everyone. Tian Zhen said to his brothers, “Though rooted as one, if we separate, the tree will wither—how much more so for people? If brothers part, are we not inferior to trees?” Deeply moved, the three brothers wept in each other’s arms under the jing tree and decided not to divide the family. From then on, the household lived in harmony, and the jing tree flourished once again. The Tian family named their ancestral hall “Jing Tree Hall” to remind future generations of their ancestors’ story, encouraging unity, mutual respect, and filial piety—“Under the Jing Tree Hall, brothers dwell in harmony; in green-clad halls, children delight their parents.”

The rear courtyard of the Jing Tree Hall originally housed a study, with a temple dedicated to Granny Wang located to the northeast. Granny Wang was the benefactor who rescued Tian Zicheng, the patriarch of this branch of the Tian family, and his son. The Tian family originally came from Qingzhou. In the early Ming Dynasty, Tian Zicheng, a military commander in Qingzhou, was slandered for offering advice and, in disgrace, resigned his post and fled, carrying his young son on a shoulder pole to seek refuge with his elder brother, who had settled earlier in Tianjiazhuang Village, Juye County. One evening, Zicheng overheard his sister-in-law asking his brother, “Is your younger brother here for a short stay or to settle permanently?” Sensing her implication, Zicheng informed them that he would leave after washing up. That night, amid howling winds and heavy snowfall, the wife of Wang Chengfu, a wealthy local, dreamed of two fierce tigers lying beneath the twin-stone bridge (now northeast of Tianqiao Village, Tianqiao Town). She awoke startled, just at midnight, and out of concern, called for servants to investigate. There, they found a shoulder pole beneath the bridge, with father and son huddled together. They were brought back to the Wang home. Seeing the refined bearing of Tian Zicheng and his son, and moved by their plight, the Wang family kindly took them in, treating Zicheng like a brother and raising his son Fushun as their own. As the Wangs had only one daughter, when Fushun came of age, he was welcomed as a son-in-law. Later generations of the Tian family never forgot the kindness of their maternal grandmother, Granny Wang, and thus set aside a special area within the ancestral hall to build the Temple of Granny Wang. The poetic inscriptions and calligraphy of Tian Qiao and Tian E were engraved on stone slabs and inlaid on the walls, creating an impressive display.

Having withstood over four hundred years of trials, the survival of the Jing Tree Hall has not been easy. From the 1950s through the Cultural Revolution, the Temple of Granny Wang and the study were successively destroyed, ancient books and collections were burned, and many stone engravings were damaged or lost. In recent years, descendants of the Tian family have actively sought to recover scattered relics. Four stone engravings and some handwritten works by Tian Qiao and Tian E have now been collected and preserved in the Jing Tree Hall. In 2002, clan members raised funds to renovate the existing structures, adding new luster to this historic site.