Wu Family Shrine

Wu Family Shrine

The Wu Family Shrine is a national AAA-level tourist attraction and cultural heritage site.

Wu Family Shrine

The Wu Family Shrine is a Han Dynasty ancestral hall and cemetery, located north of Wuzhai Mountain Village in Zhifang Town, Jiaxiang County. Built during the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it is the earliest structure in our city. Entirely constructed from stone, the shrine features richly carved stone reliefs with intricate craftsmanship, representing a complete and well-preserved treasure of Han Dynasty stone carving art. Currently, there is one pair of stone memorial archways, one pair of stone lions, two stone steles, and more than 40 stone components from four groups of shrine carvings. The memorial archways and stone lions were part of the tomb passage facilities. The paired archways are symmetrical, spaced 4.15 meters apart, and consist of a base, body, capital, and top. They feature double eaves extending horizontally, with a roof adorned with four-sloped tile ridges, flanked by a single-eave subsidiary archway. The total height is 4.30 meters, with each base being 2.58 meters wide and 1.4 meters thick, and the entire structure covered in carved images and decorative patterns. The front of both archway bodies bears an inscription from the first year of the Jianhe era (147 AD), consisting of over 90 characters, recording the names of the archway builders—Wu Shigong and his brothers Suizong, Jingxing, and Kaiming—as well as the names of the craftsmen. A pair of stone lions stands opposite each other on either side of the archways, standing 1.24 meters tall and 1.45 meters long, with gaping mouths and wide eyes, heads held high and gaze alert, exuding a simple yet dignified and vivid form. The Wu Liang Shrine is a single-eave gable-and-hip roof structure, with six surviving stone slabs: three “Wu Liang Shrine Reliefs,” two “Auspicious Omens” slabs, and one broken pillar from “Wu Family Forest.” The interior is densely carved with images. On the upper parts of the eastern, western, and central walls are arranged over 40 historical stories, including ancient emperors from Fuxi to the Xia and Shang dynasties, loyal ministers and righteous men such as Lin Xiangru, Zhuan Zhu, and Jing Ke, as well as filial sons and virtuous women like Min Ziqian, Laolaizi, Ding Lan, and Liang Gaohang. The lower parts of the three walls depict scenes of the shrine owner’s processions and domestic kitchen life. The peaks of the eastern and western walls illustrate tales of immortals such as the Eastern King and Western Queen Mother, while the inner ceiling features various auspicious images like the divine tripod, yellow dragon, lovebirds, and conjoined beasts, accompanied by clerical script inscriptions. The Front Stone Chamber is a double-bay structure with a hanging gable roof and a central niche at the back wall. Sixteen stone slabs survive: the original twelve “Front Stone Chamber Reliefs,” two from the “Rear Stone Chamber Reliefs” (nos. 4–5), one “Confucius Meets Laozi” slab, and one offering table slab. The chamber is fully covered in carvings, also featuring mythological stories such as those of the Western Queen Mother and Eastern King. The western wall depicts Confucius meeting Laozi, Confucius’ disciples, the shrine owner’s processions, banquets, dances, as well as ancient sages like King Wen’s ten sons, Zhao Xuanzi, Jing Ke, and Xing Qu. The lower part of the western wall shows a large-scale battle scene on land and water. The rear wall of the small niche depicts the shrine owner’s residential tower home, while the chamber ceiling illustrates celestial myths such as immortals traveling, Thunder God and Lightning Goddess, the Northern Dipper Star Deity, and Fuxi and Nuwa, all accompanied by numerous inscriptions. It is generally believed that the shrine owner was Wu Rong. The Left and Right Chambers have the same structure as the Front Stone Chamber, with 17 surviving stone slabs: eight from the original “Left Stone Chamber Reliefs” (nos. 2–9), seven from the “Rear Stone Chamber Reliefs” (nos. 1–3 and 6–9), one broken ridge stone, and one decorative patterned stone. The content layout is similar to the front chamber. Scenes such as the Duke of Zhou Assisting King Cheng, the Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors, and Guan Zhong Shooting Duke Huan of Qi, as well as the Sea Spirit Mountain Journey and Ascension to Immortality images on the ceiling, are not found in the front chamber. There are no inscriptions, and the identity of the shrine owner remains uncertain. The Wu Family Shrines were first mentioned in the Northern Song Dynasty in Ouyang Xiu’s *Jigu Lu* (Collected Antiquities) and Zhao Mingcheng’s *Jinshi Lu* (Records of Metal and Stone). In the Southern Song Dynasty, Hong Zikui compiled some of their inscriptions and images in *Lishi* (Explanation of Clerical Script) and *Lixu* (Sequel to Lishi), and was the first to name them the “Wu Liang Shrine Reliefs.” Later, due to flooding, the shrines were buried underground. During the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong era, Huang Yi and others excavated and restored them, identifying four shrines: the “Wu Liang Shrine,” “Front Stone Chamber,” “Rear Stone Chamber,” and “Left Stone Chamber.” Except for moving the “Confucius Meets Laozi” slab to the Jining Confucian Temple, they built structures on-site to encase the carved stones within the walls, surrounded the paired archways, and labeled the gate with “Wu Family Shrine.” The rediscovery of these stone carvings, with their “ancient and simple reliefs and exquisite clerical script,” drew widespread attention. Scholars and famous figures rushed to make rubbings, and they were extensively recorded in publications both in China and abroad. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, a dedicated cultural relics preservation office was established here to enhance the protection and management of these precious artifacts. In 1964, the stone archways and lions, which had been in a deep pit, were lifted to their current ground level and placed in a spacious protective chamber. In 1972, the images from the old walls were removed and relocated to the archway chamber for display. In 1981, Jiang Yingju conducted a comprehensive investigation and restoration, providing definitive evidence that the “Rear Stone Chamber” did not actually exist.

The Wu Family Shrine is a Han Dynasty ancestral hall and cemetery, located north of Wuzhai Mountain Village in Zhifang Town, Jiaxiang County. Built during the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it is the earliest structure in our city. Entirely constructed from stone, the shrine features richly carved stone reliefs with intricate craftsmanship, representing a complete and well-preserved treasure of Han Dynasty stone carving art. Currently, there is one pair of stone memorial archways, one pair of stone lions, two stone steles, and four groups of shrine stone carving components totaling over 40 stones.

The memorial archways and stone lions were part of the tomb passage facilities. The paired archways are symmetrical, spaced 4.15 meters apart, and consist of a base, body, capital, and top. They feature double eaves extending horizontally, with a roof adorned with four-sloped tile ridges, flanked by a single-eave subsidiary archway. The total height is 4.30 meters, with each base being 2.58 meters wide and 1.4 meters thick, and the entire structure covered in carved images and decorative patterns. The front of both archway bodies bears an inscription from the first year of the Jianhe era (147 AD), consisting of over 90 characters, recording the names of the archway builders—Wu Shigong and his brothers Suizong, Jingxing, and Kaiming—as well as the names of the craftsmen. A pair of stone lions stands opposite each other on either side of the archways, standing 1.24 meters tall and 1.45 meters long, with gaping mouths and wide eyes, heads held high and gaze alert, exuding a simple yet dignified and vivid form. The Wu Liang Shrine is a single-eave gable-and-hip roof structure, with six surviving stone slabs: three “Wu Liang Shrine Reliefs,” two “Auspicious Omens” slabs, and one broken pillar from “Wu Family Forest.”

The interior is densely carved with images. On the upper parts of the eastern, western, and central walls are arranged over 40 historical stories, including ancient emperors from Fuxi to the Xia and Shang dynasties, loyal ministers and righteous men such as Lin Xiangru, Zhuan Zhu, and Jing Ke, as well as filial sons and virtuous women like Min Ziqian, Laolaizi, Ding Lan, and Liang Gaohang. The lower parts of the three walls depict scenes of the shrine owner’s processions and domestic kitchen life. The peaks of the eastern and western walls illustrate tales of immortals such as the Eastern King and Western Queen Mother, while the inner ceiling features various auspicious images like the divine tripod, yellow dragon, lovebirds, and conjoined beasts, accompanied by clerical script inscriptions.

The Front Stone Chamber is a double-bay structure with a hanging gable roof and a central niche at the back wall. Sixteen stone slabs survive: the original twelve “Front Stone Chamber Reliefs,” two from the “Rear Stone Chamber Reliefs” (nos. 4–5), one “Confucius Meets Laozi” slab, and one offering table slab. The chamber is fully covered in carvings, also featuring mythological stories such as those of the Western Queen Mother and Eastern King. The western wall depicts Confucius meeting Laozi, Confucius’ disciples, the shrine owner’s processions, banquets, dances, as well as ancient sages like King Wen’s ten sons, Zhao Xuanzi, Jing Ke, and Xing Qu. The lower part of the western wall shows a large-scale battle scene on land and water. The rear wall of the small niche depicts the shrine owner’s residential tower home, while the chamber ceiling illustrates celestial myths such as immortals traveling, Thunder God and Lightning Goddess, the Northern Dipper Star Deity, and Fuxi and Nuwa, all accompanied by numerous inscriptions. It is generally believed that the shrine owner was Wu Rong. The Left and Right Chambers have the same structure as the Front Stone Chamber, with 17 surviving stone slabs: eight from the original “Left Stone Chamber Reliefs” (nos. 2–9), seven from the “Rear Stone Chamber Reliefs” (nos. 1–3 and 6–9), one broken ridge stone, and one decorative patterned stone. The content layout is similar to the front chamber. Scenes such as the Duke of Zhou Assisting King Cheng, the Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors, and Guan Zhong Shooting Duke Huan of Qi, as well as the Sea Spirit Mountain Journey and Ascension to Immortality images on the ceiling, are not found in the front chamber. There are no inscriptions, and the identity of the shrine owner remains uncertain. The Wu Family Shrines were first mentioned in the Northern Song Dynasty in Ouyang Xiu’s *Jigu Lu* (Collected Antiquities) and Zhao Mingcheng’s *Jinshi Lu* (Records of Metal and Stone). In the Southern Song Dynasty, Hong Zikui compiled some of their inscriptions and images in *Lishi* (Explanation of Clerical Script) and *Lixu* (Sequel to Lishi), and was the first to name them the “Wu Liang Shrine Reliefs.” Later, due to flooding, the shrines were buried underground.

During the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong era, Huang Yi and others excavated and restored them, identifying four shrines: the “Wu Liang Shrine,” “Front Stone Chamber,” “Rear Stone Chamber,” and “Left Stone Chamber.” Except for moving the “Confucius Meets Laozi” slab to the Jining Confucian Temple, they built structures on-site to encase the carved stones within the walls, surrounded the paired archways, and labeled the gate with “Wu Family Shrine.” The rediscovery of these stone carvings, with their “ancient and simple reliefs and exquisite clerical script,” drew widespread attention. Scholars and famous figures rushed to make rubbings, and they were extensively recorded in publications both in China and abroad.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, a dedicated cultural relics preservation office was established here to enhance the protection and management of these precious artifacts. In 1964, the stone archways and lions, which had been in a deep pit, were lifted to their current ground level and placed in a spacious protective chamber. In 1972, the images from the old walls were removed and relocated to the archway chamber for display. In 1981, Jiang Yingju conducted a comprehensive investigation and restoration, providing definitive evidence that the “Rear Stone Chamber” did not actually exist.