Zhongpodi Ancient Village Castle

Zhongpodi Ancient Village Castle

The ancient and charming Zhongpodi Ancient Village Castle

Situated in the hilly region of the southeastern part of Zichuan District, Zhongpodi Village is located 2.5 kilometers northeast of Xihé Town, Zichuan District, Zibo City, Shandong Province. Historical records state: the area was initially named Gupingzhou due to its low-lying terrain. It became a village in the early Ming Dynasty, when the government renamed it Pudi, while also referring to it as Podi based on the terrain. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, it and its neighboring villages to the east and west were all collectively named “Podi.” Because it was situated in the middle, it came to be called “Zhongpodi Village.”

The village has one of the few surviving sets of four city gate castles—east, west, south, and north—built during the Ming and Qing dynasties, as well as long sections of intermittent stone walls (commonly referred to as “weizi”). It also features the ruins of the once-prominent Sun Family Courtyard, ancient locust trees, and a series of cultural relics such as traditional quadrangle dwellings. Though these relics have suffered varying degrees of damage from wars and various modern movements—including broken walls and ruins—they have managed to survive.

This group of ancient mountain village buildings exhibits architectural characteristics spanning the late Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties and forms an inseparable historic landscape together with the uniquely styled related relics in the neighboring villages to the east and west.

Let’s start with the South Gate. As you walk through the stone-arched, castle-like South Gate, you’ll immediately see a towering ancient locust tree embedded at the base of the western wall, and facing you is a small temple dedicated to Guan Yu. To the west is the site of the Sun Family Courtyard, located in the middle section of the east-west main street, featuring a high-platform stone stairway facing south. To the left of the stone steps in front of the courtyard gate also stands an ancient locust tree (this tree recently, on a quiet winter night, naturally withered and fell over against the wall of the courtyard, lying quietly on the steps like a sleeping elder). The original main gate once hung a wooden plaque carved with the imperial-bestowed inscription “Five Generations Under One Roof” (some say it was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, others claim it is kept by descendants of the Sun family). The courtyard architecture is like a maze, with multiple layers of courtyards leading in and out, twisting and turning with deep, solemn yards. It is said to have been built according to the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams layout. Legend has it that even children who lived there for over ten years would often get lost. Before the 1970s, dozens of clan families lived here simultaneously, and it enjoyed a long period of remarkable prosperity.

Legend has it that among the Sun clan was a martial arts examinee who possessed extraordinary strength and skill, capable of single-handedly lifting a thousand-jin horse-mounting stone with one arm. He once attended a banquet alone, unarmed and without any guards, that had been set as a trap by hostile southerners. At the banquet, he skillfully deflected a thrusting blade with the sliced meat being offered to him, terrifying his attackers and preventing them from launching an assault, thus saving the entire village from pillage. This left behind a tale of heroism.

On the eastern side inside the South Gate is a Qing-style siheyuan (courtyard house) made of blue bricks, belonging to the Lu family, who were local wealthy coal mine owners during the late Qing and early Republican period. There are also street-front hall rooms with corridor pillars and eaves, as well as the long-renowned “Tianfutang” pharmacy, opened by the prestigious traditional Chinese medicine family of Pu Wenfu.

The East Gate, named “Dongsheng” (Rising Sun), is located by the riverside. This gate connects to a long section of wall extending northward. On the upper part of the northern wall of the gate, a wild solitary pine tree grows upside down from a crevice in the rocks. Having survived for over a hundred years, its robust and upright form adds a scenic touch. Fifty meters outside the East Gate is the Guan Yu Temple of Dongpodi Village, in front of which stands a highly valuable brick-carved qilin (Chinese unicorn) screen wall with significant artistic and cultural merit. A few dozen meters further east is an ancient locust tree over a thousand years old. Despite enduring wind, frost, snow, and rain, it still boasts a spreading canopy and lush foliage.

The North Gate, named “Jingshan” (Scenic Mountain), has clearly visible stone-carved characters (the inscriptions on the other three gates were all covered with cement during the Cultural Revolution). To the west is an ancient temple that remains active to this day. About a hundred meters northeast of the North Gate are the ruins of the ancestral tombs of the Pu clan’s Podi branch. Buried here is Pu Renzhi, who was close to the leader of the anti-Qing uprising, Liu Depai, and whose entire family was executed by the Qing court after one of his subordinates mistakenly killed a local scholar from Chen family in Taihe. Also buried here are many innocent men, women, and children who were implicated and executed along with him, as well as numerous toppled or destroyed stone tablets.

Next to the tombs is the site of a mine from the 1920–1945 period, which featured one of the earliest tall mining derricks in China that used electrically powered mechanical hoisting equipment imported from the West. There was also a watchtower known as “Xidajia” (Western Big Frame), where Japanese puppet troops were stationed. This is the site of the mine ruins.

Inside the West Gate of the village is a memorial archway granted by the emperor to honor the chastity of a Pu family member (destroyed during the Cultural Revolution). Outside the West Gate once stood a grand and imposing Temple of the Earth God (also destroyed during the Cultural Revolution). Fifty meters to the southwest is the “Gupingzhou Xipodi Ancient Kiln Site,” a historical relic that has been listed as a key cultural heritage site under protection. A little further northwest, about a li away, are two historic sites: the Beisi (North Temple) of the once-flourishing Mingjiao Temple, which legend says could accommodate 800 monks for meditation, and the restored and still-active Shengquanshan Xiling Pavilion.

In addition, outside the South Gate of Zhongpodi Village is a site called “Huangjiayuan,” also known as “Huangjialou,” which was the slope sub-mine of the Xihé Coal Mine during the 1930–1958 period. In those days, a shiny narrow-gauge railway several kilometers long ran day and night, transporting coal nonstop from Zhongpodi Sub-Mine to the locomotive depot at Xihé Coal Mine via a chain of mine carts. It was one of the earliest witnesses of bringing Western electric locomotives and modern civilization into the mountainous region. There were also several rows of Western-style bungalows with “cement bump” walls, floor-to-ceiling windows, and wooden ceilings rich in European flair (the author once taught here in 1975, but the site is now severely damaged and urgently needs protection). Moreover, the village contains numerous ancient houses and lanes—quiet, winding paths that have withstood centuries of wind and rain, bearing witness to history.

The ancient and charming Zhongpodi is indeed one of the few remaining relatively intact ancient castle-style villages. Even so, these historic buildings have deteriorated over time due to a lack of maintenance and awareness for preservation among villagers, putting their current state at risk and making urgent repair and protection necessary. Fortunately, this ancient village has drawn attention and is no longer an overlooked corner. It is hoped that the government and cultural tourism authorities will send experts to conduct on-site investigations and evaluations, and take effective measures to explore, protect, restore, and develop it. By promoting and showcasing its historical culture, this cultural heritage site can shine anew. (By Pu Zhonghui)