Maozhong Site

Maozhong Site

The Maozhong Site is a cultural heritage site protected by Henan Province.

The Maozhong Site is located about 100 meters northwest of Maozhong Village in Sundian Town. Also known as the Filial Son Tomb, this site is an oval-shaped earthen mound extending from east to northwest, rising more than two meters above the ground with an irregular shape, and belongs to an ancient tomb cluster. Artifacts unearthed include bronze arrows, halberds, and pottery stamps inscribed with characters. These findings are of great importance for researching the history and culture of the Shang Dynasty and are designated as a provincial-level cultural heritage site.

According to legend, in ancient times, local authorities mandated that elderly people be buried alive upon reaching the age of 60. A filial son in the area, whose father had lost his wife early in life, chose not to remarry in order to prevent his son from having a stepmother. Father and son relied on each other for survival. When the son grew up, in order to keep his father with him forever, he farmed by day and built a kiln to make bricks (a kiln pit covering over 200 acres still exists near the site). In defiance of the authorities, he used the bricks to construct an underground residence and corridor, covering them with a thick layer of earth (the present-day mound), allowing his father to live hidden inside. He delivered food daily and kept his father company. The father lived to over 100 years old, and the son also took in many elderly neighbors. To honor the filial son’s virtue, locals also refer to Maozhong as the Filial Son Tomb.

Sundian Town: Located in the southwestern part of the city, Sundian Town borders Shangcai and Shangshui to the west, Sanzhangdian Township and Lizhai Town to the south, and Fanji Township to the north. It governs 34 administrative villages, 88 natural villages, has a population of 75,000, covers an area of 70.8 square kilometers, and includes 68,550 mu of arable land. The town government is headquartered in Sundian.

Legend has it that in the late Ming Dynasty, the Sun family migrated and settled at Honghe Bay. As this location was a port along the Honghe River, the Suns opened a shop here to make a living, and the settlement eventually became known as Sunwan Shop. In the first year of the Tongzhi reign during the Qing Dynasty (1862), the imperial examination graduate Yin Xuecheng and the military merit holder Zhang Fangkun initiated and donated funds to build a fortified village, named Sun... (Detailed information about Sundian Town++)

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Henan Provincial Cultural Heritage Sites