Former Residence of Ouyang Xiu

Former Residence of Ouyang Xiu

The former residence of Ouyang Xiu is a cultural tourism attraction.

The former residence of Ouyang Xiu is located in Ouying Village, Maoling Town, Xiangcheng County.

Ouyang Xiu, courtesy name Yongshu, literary name Zuiweng, and in his later years known as Liuyi Jushi, was a native of Luling in Jizhou (present-day Ji’an, Jiangxi). He was a renowned statesman, literary figure, and historian of the Northern Song Dynasty, holding the position of Vice Grand Councilor. Ouyang Xiu lost his father at the age of four and grew up in poverty, yet he developed a love for learning from an early age. At the ages of 23 and 24, he took the Imperial College Examination and the Ministry of Rites Examination twice, ranking first on both occasions. In the final palace examination, he achieved the 14th place among the top-ranking (Jiake) candidates and was awarded the degree of Jinshi (presented scholar), appointed as a junior official in the Secretariat and proofreader at the Palace Library, and served as a judicial officer (responsible for investigating criminal cases) in the Western Capital (Luoyang). During his three years in the Western Capital, Ouyang Xiu purchased a property with land along the Ru River east of Xiangcheng, where he brought his mother and sister to live.

The beautiful landscapes and the simple, hardworking folkways of Xiangcheng left a deep impression on Ouyang Xiu. In the first year of the Jingyou era (1034), after completing his term as a judicial officer in the Western Capital, he returned to Xiangcheng to visit family and wrote the poem “Reflections Upon Returning to My Humble Home in Xiangcheng After Resigning from Office”:

The road ends where my homeland’s hills appear, With joy I gaze upon my cottage near. Leaning on my staff, I scan the distant wood, Singing as I climb the ruins I once knew.

I knock on the thatched door in the humble lane, Startled greetings come from those who remain. Since youth I’ve longed to till this quiet glen, And here I’ll take my hoe again.

Children play while watering horses nearby, In the fields they urge me to ride. I bid farewell to friends from Luoshe, And gather the simple folk of Luo.

Spring mulberry leaves grow lush and green, The farming year urges on the toil unseen. Ma Qiang tires of life as a guest, Yan An still offers memorials at court.

At dawn, pheasants fly from their nests in flight, Fresh rain has fallen on Dongnie’s height. I must go now on duties far away, How can I hope to stay?

In June of the second year of the Baoyuan era (1039), Ouyang Xiu resumed his official duties and moved his mother and sister to Nanyang to live. In early winter, he returned to Xiangcheng and entrusted the property to neighbors for safekeeping. During this trip to Xiangcheng, Ouyang Xiu wrote another poem, “Returning to My Humble Home in Xiangcheng in Early Winter”:

The sun sets, the fields grow dim, The cold town lies quiet and grim. Cattle and sheep head to the distant slope, Birds and sparrows linger on the roof.

Leaning on my thorn staff on high ground, I gaze at the hills stretching far and round.

Wheat in the furrows turns green in the breeze, Frost-covered crows return outside the trees.

The grain ripens day by day, We drink to lighten the load somehow.

We sing merrily as the year draws to a close, Yet solitude greets the door of thatch and posts.

Drunk, I sing through the year’s last hours, Alone I face the wicket of thatched bowers.

Over the next ten years, no matter whether he served in the capital or was transferred to local posts, Ouyang Xiu always regarded Xiangcheng as his second home. In the first year of the Huangyou era (1049), he moved to Yingzhou (present-day Fuyang, Anhui), where he acquired another piece of land, built a residence, and provided a home for his mother and wife and children. That same year, his fourth son, Bian, was born. In the fourth year of the Xining era (1071), Ouyang Xiu retired from office with the title of Grand Academician of the Hall of Venerating Literature and Minor Tutor to the Crown Prince, returning to live in his Yingzhou residence. He divided up his estate, entrusting the Xiangcheng property to his fourth son, Ouyang Bian (who held the title of Chengyilang). Descendants of Ouyang Bian have lived in Xiangcheng for over 900 years. The former residence of Ouyang Xiu was converted by his descendants into the ancestral temple of the Ouyang family. The temple consists of a front courtyard and a rear courtyard. The front courtyard has a main hall with three rooms and side rooms on the east and west, housing the spirit tablets of Ouyang Bian and successive generations of descendants. The rear courtyard has three side rooms on each of the east and west sides, and a main hall with five bays, featuring a flush-gable roof with front eaves extending outward. The central shrine enshrines portraits of Ouyang Xiu and his wife, while portraits of his four sons hang on the east and west walls. Later, due to the passage of time and neglect, most of the structures of the Ouyang ancestral temple were destroyed, leaving only the east side room and the main hall of the front courtyard. The main hall is built with brick and stone, has a simple structure, is supported by two beams, features a five-ridge, double-slope flush-gable roof covered with small gray tiles. The entire structure is plain yet dignified.