Sansheng Courtyard

Sansheng Courtyard

The Sansheng Courtyard is a cultural heritage site protected by Zhushan County.

The Sansheng Courtyard architectural complex is located in Shangyong Town, Zhushan County, at the confluence of the Du River and the Sizhou River from Zhuxi County. It was a grand local manor during the late Qing Dynasty and the “mansion” of Zhushan. Its name comes from “Wang Sansheng,” but Wang Sansheng was not an individual’s name — it was the collective trade name of an agriculture-and-commerce family business, which originated with a single man named Wang Yingkui.

Wang Yingkui was originally from Pan, Macheng County, Hubei Province. He was born in 1785 (the 50th year of the Qianlong reign in the Qing Dynasty), the eldest son in his family and born in the Year of the Snake. Orphaned of his mother at a young age, he left home in anger at the age of 19 after discovering that his stepmother had tried to poison him. He later made his way to Zhushan County, settling on Nan Guan Street, where he started small businesses dealing in copperware and tofu. Working tirelessly from dawn to dusk, he managed to save a modest sum within a year. He then relocated 20 li away to Tianjiaba (now Shangyong Town), settling on Beiba Street.

After settling in Tianjiaba, Wang Yingkui continued his copperware and tofu trades while also starting small-scale salt trading. His family wealth gradually grew. Later, he married a woman surnamed Weng from Lanniwang Village in Zhuxi County, gaining a virtuous and supportive wife. He then opened a general merchandise store, and within two years, he owned half of the shops on Beiba Street.

Tianjiaba was located deep in the mountains, rich in mountain produce but lacking in silver among farmers. Understanding the ways of commerce, Wang Yingkui promoted barter trade, exchanging store goods mostly for mountain delicacies and wild products. After several resales, he earned substantial profits. In addition, thanks to his warm personality and strong sense of loyalty, the business scope of the Wang family’s stores gradually expanded to areas such as Daning, Baihe, Guanghua (today’s Laohekou), and Yunyang (today’s Shiyan). Zhushan County became a hub for their goods distribution. Over a decade later, the Wang family business became a leading force in the border markets of Shaanxi, Hubei, and Chongqing.

As the Wang family business flourished, they expanded into timber. They harvested nanmu wood from Zhushan, Zhuxi, and surrounding areas, transporting it via waterways along the Du River, Han River, and Yangtze River to markets across the country. The trade of nanmu wood became a pillar industry for the Wang family. After the Xianfeng era of the Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi rose in power and began large-scale construction and garden restoration projects. For the reconstruction of the Summer Palace, she required a large quantity of nanmu wood. The Wang family organized manpower to transport significant amounts of nanmu to the imperial court, vigorously supporting the rebuilding of the Summer Palace and winning Cixi’s favor. She personally inscribed and bestowed a plaque reading “Wang Sansheng,” symbolizing prosperity in people, land, and wealth. Beyond that, the Wang family understood that commerce also needed political support. They used substantial sums to bribe Shan Maoqian, a retired Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion who was recuperating in his hometown of Xiangyang, through his subordinates. This secured official careers for later generations Wang Lijing and Wang Xueqian. Wang Lijing was promoted from Imperial Censor to Shuntian Prefecture, and Wang Xueqian advanced from a seventh-rank official to “Yellow River Commissioner.” From then on, the Wang family’s influence spanned both politics and commerce, achieving both fame and fortune.

The Rise and Fall of “Sansheng”

Though Wang Yingkui made his fortune in the mountains, he had no desire to return to his ancestral home. Thus, in middle age, he built a house at Lianghekou, outside Tianjiaba.

At the height of the Wang family’s power, although they had separate branches and sub-lineages, they remained undivided in ownership or purpose. Tenant farmers, hunters, and craftsmen all contributed labor and skills, working off rent or wages. Unity and collective strength laid a solid foundation for the family’s prosperity.

During the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican period, frequent wars, rampant banditry, and widespread suffering led to shrinking markets and blocked trade routes for the Wang family business. The weakened nation and impoverished populace caused their business to decline sharply. Records indicate that after 1919, the Wang family’s wealth suffered repeated looting, arson, and destruction by soldiers and bandits, resulting in massive losses. The third and fourth generations produced unruly descendants who neglected education and traditions, indulging in extravagance and vice with their wealth. As a result, the family’s storefronts began to close, and lands were sold off. The once-great family gradually declined. Around the time of the Anti-Japanese War, only a few descendants remained, surviving on rental income from small plots of land. However, many among the fourth and fifth generations had noble aspirations and joined revolutionary movements, scattering across Henan, Shaanxi, and Sichuan along revolutionary paths. Today, most descendants of the Wang family still reside in Zhushan and Zhuxi.

Original Appearance of the Manor

The Sansheng Manor was first built in 1825 (late Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty). According to research, the manor was built against the mountain and facing the water, oriented north-south, covering over 100 acres. Its structure featured three identical buildings arranged side by side, with eight courtyards in a single row, totaling 48 inner courts. Hundreds of blue-brick, blue-tiled houses formed a massive double-stroke Chinese character “王” (king), filling the vast plain of Lianghekou solidly and completely.

Although constructed mainly of brick and wood, the Sansheng Manor boasted gold-dragon pillars, silver-phoenix beam joints, copper lions atop the main ridge, and jade qilins resting delicately on the ridges of side rooms and wing rooms. There were also silver-ingot-shaped roof tiles and copper coin bases under the pillars. Twenty-seven rotating towers and forty-eight large courtyards highlighted the manor’s grand scale. Carved beams, painted rafters, and screen doors all displayed the manor’s luxury and refinement. Aligned with feng shui principles and the environment, the architectural layout followed the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) principles from the Book of Changes. The eight main structures were positioned according to the eight primary trigrams: Qian, Dui, Li, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Gen, and Kun. The sixty-four smaller units were subdivided according to the sixty-four derived trigrams. These sixty-four trigrams were divided into upper and lower sections: the upper section formed the front courtyard, including trigrams such as Qian, Kun, Tun, Meng, Xu, Song, Shi, Bi, Xiao Xu, Lv, Tai, Pi, Tong Ren, Da You, Qian, Yu, Sui, Lin, Zun, Guan, Guan, Shi Yan, Shan, Ben, Bo, Fu, Da Xu, Yi, Yang, Kun, Li, Kan, Li; the lower section formed the back courtyard, including trigrams such as Xian, Heng, Dun, Da Zhuang, Jin, Ming Yi, Jia Ren, Kui, Jian, Jie, Sun, Yi, Gai, Yuan, Juan, Cui, Sheng, Kun, Jing, Feng, Ding, Gen, Jian, Gui Mei, Dui, Huan, Jie, Zhong Fu, Xiao Guo, Ji Ji, Wei Ji. Each of the sixty-four trigrams, generated by the eight primary ones, combined yin-yang, five elements, six Jia, and six kinship relations into six Yao lines, totaling 384 Yao lines. The entire manor was thus composed of 384 rooms of various sizes. With the boundary line between Zhushan and Zhuxi counties in northwestern Hubei as its central axis, the manor spanned both counties, making its presence felt across Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Hubei.

Current State of the Manor

At the end of 2007, construction began on the Pan Kou Hydropower Station. Zhushan County raised over 17 million yuan to rebuild the Sansheng Courtyard. Following the principle of restoring the old as it was, one of the original courtyards was reconstructed at a 1:1 ratio, covering an area of more than 1,000 square meters. The courtyard is divided into three sections and two yards, with two stories, all walls made of ancient bricks, roofs covered with blue tiles, complemented by red doors and pillars. It presents an appearance that is rustic yet refined, dignified without losing liveliness. The courtyard features an elaborately carved stone flower gate, with stone-carved blue lions and white elephants placed at the entrance. The four eaves are adorned with vivid carvings of tigers and phoenixes. The doors and windows are decorated with intricate carvings of theatrical figures, landscapes, flowers, and birds, densely arranged.

The Sansheng Manor now serves as the visitor center for Shangyong Town. Inside, it displays tables, chairs, peculiar rocks, green plants, stone lions, stone elephants, and more, offering visiting tourists a place for sightseeing, rest, and tea tasting. This century-old mansion not only encapsulates the essence of Shangyong culture but also showcases the fascinating stories of the wealthy Sansheng family residence. It exhibits cultural relics, carvings, paintings, folk artworks, and handicrafts representative of Shangyong culture, injecting profound cultural significance into the development of tourism.

Shangyong Town: Originally known as Tianjiaba Town, Shangyong Town was the site of the ancient capital of the Shangyong Kingdom. On February 5, 2010, it was officially renamed Shangyong Town with approval from the provincial government. Located in the middle and upper reaches of the Du River, it is 12 kilometers from Zhushan County, covering an area of 200 square kilometers, with jurisdiction over 10 villages (residential areas) and a total population of 20,000.

Shangyong is a millennial ancient town with a history of 3,600 years. It has been a hub of culture and talent, producing notable figures such as paper-cutting master She Manbai and business tycoon Wang Sansheng. It boasts splendid cultural relics, with historical structures like the Sansheng Courtyard and Huangzhou Guild Hall standing tall. The town is also known for its traditional arts such as paper-cutting, clay sculpture, root carving, dragon lanterns, and dragon boat racing... More details about Shangyong Town++