Hometown of He Shaoji

Hometown of He Shaoji

The hometown of He Shaoji is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Hunan Province.

The hometown of He Shaoji is located in Dongmen Village, Dongmen Township, about 1 kilometer east of Dao County’s urban area, covering a total area of approximately 1 square kilometer. The village currently has a population of over 1,100 people. According to the genealogy of the He family, since the Ming and Qing dynasties, the village has produced 24 imperial examination jinshi degree holders and was once known as the “Family of Scholar-Officials for Fifteen Generations.” Among the notable figures are He Linghan and He Shaoji, father and son.

The hometown of He Shaoji is well-preserved and boasts distinct ethnic characteristics and profound cultural heritage. The architectural layout of the homestead is rational, featuring structures such as the Tanhua Mansion (Hall of the Palace Examination Third Place), Jinshi Building (Scholar-Official Building), Dongzhou Thatched Cottage, and residential houses for scholars and commoners. These buildings are exquisitely designed, finely carved, ingeniously crafted, solemn and dignified, and hold significant historical and artistic value. Among them, the Jinshi Building and the Tanhua Mansion serve as specimens of civilian ancestral hall public architecture from the Qing Dynasty and are physical carriers for studying social customs in Henan, possessing high historical and architectural scientific value.

He Shaoji (1799–1873), courtesy name Zizhen, became a jinshi degree holder in the 16th year of the Daoguang reign during the Qing Dynasty (1836) and served as the Educational Commissioner of Sichuan. He Shaoji’s calligraphy art is one of the accumulations of Chinese civilization, renowned both in China and abroad. He has been honored as the “Foremost Calligrapher of the Qing Dynasty for Over Two Hundred Years” and praised for “pushing Chinese calligraphy art to its third peak.” In 1990, the first national symposium on He Shaoji’s calligraphy art was held in his hometown.

He Linghan (1772–1840), courtesy name Yunmen, was the father of He Shaoji. In the 10th year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty (1805), he ranked third (Tanhua) in the palace examination under the Year of the Wood Horse and was appointed as a Hanlin Academy editor. He subsequently served in positions including Minister of Works, Minister of Personnel, and Minister of Revenue.

The hometown of He Shaoji is recognized as a provincial-level historical and cultural village. In 2011, it was designated as a provincial cultural heritage site by the People’s Government of Hunan Province.

Further Reading:

· Ninth Batch of Hunan Provincial Cultural Heritage Sites