Baochong Memorial Archway

Baochong Memorial Archway

Baochong Memorial Archway is located in the Ancestral Temple Park of Foshan City. It earned its name from the two Chinese characters “Baochong” (meaning “commended and honored”) inscribed on the stone dragon-and-phoenix plaque. Constructed in the 16th year of the Zhengde era during the Ming Dynasty (1521), it was built when Liang Zhuo, an official of the Ministry of Rites, was promoted to the position of Chengde Lang by imperial decree. Originally erected at the Junma Liang Ancestral Hall on Xianchong Street in Foshan, the archway bore an imperial edict and the year of its establishment. It is a brick-and-stone memorial archway with a hip-and-gable roof, four pillars, three bays, and three stories, spanning a total width of 7.15 meters. The beams and pillars are made of gray sedimentary rock. Each story is adorned with carved bricks mimicking wooden structures, featuring bracket sets styled like ruyi (scepter). Its architectural components showcase exquisite craftsmanship—featuring individual brick carvings of symbolic motifs such as dragons and phoenixes amid auspicious clouds, carp leaping through the Dragon Gate, qilins with jade books, ducks in lotus flowers, peonies and daylilies, as well as precious tripods and swords. There are also multi-block relief carvings, including the popular “two dragons playing with a pearl” design and depictions of celestial luohans. It represents a masterpiece that brings together the finest brick carving decorative techniques of its time.