Zhongjie Archway

Zhongjie Archway

Zhongjie Archway is a cultural heritage site protected by Chaozhou City.

Zhongjie Archway is located at the entrance of Jinshan Lane near the North Gate in Chaozhou City. It was erected in the 16th year of the Jiajing reign during the Ming Dynasty (1537) by Zheng Zonggu, the prefect of Chaozhou, to commemorate Ma Fa, the late-Song Dynasty garrison commander of Cuifeng Fort in Chaozhou, acting military governor of Chaozhou, and national hero (for details on Ma Fa, see the entry “Tomb of Ma Fa”). The archway stands 5 meters tall and 4 meters wide, featuring a gate-like structure. Its decorative facade is currently covered with cement and has not been restored. The three characters “Zhong Jie Fang” (Archway of Loyalty and Integrity) inscribed on the archway were written by Huang Yidao, a Jieyang-born scholar-official who once served as prefect of Xinghua Prefecture during the Ming Dynasty. The calligraphy is upright, weighty, and vigorous. In 1987, Zhongjie Archway was designated as a key cultural relic protection unit of Chaozhou City.

Ma Fa was a Southern Song Dynasty hero who resisted the Yuan invasion. Originally from Putian, his ancestors migrated to Chaozhou Prefecture in the late Tang Dynasty, and he was the 16th-generation descendant. In the second year of the Jingyan reign during the Southern Song Dynasty (1277), when Yuan troops besieged Chaozhou City, his entire family of nine died in the defense. Before the city fell, his wife, Lady Wang, secretly ordered three servants to help five of their sons escape. Three of the sons sought refuge with their maternal grandfather, a wealthy man named Wang in Zhanglin (now part of Chenghai), Raoping, while the other two went to stay with relatives and friends in Heping, Chaoyang. Their descendants have since grown into prominent Ma clans in both areas. … More details about Ma Fa ++