Prohibition Stele

Prohibition Stele

The Prohibition Stele is a cultural tourism attraction.

Prohibition Stele

Prohibition Stele. In the 19th year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty (1814), to regulate market behavior, six prohibitions were jointly agreed upon by local villagers and inscribed on a stone stele, known as the "Yongmei Street Community-wide Permanent Prohibition Stele." The inscription mainly includes behavioral regulations on slaughtering, land rent, merchant lodging, storefronts, and street vending, demonstrating that in the Qing Dynasty, which emphasized agriculture over commerce, the Yongmei Town still enjoyed commercial prosperity. The people of Yongmei have long upheld business ethics centered on integrity, fairness, and civility. Since the Song Dynasty, the town’s commercial vitality has not relied solely on its favorable geographical location. The stele was erected at the Yongmei Market (Zhenxing Street) to oversee compliance. On the ninth day of the fourth lunar month in the 11th year of the Republic of China (1922), bandits raided Zhenxing Street, setting fire to shops and the cattle market, reducing them to ruins. The Prohibition Stele also faded into obscurity along with the decline of Zhenxing Street. It was not until 1986, during land clearing for construction, that this precious stele was rediscovered among overgrown weeds and rubble. However, its value was not recognized and acknowledged until 1997, when experts and scholars, after inspecting it, exclaimed: such inscriptions are rare nationwide, and it holds significant reference value for upholding modern market trading rules.