Yangming Ancestral Hall in Guiyang

Yangming Ancestral Hall in Guiyang

Yangming Ancestral Hall in Guiyang is a cultural relic protection unit of Guizhou Province.

Yangming Ancestral Hall, located at the foot of Fufeng Mountain in the eastern part of the city, was first built in the 19th year of the Jiaqing reign during the Qing Dynasty (1814). This memorial hall was constructed to honor Wang Shouren (1472–1528), a Ming Dynasty philosopher and educator. It has undergone several renovations over the years and is now a cultural relic protection unit at both the provincial and municipal levels. The structure follows a traditional courtyard layout, with the main building being the Hall of Worship.

The Hall of Worship (Main Hall) of Yangming Ancestral Hall is connected to the "Hall of Upright Qi" and the "Osmanthus Hall" via corridors on both sides. At the center of the main hall stands a white marble seated statue of Mr. Wang Yangming. The ancestral hall features interconnected halls and corridors, lush greenery, a serene and pleasant atmosphere, as well as numerous poetic inscriptions and stone carvings, making it a remarkable treasure trove of cultural relics. However, after the outbreak of the War of Resistance, the site was occupied by military offices and other institutions, leading to long-term neglect. During the Cultural Revolution, it suffered an unprecedented catastrophe, with buildings in disrepair and all stone inscriptions destroyed. In the late 1980s, the Guiyang Municipal Government undertook restoration efforts. Based on old rubbings, Xie Xiaosi, a Guizhou-born artist residing in Suzhou, hired master stone carvers to replicate the inscriptions one by one. After more than a hundred years, this historic site regained its former glory.

Ticket Price: 3 RMB

Location: No. 13 Dongshan Road, Yunyan District, Guiyang City (near Dongshan Road)

Travel Routes: Take bus routes 6, 11, 32, 44, or 64 and get off at the Yangming Ancestral Hall stop.

Opening Hours

8:00-17:30

Wang Shouren (1472–1529) was a Chinese philosopher of the Ming Dynasty and a master synthesizer of the Idealist School of Mind. His courtesy name was Boyan and his pseudonym was Yangming. A native of Yuyao, Zhejiang, he was a renowned thinker, writer, philosopher, and military strategist of the Ming era. As the great synthesizer of the Lu-Wang School of Mind, he had deep knowledge of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Wang Shouren, along with Confucius, Mencius, and Zhu Xi, is honored as one of the “Four Sages”: Confucius, Mencius, Zhu Xi, and Wang. His philosophical doctrine, known as the Wang School or Yangming School, was the most influential school of thought during the Ming Dynasty. His academic ideas spread throughout China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and Southeast Asia. He achieved distinction both in moral character and scholarly contributions, surpassing others of the Ming era... More details about Wang Shouren++

Further Reading:

· First Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units in Guizhou Province