Jiang Ancestral Hall in Shidian

Jiang Ancestral Hall in Shidian

Jiang Ancestral Hall in Shidian is a cultural tourism attraction.

Jiang Ancestral Hall

"Nestled before the courtyard of Yelü are a thousand trees; within the hall of A'mang Jiang, spring reigns supreme." These two couplets, seen at the gate of the Wulue Ancestral Hall of the Jiang family in Muguolang Village, hint at the connections among the four surnames — "Yelü," "A," "Mang," and "Jiang." The Jiang Ancestral Hall has long been neglected and now appears dilapidated. These two couplets at the entrance were partially damaged by an earthquake, making about half of their inscriptions nearly unrecognizable. At the center of the ancestral hall hangs a plaque inscribed with "Wulue Ancestral Hall." In the upper left corner of the plaque is written: "Descendant of Emperor Taizu of the Khitan-founded Liao Dynasty, Yelü Abaoji. Tai A Su Lu served as a Myriarch at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and was appointed the first Chief Official of Shidian Pacification Commission in the 17th year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty. Later, he was ennobled as the Chancellor-level Military General Wulue." From this, it can be seen that this Jiang Ancestral Hall was established to commemorate the ancestor A Su Lu and to proclaim their identity as descendants of the Khitans to outsiders. But how did the surname "A" evolve into the surname "Jiang"?

In Shidian, there are two branches of the Jiang family: the "Han Jiang" and the "A'mang Jiang," the latter of whom claim descent from the Khitans. A reporter in Shidian met Mr. Jiang Qikun, who has done extensive research on the history of his family name. Mr. Jiang told the reporter that his late father, Jiang Weifu, had collected many genealogical records and family histories. Among them, the "Qingniu Baima" (Green Ox and White Horse) illustration at the beginning of the "Shidian Pacification Commission Genealogy" best illustrates the story. According to Mr. Jiang’s description, at the center of the picture is a tall green pine tree, flanked by four smaller green pines in parallel. To the left front of the large pine is a river, with a man riding a white horse heading toward the mountain where the large pine stands. On the right front is another river, with a woman riding a green ox also moving toward the same mountain. According to interpretations by experts such as Meng Zhidong, the mountain is the Muye Mountain, the large green pine symbolizes the ancestor of the Khitans, the four smaller pines represent the eight later Khitan tribes, and the two figures signify the couple from whom the Khitans originated. The rivers on the left and right are the Tu River and the Huang River, respectively. This interpretation aligns largely with the origin myths of the Khitans recorded in historical texts.

Starting in 1995, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences jointly submitted a research proposal to the State Science and Technology Commission on "Molecular Archaeology," and the issue of the Khitans in Yunnan became a key part of this study. The research team extracted samples from Khitan tombs confirmed by epitaphs and obtained DNA from those samples. Meanwhile, they collected blood samples from 100 individuals with the surname Jiang in Houzhuang Village and Longdong Village in Baoshan City, as well as in Muguolang Village and Dazhupeng Village in Shidian, also extracting their DNA. Through DNA sequencing, the final conclusion was that among the analyzed populations — including the Daur, Ewenki, Mongolian, and Han peoples — the Daur people have the closest genetic relationship to the Khitans and are their descendants. Meanwhile, the Jiang-surnamed people in Baoshan and Shidian, Yunnan, share similar paternal origins with the Daur. Based on historical records, it is highly likely that they are descendants of Khitan officers and soldiers in the Mongol army. Thus, the question of confirming the Khitan descendants in Shidian has finally been put to rest.

Address: Muguolang Village, Shidian County