County Wenchang Palace

County Wenchang Palace

County Wenchang Palace is located in the southeast corner of the county town. It now serves as the seat of the county Party committee and was designated as a municipal-level key cultural relics protection unit by the People's Government of Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture in 2005.

Wenchang Palace was built under the decree of Gao Zitong, the local chieftain of Yaozhou during the Ming Dynasty’s Jingtai era (1450–1456). In the 37th year of the Wanli reign (1609), the prefect, local chieftain Gao Yingqi, scholar Jin Yifeng, and Wan Zhongxuan reconstructed it. In the 18th year of the Qianlong reign (1753) during the Qing Dynasty, prefect Cheng Jiadong and prefectural magistrate Weng Jia renovated it. In the 24th year of Qianlong (1759), prefect Yang Zhonggu and prefectural magistrate Tu Ketang led local gentry in another round of restoration. During the Xianfeng and Tongzhi eras, it was destroyed amid turmoil. In the 24th year of the Guangxu reign (1898), prefect Huang Qifeng and local resident Hu Shourong, among others, restored it. It is an ancient two-story wooden structure. To restore Wenchang Palace to its former glory, Yao’an County renovated and refurbished it in 2008.

The lattice doors of the five central bays in the main hall feature calligraphy by Hu Shourong of the essay "Yin Zhi Wen" (The Hidden Virtue Scripture) by the Emperor of Wenchang. The calligraphy and carving craftsmanship are considered exquisite. "The Hidden Virtue Scripture" is one of the renowned texts in Taoist Wenchang culture that encourages people to perform good deeds and accumulate virtue. The term "Yin Zhi" originates from the "Book of Documents · Hong Fan": "It is Heaven that secretly blesses the people below, harmonizing their dwellings." "Yin" means silent or hidden, and "Zhi" means to determine or settle. It implies that although Heaven does not speak, it silently observes human actions—both good and evil—and then rewards or punishes accordingly. It encourages people to accumulate hidden merits and virtues, doing good without seeking fame, and avoiding wrongdoing even in private, so as to receive Heaven’s invisible blessings of fortune, prosperity, and longevity.

Hu Shourong excelled in prose composition and regulated verse, and his calligraphy was outstandingly elegant, bearing the distinctive style of Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan. One can appreciate this through the "Yin Zhi Wen" inscribed on the lattice doors of Wenchang Palace.

Hu Shourong, courtesy name Gunchen, was originally from Tuguan Village in Yao’an County but later moved to the county town. He came from a poor family in his childhood but studied diligently. In the 8th year of the Guangxu reign (1882), he passed the imperial examination for the degree of Juren (presented scholar), and in the 18th year of Guangxu (1892), he earned the Jinshi degree (advanced scholar) and was appointed as an official in the Ministry of Rites, Bureau of Rites. Amidst the deepening national crisis, in April 1895, he resolutely joined the Reform Movement initiated by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao in Beijing. He was among the more than 1,300 signatories of the "Public Vehicle Petition," opposing the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki and supporting the principles of "rejecting peace, relocating the capital, and reforming the government." In 1897, Hu Shourong participated in the activities of the Reformists’ Protect-the-Nation Society. On September 20, 1898, when Empress Dowager Cixi executed the Six Gentlemen of the Hundred Days' Reform and issued arrest warrants for the petition signatories, Hu Shourong, to avoid capture, was forced to resign from office and return to Yao’an. After returning to Yao’an, he oversaw the renovation of the Dacheng Academy and taught there. Although he received protection from the local community, under the pressure of three successive arrest warrants from the Qing court, he chose to commit suicide by swallowing gold in 1911 at the age of 39 to avoid implicating fellow villagers and embarrassing local officials.

Source: People’s Government of Yao’an County