Monument Pavilion of Combined Steles on Wu Fangchou’s Virtuous Deeds and Memorial Teachings

Monument Pavilion of Combined Steles on Wu Fangchou’s Virtuous Deeds and Memorial Teachings

The Monument Pavilion of Combined Steles on Wu Fangchou’s Virtuous Deeds and Memorial Teachings is located about 50 meters south of Yangwu No. 1 Village, Danadian Town, Yuanping City. It faces south and has a total height of 7.35 meters. It was first built in the 34th year of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty (1908).

Wu Fangchou, whose birth and death dates are unknown, styled himself Zhitian, and was a native of Lujiazhuang in Guoxian County (now Yuanping City). He passed the imperial examination as a Jinshi in the 12th year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1832), and held the office of Binyusu Dao (Military Defense Circuit) of Yanyu-Sui in Shaanxi, with the additional title of Salt Transport Commissioner. After his death, his students erected for him a combined stele commemorating his virtuous deeds and memorial teachings, and built a brick-and-stone pavilion to house it. The stele has a total height of 3.45 meters, is 0.82 meters wide, and sits on a 0.4-meter-high base, topped with a dragon-carved stele head. The front is inscribed with “Bestowed Jinshi Degree, Imperial Qing Honorary Title of Central Han Doctor, Shaanxi Yanyu-Sui Dao, Esteemed Lord Zhitian Wu, Posthumous Name Fangchou, Stele of Virtuous Deeds and Memorial Teachings, Honorary Title of Salt Transport Commissioner Conferred by Imperial Order.” The reverse side records Wu Fangchou’s life and achievements. The pavilion has a stone base, is 2.6 meters wide from east to west and 2 meters wide from north to south, with a brick-carved hip-and-gable roof on top, and is adorned on all four sides with five-curved bracket sets and upturned eaves. (Content excerpted from “A Collection of Cultural Relics in Xinzhou”)

Source: Xinzhou Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics

Yangwu No. 1 Village: Located about 12 kilometers northwest of Yuanping City, Yangwu No. 1 Village lies in a semi-hilly area along the Yangwu River. A local legend known as “Li Yangwu Fetching Water” gives the village its name.

Since the reform and opening-up, Yangwu No. 1 Village has developed into an economic hub of Danadian Town, ranking at the top in various aspects. The village has 508 households, a population of 1,865, and 2,140 mu of arable land, including nearly 200 mu of cash crops. Primarily agricultural, it also supports livestock breeding and transportation industries. In 2009, the village’s total economic income reached 39.08 million yuan, with a per capita net income of 4,568 yuan.

In recent years, the village’s two committees... More details about Yangwu No. 1 Village++