Fu Gong Ancestral Hall

Fu Gong Ancestral Hall

Fu Gong Ancestral Hall is a cultural relic protection unit of Taiyuan City.

Fu Gong Ancestral Hall consists of three parts: pavilions, ancestral halls, and gardens. It features a grand layout, covering an area of 16,500 square meters. The ancestral hall has five bays for worship, with a sacrificial platform in front, as well as west wing rooms, carved stone on the eastern wall, and a gate tower among other courtyard-style structures. Unfortunately, only a very small part of Fu Gong Ancestral Hall remains today. In the quiet courtyard, directly to the north is a large hall, and to the west are several bungalows. The large hall was presumably the place where Fu Shan was once worshipped and has been used as an activity room in recent years. Now, due to foundation subsidence, it has become a dangerous building, supported by a complex network of iron frames holding up the beams.

Establishment

Twenty-five years after Fu Shan’s passing, local officials in Taiyuan enshrined him in the Yangqu County School Xiangxian Ancestral Hall and the Taiyuan Sanli Ancestral Hall. During the Guangxu period, Zhang Zhidong, then governor of Shanxi, established the Sixue Jun Ancestral Hall in Taiyuan, enshrining Fu Shan, Wu Wen, Yan Ruqiu, and Fan Haoding. By the sixth year of the Republic of China, the local government built a new “Fu Gong Ancestral Hall” in Dongjihu Camp. Yan Xishan inscribed the plaque reading “Chen Biao Gu Zhong” (A Lone Figure Above the Dust), and Jiang Shuhai, a scholar from Shanxi University, wrote the couplet: “Discussing the heroes of Shanxi, their paths differ but their hearts are the same, their virtue brightens the eternal sun; serving as role models for a hundred years, their integrity strengthens the weak, frost fills the shrine red.” Unfortunately, this scenic spot in Taiyuan was later occupied as office space, and in the early days of the War of Resistance against Japan, it was converted into a high-end guesthouse. Zhou Enlai stayed here during his visit to Taiyuan to discuss resistance against Japan with Yan Xishan.

Current Situation

Today, the “Fu Gong Ancestral Hall” has been transformed into the “West Garden” within the compound of the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Few people now remember that this was once the place where Fu Shan, a model of virtue for all ages, was enshrined. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Shanxi Province successively established the Fu Shan Works Compilation Committee and the Fu Shan Research Association. The Taiyuan municipal government collected scattered authentic calligraphy works of Fu Shan and built the Fu Shan Forest of Stone Tablets Park by the Fen River. In the early 1960s, relevant departments renovated the Tongle Pavilion at the Jin Temple into the “Shanxi Historical Calligraphy and Painting Museum,” which was later transformed into the Fu Shan Memorial Hall. It includes an introduction to Fu Shan’s life and some of his calligraphy and painting works.

On the 26th day of the 12th lunar month in the Year of the Dragon, stepping on snow that had not yet melted, I came to the Jin Temple once again. There were only three groups of visitors in the quiet garden. After descending from the Yuntao Cave, where Fu Shan once studied, I walked alone into the empty Fu Shan Memorial Hall. Although I had read many different versions of Fu Shan’s biography, I once again carefully read through the life introduction in the hall. Gazing at the portrait of Fu Shan, dressed in a Taoist robe, exuding an aura of detachment and natural ease, I couldn’t help but recall another couplet from the former “Fu Gong Ancestral Hall,” a summary of Fu Shan’s life: “Literature and integrity strive for eternity; loyalty, filial piety, and immortality stem from the same path.”

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Municipal Cultural Relic Protection Units in Taiyuan City