Wenyao Zhuang

Wenyao Zhuang

Wenyao Zhuang is a structure built on a high platform base, with the main building being a corridor-style building (zoumalou), and auxiliary wings on both sides. The central axis includes an outer courtyard, gate tower, lower hall, patio, upper hall, and stone-reinforced slope. It faces southwest from the northeast, featuring a recessed gate tower, hanging gable walls, rammed earth construction, gray tiled roofing, and a composite structure of earth, wood, and stone. The complex covers a land area of 1,624 square meters, with a built-up area of 1,144 square meters, and is well-preserved. It has over 40 rooms, and two cycas trees (imported from Indonesia) stand on either side of the main gate. The building has a history of nearly 100 years.

Wenyao Zhuang is designed in the shape of a crab, with two “crab eyes” (represented by wells) on each side (replacing the smaller “ox-eye wells” found in ox-shaped houses). Currently, the two on the left remain, while the two on the right were destroyed during the construction of a national underground water diversion tunnel.

Wenyao Zhuang was built by Yao Sheng (also known as Bo Xiu), the 20th-generation descendant of the Changsheng lineage, who came from the ox-shaped house. He was a wealthy merchant based in Indonesia and the person in charge of the Guangchanglong Company.

Qiu Bo Xiu (1869–1947), originally named Yao Sheng, with the courtesy name Bingqiu and literary name Qiongying, valued literature and education, and was a strong advocate for learning. He was one of the founders of Meizhou’s Dongshan Middle School and Xiyang Middle School. He specially invited the renowned scholar Qiu Fengjia to teach at Pengfei Academy. He funded the establishment of the “Qiu Bo Xiu Scholarship.” In the early years of the Republic of China, he collaborated with seven local gentry families to form the “Guangli Planting Company,” which planted numerous trees to regulate water flow and beautify the environment, bringing long-term benefits to future generations.

Qiu Bo Xiu’s son, Lanxiu, was a classmate of Li Zongren and once served as the magistrate of Dan County in Hainan. Another son, Puxiu, was a classmate of Chen Cheng, a student in France, and later went to Indonesia to take over his father’s business.

Xiyang Town: Located in the southeastern part of Meijiang District, Xiyang Town borders YanYang Town of Meixian District and Dabu County to the east, the Dongsheng Industrial Park of Meizhou City to the west, Bingcun Town of Meixian District to the northeast, and Fengshun County to the southeast. In 2003, the former Baiwu Town was merged into Xiyang Town. In 2013, it was transferred from Meixian District to Meijiang District administration. The town government is now located in Xiyang Township. The total area of the town is 272.5 square kilometers, encompassing 27 administrative villages and 3 neighborhood committees, with a total population of 35,000.

Xiyang has long been a key hometown of overseas Chinese, with nearly 30,000 “Three Links” compatriots (overseas Chinese, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan residents) residing abroad, distributed across... More detailed information about Xiyang Town++