Bogong House

Bogong House

Bogong House is the oldest "single hall with two wings and one gate tower" style residential building in Xianhua Village, Xinlian Village. It faces southeast and is situated to the northwest, consisting of the main hall, wing rooms, a central courtyard, an outer gate tower, and an inner courtyard. The house features a recessed entrance gate, hanging gable walls, rammed earth construction, gray tiled roofing, and a well-preserved wood-earth-stone structure. It covers a land area of 488 square meters and a built-up area of 460 square meters, with a history of nearly 300 years.

Bogong House is referred to as such by later generations because it was built by Junhan Gong, the eldest son of Anqing Gong from the 14th generation. A golden plaque inscribed with “Residence of the Imperial Bodyguard” hangs above the gate tower, which is a great honor not only for Xianhua Village but also for Xinlian Village. In 2003, when then-Meizhou Municipal Party Committee Secretary Liu Rizhi inspected Niujiao House and passed by this site, he immediately stopped the car upon seeing the golden plaque, took photos of it, regarded it as a historical relic, and instructed the local government to ensure its proper preservation.

The title of “Residence of the Imperial Bodyguard” was awarded to Junquan Gong, the fifth son of Anqing Gong and the younger brother of Junhan Gong.

Junquan Gong excelled in martial arts from a young age and was ambitious with great strength, capable of lifting a thousand pounds. In the year of Jiazi (1743), at the age of 27, he went to the capital to take the imperial martial examination and ranked fifth among the successful candidates. He was appointed by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty as a “Palace Ceremonial Guard of the First Rank,” essentially an “Imperial Bodyguard,” and his ancestors were granted the honorary title of “Fengzheng Doctor” for three generations. Since Anqing Gong and his wife lived in the home of their eldest son in Bogong House, it was only natural that the golden plaque be hung on the gate tower of Bogong House.

After achieving success, Junquan Gong was enthusiastic about building bridges and roads to facilitate transportation. He donated to construct a new bridge over a small stream in the northern part of the village. At both ends of the bridge, official plaques bearing the inscription “Civil officials must dismount from their sedan chairs, military officials must dismount from their horses” were installed. Later, the bridge was demolished due to the construction of the Wangjiang Reservoir.

When the county magistrate reported the joy of his son’s success in the examinations and, on the same day, he also received news of the birth of a precious grandson after his daughter’s marriage, Junquan Gong’s mother, facing this double joy, remarked: “My son has passed again, and my daughter has given birth!” (Note: '贡' here implies giving birth.)

It is a pity that Junquan Gong passed away at a young age, at only 36.

Xiyang Town: Xiyang Town is located in the southeastern part of Meijiang District. To the east, it borders Yanyang Town of Meixian District and Dapu County; to the west, it neighbors the Dongsheng Industrial Park of Meizhou City; to the northeast, it adjoins Bingcun Town of Meixian District; and to the southeast, it meets Fengshun County. In 2003, the former Baike Town was merged into Xiyang Town. In 2013, it was transferred from Meixian District to Meijiang District, and the current Xiyang Town government is located in Xiyang Town Center. The town covers a total area of 272.5 square kilometers, governs 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 Overseas Chinese” (overseas Chinese, compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) residing abroad, distributed across... More detailed information about Xiyang Town++