Fengyang Ancient Village

Fengyang Ancient Village

Fengyang Ancient Village has a history of over 1,000 years. The entire village is surnamed Wu, and its founding ancestor, Wu Jingyuan, was the Southern Expedition Marshal in the final years of the Southern Tang during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Emperor Li Yu of the Southern Tang sent Grand Marshal Wu Jingyuan to lead an army southward to establish a base for resisting the Song forces. However, within less than a year, the Southern Tang was conquered by the Song army. The Southern Expedition Marshal Wu Jingyuan, having lost his nation, laid down his arms and took refuge here, eventually leading to the establishment of the Wu clan in present-day Fengyang Village. By the Northern Song Dynasty, his grandson Wu Shifan achieved the distinction of passing the imperial examination as a Jinshi, holding official positions including the Crown Prince’s Central Secretariat, Henan Censor, and Court Gentleman for Consultation.

Fengyang Ancient Village still preserves rich cultural landscapes from the Song Dynasty and well-preserved Ming and Qing architectural structures. Locals summarize the village's architecture with the phrase “one ancient temple, two ancient streets, three ancestral halls, and four gate towers,” encompassing all the essence of Fengyang Ancient Village and reflecting its profound historical and cultural heritage.

“One ancient temple” refers to Fengxi Ancient Temple. Built in the late Northern Song Dynasty, Fengxi Ancient Temple features a two-courtyard, quadrangle-style layout and is a typical example of post-and-lintel construction. In front of the temple stands a thousand-year-old banyan tree that can provide shade for hundreds of people, and there is an ancient stage opposite the temple. “Two ancient streets” refer to two ancient paths paved with cobblestones and running through the village. These two roads are approximately one kilometer long, stretching from north to south and from east to west respectively, lined with shops on both sides and remaining bustling and lively even during the Republican era. “Three ancestral halls” are the Wu Ancestral Hall, Xuezhong Public Hall, and Shengqiu Public Hall. Among them, the most distinctive feature is the stone lions at the gate of the Wu Ancestral Hall—by tapping any part of them, one can determine their gender based on the sound. “Four gate towers” are located in the four cardinal directions: east, south, west, and north. Among these, the South Gate Tower was built in the late Northern Song Dynasty, and the area in front of it is paved with cobblestones arranged in the pattern of the “money” symbol, one of the three major traditional Chinese architectural symbols.

In addition to these famous ancient buildings, the village also houses the Fengyang Revolutionary Martyrs’ Monument. It turns out that more than ten people from Fengyang sacrificed their lives for the revolution during the Liberation War. Though not tall, the monument forever commemorates these heroes of Fengyang, enshrining their names for eternity.

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