The Hall of Returning Gold

The Hall of Returning Gold

The Hall of Returning Gold is located by the road between Guancheng and Wentang and was built during the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty. The pavilion is five meters long, four meters wide, and five meters tall, constructed with brick and tile.

The pavilion was built by Yuan Youxin, a villager from Wentang, and originally served as a teahouse where tea was sold. During the time he ran the business, one traveler who stopped for tea left behind three hundred taels of silver. He kept it safe for the owner, waiting for three years. Three years later, the owner returned to Dongguan and passed by the teahouse. Yuan Youxin returned the silver in full to him. The owner was extremely grateful and offered the silver to Yuan Youxin, but he refused to take a single coin. To honor Yuan Youxin’s virtue of honesty and integrity, later generations renovated the teahouse and renamed it “The Hall of Returning Gold.” Yuan Huiyu, a scholar from Wentang, specially composed a couplet for the pavilion:

The county annals record virtue clear, tracing back to this place’s worthy men, brewing tea with spring water pure, returning lost gold after three long years;

A straw-hatted traveler may pause awhile, moved by those who toil beneath the sun, rebuilt on the old site, a century-old tree now shelters hard-working folk.

Appendix: Inscription on the Plaque of the Hall of Returning Gold

Our clan’s ancestor, the honorable Yuan Youxin, once served tea at this pavilion. He noticed a bag of gold sitting there and realized it must have been left behind by a passing traveler. He kept it safe, waiting for the owner to return. Unexpectedly, night fell and the traveler did not come, so he took it home. The next day, he brought it back out again, and this continued for years. Eventually, the traveler returned and happened to mention the old incident. Only then did the elder learn the full story, retrieved the bag, and returned it. The traveler tried to thank him with gold, but he refused to accept it. This deed was recorded in the county annals. Now that this pavilion has been rebuilt, we respectfully inscribed it with the words “Returning Gold,” and include the story here to set an example for future generations. Dated on a propitious day in the cyclical year of Jiayin. Written and inscribed by Yuan Shanying of Wentang.