Shrine of Wen Tianxiang, Duke of Xinguo

Shrine of Wen Tianxiang, Duke of Xinguo

The Shrine of Wen Tianxiang, Duke of Xinguo, is a cultural heritage site protected by the Shenzhen Municipal Government.

The Shrine of Wen Tianxiang, Duke of Xinguo, located at No. 15 Zhongshan East Road (current address) in Nantou Ancient City, Nanshan District, is a memorial hall built during the Jiaqing era of the Qing Dynasty to commemorate the national hero Wen Tianxiang. It remains well-preserved to this day.

Wen Tianxiang had close ties with the Wen clan descendants living in the Shenzhen area. According to the "Genealogy of the Wen Clan of Bao'an County": “The founding ancestor Bi, also known as Wenxi, styled Shian, achieved the top imperial examination degree along with his elder brother, Wen Shan Gong (Wen Tianxiang). He served as an official in Huizhou Prefecture, Guangdong. … After the fall of Yazhou and the defeat of the army, Wen Shan Gong was captured. Wen Bi secretly went to Yanjing (Beijing) to share his brother’s fate, but Wen Shan Gong, distinguishing between loyalty and filial piety, urged his younger brother to take care of their mother and raise the family. Wen Bi then took sixteen family servants, his wife, personal belongings, and official property, and secretly moved to Huangsonggang, Huzaiyuan in the Sixth Tusi of Sandu, Dongguan, where he built a home in the wilderness.” From the lineage of Wenxi, the founding ancestor of the Wen clan, the descendants have grown to tens of thousands. Therefore, descendants of the Wen clan in the Shenzhen area refer to Wen Tianxiang as “Great Ancestor Uncle.” It is said that Wen clan members can be found in areas such as Yongtou in Dongguan, Bumei, Shanwei, and Tantou in Songgang, Lingxia in Fushui, Baishixia, Gangxia in Shangbu, and Xintian in the New Territories.

“Duke of Xinguo” was the posthumous title bestowed upon Wen Tianxiang. In the early years of Emperor Duanzong of Song’s Jingyan reign, Wen Tianxiang was appointed as Left Chancellor and Privy Councilor, commanding the armed forces of all routes. The historic "Shrine of Wen Tianxiang, Duke of Xinguo" in Nantou is the most intact and largest ancient structure among the city's preserved monuments.

Wen Tianxiang, the top scholar of the Southern Song Dynasty, styled Songrui and also known as Wenshan, was born in 1236 into a landlord family in Futian Village, Chunhua Township, Luling (now southern Ji’an, Jiangxi). His father loved reading and placed great importance on his children’s education, hiring renowned scholars to tutor them. Wen Tianxiang would study, write, and discuss history with his younger brother in their study room, which was adorned with moral maxims, regardless of the season.

At the age of 18, Wen Tianxiang ranked first in the local examinations of Luling. At 20, he entered Bailuzhou Academy in Jizhou (now Ji’an, Jiangxi), where he was selected as a tribute scholar of Jizhou the same year and went with his father to Lin’an (now Hangzhou) to take the imperial exams. … More detailed information about Wen Tianxiang ++