Qianyang Filial Piety Shrine

　　    The Filial Piety Shrine was first constructed in the first year of the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty (1723), and was later renovated multiple times during the Daoguang and Guangxu periods. During the Republican era, it served as the office of the County Party Headquarters, the Anti-Enemy Support Association, as well as a temporary residence of Dai Li, and the former site of the *Qianyang Minbao* newspaper. The shrine is designed in the shape of a “工”-character siheyuan (a traditional Chinese courtyard house), with a plaque above the main hall’s lintel inscribed with the golden characters “For the Encouragement of Women,” written by Huang Benji, a Qing Dynasty educator, poet, and educational intendant of Qianyang. The main hall enshrines the memorial tablets of 21 individuals from Qianyang County who were recognized as filial sons, righteous men, chaste women, and heroic maidens throughout history. The left wing room upon entering was once the temporary residence of Dai Li when he ran a military intelligence training class in Qianyang during the War of Resistance period. A hand-drawn map of the ancient city of Qianyang, created in 1990 from memory by deaf-mute artist Xu Qichang, is displayed in the room. Currently, the shrine houses over 1,200 exhibits including root carvings, stone appreciations, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, potted plants, and flowers, all collected by Mr. Chen Zhiming of the ancient city of Qianyang.

　　    Directly in front and to the right of the Filial Piety Shrine lies the former site of the Qianyang Examination Hall. The Examination Hall, or county examination shed, was initially built in the 45th year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1780) and served as the most grassroots-level testing site for the imperial examination system during the Qing era.

　　    Source: Ancient City of Qianyang