Ruins of the Xuanwei Government Office

　　    The ruins of the Xuanwei Government Office are located in the northwest of Guizhou (Bijie region), situated in Yangjiawan Village, Lezhi Town, northeast of Nayong County (known as Wozha in ancient Yi language) on the middle section of Canjing Liangzi and at the foot of Luhua Baipo Mountain. It was an ancient Yi architectural complex of red buildings and green tiles, carved railings, and jade-like decorations, standing tall on the Wumeng Plateau as a symbol of Shuixi culture. The An family’s Xuanwei Government Office, once reputed to have “as many bamboo slips and wooden tablets as hairs on a cow,” was burned down by Wu Sangui in the third year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1664 AD). In the early years of the Daoguang reign, An Gansheng, a scholar from Shuicheng, raised funds along with his clansmen to build the Xuanwei Temple here. In 1985, the ruins of the Wozha Shuixi Xuanwei Government Office were listed as a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit.

　　    The Xuanwei Government Office derived its name from An Guirong, the Shuixi Xuanwei Envoy during the Hongzhi era of the Ming Dynasty. Its architecture faced south, arranged in a layout of five halls, four courtyards, with left and right passageways, covering an area of approximately 10,000 square meters. The courtyard complex was enclosed by stone walls. After the Xuanwei Government Office was burned by Wu Sangui, only desolate platforms and ruined foundations remained. However, the surviving roof tiles, stone steps, carved traces, drilling marks, design layout, and other features still record the Shuixi culture, reflect Yi ethnic characteristics, and chronicle historical changes.

　　    In front of the remaining Xuanwei Government Office’s main gate, there is a screen wall as seen in front of official residences of dukes and marquises, measuring 22 meters long, 2.5 meters high, and 1.5 meters thick. On both sides of the main gate, there are still two windfire brick walls, each 5 meters high and 22 meters long, with smooth walls. There are also mounting and dismounting stones on the left and right. The former foundation stones and carved stone steps remain. On the eastern and western sides, there is one rolled archway door each; the doors have collapsed, but the remnants of the eastern side’s broken wall foundation remain. Beyond the rolled archways are flagstone-paved pathways. Inside the main gate, the courtyard is spacious. Upon entering the yard, you will see that the eastern side retains an uneven remnant wall about 120 meters long and approximately 2 meters high, with striped patterns carved into the wall. Turning to the western side, this area was once home to the embroidery tower, kitchen, gold and silver vault, and armory. The only remaining stone step remains 4 meters high and 30 meters long. Below the kitchen, a small stone bridge still exists, 4 meters high and 2.8 meters wide, with its mounting and dismounting stones for the single-arch bridge also intact. Behind the courtyard is the rice-washing gully. The building next to the small stream utilized the flowing water for washing rice, and remnants of broken stone troughs remain. The screen walls, interior walls, and carved stone steps of this site are all made of first-class stone material, intricately carved with straight and curved patterns reflecting Yi culture. The longest stone slab is 2.73 meters long, 0.62 meters wide, and weighs over a thousand kilograms.

　　    After being reconstructed in the early years of the Daoguang reign by An Gansheng and his clansmen raising funds, the Xuanwei Government Office ruins became a tiled, wooden-structured quadrangle courtyard. Stepping into the hall, you’ll find it spacious and grand, housing statues of deities such as the Tathagata, Guanyin Bodhisattva, and Yi leaders such as Ji Huo, She Xiang, An Guirong, An Wantun, as well as the couple An Kun. The shrines are exquisitely crafted, the Buddha statues solemn, with evening drums and morning bells, and incense lingering in the air. On the beams inside the main hall, inscriptions such as “In the ninth year of Daoguang, the empire is consolidated, and the emperor’s rule flourishes” can be found, and the bell bears inscriptions. Detailed inscriptions are also recorded on the stone stele in front of the temple.

　　    When the Xuanwei Government Office was built remains unclear, as archaeologists still lack sufficient evidence. The Donghua Records mention “as many bamboo slips and wooden tablets as hairs on a cow,” and since wooden slips were used during the Qin and Han dynasties, they already existed at the Nayong Xuanwei Government Office. Yi script is one of the oldest writing systems, and Yi-language spells are preserved in nearby caves. The Chekaiqing area also retains cliff inscriptions from the Qianlong period. Ancient coins and gold and silver utensils found among the ruins suggest that economic activity existed here since the Han Dynasty. Tile fragments discovered in 1985 were modeled after Han-style coiled tile designs. The Nayong Wozha Xuanwei Government Office was already documented during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty. From the 14th year of the Hongzhi reign (1510 AD) to the 3rd year of the Zhengde reign (1508 AD) of the Ming Dynasty, the Shuixi Xuanwei Envoy An Guirong spent his twilight years in Nayong Wozha. An Guirong excelled in both civil governance and military achievements. After the campaign at Xianglu Mountain, he recuperated here but did not neglect the development of Shuixi. In addition to constructing the courier route from Dafang to Nayong Wozha and the archery field in front of the Xuanwei Government Office, he also fortified military installations in areas such as Hou’erguan, Chaheying, and Sanguo Village in Nayong. In the 3rd year of the Jiajing reign (1523 AD), the brothers An Wan’e and An Wantun also settled in the Wozha fortress, traveling between Dafang, Qianxi, Shuicheng, Weining, and Zhijin. This period marked the golden age of the Shuixi Yi people.

　　    In the 3rd year of the Zhengde reign, Wang Yangming was exiled to Longchang Post. Admiring his patriotism, loyalty, moral integrity, and character, An Guirong sent him generous gifts and invited him to lecture in Shuixi. When the Xuanwei Temple was built during the Daoguang reign, a memorial tablet for Wang Yangming was established, reflecting his profound influence on later generations. After lecturing in Shuixi, Wang Yangming returned to Longchang Post and later established an academy at Fufeng Mountain in Guiyang. The Japanese imperial tutor Mishima Tsuyoshi greatly admired Wang Yangming and his writings. Wang Yangming had a deep relationship with An Guirong. During his lectures in Shuixi, he discovered An Guirong’s improper conduct behind Xianglu Mountain and wrote the letters “Reply to Envoy An,” “A Letter to An Guirong,” and “Another Letter to An Guirong.” Later generations praised these three letters as more powerful than 100,000 troops, curbing the arrogance of the Xuanwei Government. In the 3rd year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1664 AD), the war in Shuixi broke out, with An Kun as a key leader. The tens of li area around Nayong Wozha served as the main battlefield, with fighting spreading to Shuicheng, Zhijin, and Dafang. The Shuixi forces were defeated, with hundreds of thousands of Yi soldiers killed or injured, homes destroyed, and the Xuanwei Government Office burned by Wu Sangui.

　　    The above is sufficient to illustrate that the ancient Wozha Xuanwei Government Office fortress in Nayong was a vital stronghold for the political, military, economic, and cultural aspects of Shuixi, serving as the social hub of the Yi people at the time. Later generations composed a poem praising the Xuanwei Government Office:

　　    Ten-thousand-li clouds and mountains encircle flowing waters, ancient caves and towering gorges seal the lush valleys.

　　    Ji Huo opened up territories and built a grand legacy, She Xiang connected courier routes and achieved remarkable feats.

　　    Guirong’s military exploits at Xianglu Mountain shone brightly, An Kun’s Shuixi battles ran red with blood.

　　    The ancient Xuanwei city leaves a lasting charm, heroes of an era built lofty peaks.

　　    Here lies the ancient culture of the Shuixi Yi people, with genuine and invaluable historical traces. Here, you can imagine scenes of past prosperity or ponder the smoke-filled, war-torn years, fully experiencing the historical vicissitudes of the Yi people in Nayong.