Zhengan Ancient Stockade

　　The term “zhai” (stockade), as annotated by Xu Xuan of the Northern Song in the “Chai” entry of Xu Shen’s Eastern Han Dynasty Shuowen Jiezi, is also written as “zhai”; according to the Northern Song Guangyun, “zhai” is also written as “zhai.” It can be seen that the origin of “zhai” dates back quite early. When the stockades in Zhengan first appeared remains to be thoroughly investigated. The stockades that can be seen today were mostly built in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, especially those rebuilt or newly constructed after the Jiaqing era of the Qing. In the ninth year of Jiaqing (1804), learning from the lessons of suppressing the White Lotus Sect rebels, Shaanxi Governor Lu Youren submitted a memorial stating: “In the five regions of Shangzhou, Luonan, Shanyang, Zhengan, and Xiaoyi (now Zhashui), the Tongshang Dao is instructed to ensure that each county builds stockades at naturally defensible locations, mobilizing local communities to construct them, thereby blocking strategic passes, deterring potential threats, and avoiding warfare.” As a result, stockade construction and cave excavation flourished in various defensible areas. According to incomplete surveys, the county has over 200 large and small mountain stockades and more than 40 artificially excavated caves, scattered across strategic mountaintops and cliffs, forming an impressive landscape.

　　The main features of Zhengan mountain stockades are:

　　Eastern stockades are earlier and larger, western ones are later and smaller. The eastern part of the county, with better natural conditions, was developed earlier. Villages such as Yanwu in Daping Town, Qianwan and Zhaowan in Miliang Town all have Yangshao and Longshan culture ruins. During the early Ming Dynasty’s mass migration, most settlers moved to towns like Daping, Miliang, Tiechang, and Gaofeng. With higher population density and greater wealth, the enthusiasm for building stockades was naturally higher. Along the over ten-li-long Miliang Plain, there are five stockades on the mountains along both sides of the river. Around Daping Street, there are three stockades, described as “one mountain as a screen, three stockades in defense.” At Qilixia Street, the east and west stockades stand opposite each other, resembling two closed gates. In the west of the county, there are more migrants from “lower reaches of the Han River area,” who mostly relocated after the mid-Qianlong period of the Qing. At that time, the population was sparse, making stockade construction difficult. Moreover, the area had dense forests and mountains with many natural caves, providing ample hiding places, thus reducing the urgency to build stockades. Most western stockades were built during the Tongzhi and Guangxu periods, generally smaller in scale, some even being household stockades for just two or three families. However, there are also notable stockades like Ren’er, Longxing, Bao’an, and Modwang.

　　Stone stockades with stone walls. In plain villages, stockades were typically made of earth, commonly called “earth enclosures.” Military camps called “zhai” were usually temporary wooden fences erected at encampments, which may be the origin of the character “chai”! Zhengan’s stockades were built using locally sourced materials—quarried stone—and constructed entirely of stone for both the stockade and walls. Could these stone stockade walls be the origin of the character “zhai”? The walls are tall, generally 5–6 meters high, with gate walls around 8 meters high, topped with crenellations and battlements. Most stockades have one gate, a few have two, and the largest, the Dalizhai in Moligou, has four gates. This stockade sits atop a solitary peak piercing the sky, with one gate on each of the four ridges, called “Four Dragons Holding Up the Sun.”

　　Stockade names vary widely. Some are named after locations, others after directions, surnames, or auspicious phrases. Auspiciously named stockades include Zaoyang, Moon, Phoenix, Qiankun, Tianxing, Xinglong, Anle, Changyan, Bao’an, Renhe, Yixin, Tongxin, and seven such names alone exist in Taiping Stockade. There are also names like Manwang Stockade, Nvwang Stockade, and Xiangma Stockade. The Manwang (or Modwang) Stockades in Maluping and Changshao remain mysterious to this day. In the west, six small stockades are called “Ohe Stockades,” meaning low hills close to residential areas, where a shout could gather people to the stockade.

　　Many stockades contain temples. Temples are the dwellings of deities, who serve as spiritual anchors for worshippers. Some built Jade Emperor Temples, some Laojun Temples, some Lingguan Temples, some Guanyin Temples, but the most common are Guan Di (Guangong) Temples. People believed that the loyal and martial Guan Yu could protect the safety of the stockades, leading to many tales of Guan Yu appearing to save the day. The most widely circulated story is that when bandits approached, Guan Yu would appear, mounted and sword in hand, his towering figure dozens of zhang high standing before the stockade, frightening the invaders into retreat and thus safeguarding the stockade without bloodshed.

　　Some renowned stockades emphasized cultural atmosphere. Certain stockades erected steles recording their construction, detailing the process, fundraising, and key sponsors; some featured elegantly inscribed couplets on their gates; some had murals painted on interior walls. The Ren’er Stockade in Yun’gai Temple contains stone steles documenting imperial decrees regarding stockade construction in the early Jiaqing era, with the front gate inscribed “Tianbao” and the rear “Renhe.” On the giant boulder in the middle of Shuangzhai in Gaofeng Town, cliff carvings record battles involving the White Lotus Sect. The Bao’an Stockade in Dashen Town houses engraved stone chessboards and gaming tables. The Tenghua Stockade in Daping Town combines temple and stockade functions, with a majestic temple structure and over 20 steles of various scripts, unfortunately destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.

　　Many stockades witnessed battles. In the late Qianlong era of the Qing, political corruption, national decline, and widespread suffering led to numerous peasant uprisings. In the early Jiaqing years, the White Lotus Sect rebels, in the ninth year of Xianfeng the rebel Muslim armies of Sun Siwu and Hu Zhengman, in the early Guangxu years the Taiping Rebellion forces and the Lán (Dashun) and Cài (Changlin) rebel armies, all frequently passed through Zhengan, often breaching stockades to resupply. In the third year of the Republic (1914), Bai Lang’s (aka “White Wolf”) army, in the twelfth year the bandit Lao Yangren from Henan, in the fifteenth year Liu Zhenhua’s Zhen-Song Army forces, all either swept through or camped in Zhengan, especially the bandit Wang Sanchun who wreaked havoc for over a decade. They breached stockades, slaughtering, looting, and causing great suffering. For instance, Bai Lang’s forces destroyed many stockades, including the Weiyuanpu Stockade in Daping’s Wei Yuanpu, where over 20 were killed after its fall, and the Qingnigou Cave in Linglong Township, where 51 were burned alive. During the Liberation War, under the political offensive of “surrender and turn to the light,” Hu Bai Zhang, the deputy township head holed up in the Xinzhai of Daping, and Zhu Diqing, the company commander of the Zhengan County Self-Defense Force in the Longxing Stockade of Chaiping, surrendered without resistance.