Zhengzhai Town

　　In Chinese history, there was one family that lasted for over 350 years, spanning the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, with fifteen generations living together, sharing property and meals. At its peak, the family had over 3,000 members. Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, bestowed upon them the title “The First Family of the South,” referring to the Zheng family from Pujiang, Zhejiang, also known as the “One-Door.”

　　Zhengzhai Town is a picturesque ancient town in Pujiang County, nestled among clear mountains and waters. The ancestral hall of the Zheng family is located at the heart of the town. Upon entering through the side gate, a large plaque reading “The First Family of the South” immediately catches the eye, with ten characters on either side of the gate reading “Farming,” “Reading,” “Loyalty,” “Trust,” “Filial Piety,” “Brotherly Love,” “Ritual,” “Righteousness,” “Integrity,” and “Shame.” Each character seems to tell stories of that distant era and the moving tales that unfolded during those times. During the Northern Song Dynasty, a man named Zheng Huai migrated to Pujiang with his two brothers and became known as the “Three Zhengs of Puyang.” Zheng Huai’s grandson, Zheng Qi, was the advocate and founder of the fifteen-generation cohabitation, referred to as the “First Ancestor of Cohabitation.” Zheng Qi was fond of reading and took on the responsibility of revitalizing the family. He began managing the household with “filial piety and righteousness” as its guiding principles. The Zheng family reached its zenith in the early Ming Dynasty. By then, the clan had nearly a thousand members, forming a large, well-organized family structure that attracted widespread attention and praise. Many of its members participated in the formulation of policies under the Zhu Yuanzhang regime. Recognizing the benefits of such familial governance, Zhu Yuanzhang also drew lessons from the Zheng family’s household management practices to help maintain control over political stability.

　　The ancestral hall of the Zheng family faces west, overlooking Bailin Creek, with a plaque inscribed “Zheng Clan Ancestral Hall” above the gate. The hall was expanded in the early Yuan Dynasty, covering an area of 6,600 square meters and has a history of over 650 years. It underwent several expansions during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Although damaged over time, its fundamental layout remains intact—dignified, solemn, simple, and imposing. Upon entering, there is a stone tablet on the right inscribed with “Bailin Creek,” written by Tuotuo, the Yuan Dynasty’s Grand Chancellor. On the left is a row of ancient, sturdy cypress trees, said to have been planted personally by Ning Lian. Nearby is a pool called the “Clean Sacrificial Pool,” which contains two smaller pools forming the shape of a Chinese character “品” (meaning “quality”). The line of cypress trees and the “品” shaped pools symbolize “holding the highest office in court.” The entire Zheng Clan Ancestral Hall is divided into five sections. The front section is the Shijian Hall, followed by the central courtyard, then the Youyi Hall, the Xiaoyou Hall (also known as the Worship Hall), and finally the bedroom area where the ancestral tablets of the cohabiting generations are enshrined. The Worship Hall prominently displays a plaque reading “Xiaoyou Hall,” with a “Huishan Bell” hanging on the left and a “Listen-to-Instructions Drum” on the right. These bell and drum had specific meanings in the past. The “Huishan Bell” was rung 24 times every morning, signaling all clan members to wake up simultaneously. Then it was rung four more times for everyone to wash up, and eight more times for men and women to form separate lines and head to the Shijian Hall to listen to the head of the family’s teachings. The “Listen-to-Instructions Drum” signified the beginning of the patriarch’s speech. The ancestral hall has a total of 64 rooms and two corridors, with over 30 pieces (pairs) of inscribed stone tablets, plaques, and couplets from the Yuan and Ming dynasties. The “Imperial Decree for Filial Piety and Righteousness Ancestral Hall” was originally inscribed by Zhang Yihuai, a Ming Dynasty scholar; the huge plaque with the three characters “Filial Piety and Righteousness Home” was personally written by Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang; and “Shijian” was written by Hanlin academician Zhou Bowen... The Zheng family integrated the ideal of a harmonious society into their family rituals, upholding order and frugality as the two pillars of household management. Order helps manage relationships between people — “with order there is no chaos, and without chaos there is peace”; frugality helps manage the relationship between human desires — “practicing frugality eliminates desire, and without desire comes integrity.”

　　The streets of Zhengzhai Town still exude a subtle ancient charm. Spanning Bailin Creek are ten stone bridges, constituting the famous natural landscape of “The First Family of the South” known as the “Ten Bridges and Nine Sluices.” The bridges were built during the Ming Dynasty and have undergone several restorations. Each bridge is equipped with a water sluice to facilitate washing. The waters of Bailin Creek originate from the scenic Xuanlu Mountain. The stream flows gently, with willow branches swaying along both banks, creating a beautiful and pleasant scenery. Crossing the bridge leads to a stele pavilion, located on the south bank of Bailin Creek. Built in the 23rd year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty (1758), the pavilion houses a stele inscribed with eight large characters “One Family Upholds Righteousness, Nine Generations Live Together,” handwritten by the Yuan Dynasty’s Hanlin Academician Chancellor Lu Tiemuer, serving as a timeless lesson for future generations.