Former Residence of Zheng Xiaogu

　　The former residence of Zheng Xiaogu is located in Baiqi Village, Sicun Town, Xiangzhou County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It can be accessed via Provincial Highway 20134. It is about 87 kilometers from Liuzhou City. It is a valuable historical and cultural site within Xiangzhou County.

　　From 1801 to 1872, Zheng Xianfu, a scholar-official of the late Qing Dynasty, lived here. The residence covers an area of about 6,666 square meters and consists of structures such as the main gate, second gate, main building, guest rooms, study, Buxue Pavilion, Xixiao Pavilion, garden, mill, and fishpond. Today, only the main gate and the main building remain. The Xixiao Pavilion is a four-cornered pavilion, and the main building is constructed from Qing-era bricks, with the central hall flanked by bedrooms—the left bedroom being where Zheng Xianfu lived daily. The residence still retains some classic couplets, such as “The Ministry of Rites is renewed, inheriting the legacy of sages to promote national heritage; the archetype remains, earnestly hoping descendants will revive family traditions” and “Enjoying a civil official’s salary at home, revered in the native land of Gaomi.”

　　

　　Zheng Xiaogu (1801~1872)　　Zheng Xiaogu (1801–1872), also known as Zheng Xianfu, styled himself “Scholar-Farmer Who Knows Characters.” He was a native of Baishi Village, Daijing Village Committee, Sicun Town, Xiangzhou County, Guangxi. He was a renowned educator, Confucian scholar, poet, and intellectual of the Qing Dynasty, and one of the most influential historical and cultural figures of the Zhuang ethnic group in Guangxi. He was often referred to as the “Talented Scholar of Jiangnan” and the “Master of the Two Guangs.” Mr. Zheng Xiaogu came from a family of scholars; his distant ancestor was the Eastern Han Dynasty Confucian scholar Zheng Xuan, his father was a Xiangsheng (local scholar) of the Qing Dynasty, and his maternal grandfather, Zhang Mengji, was a scholar-official of the Qing Dynasty. Mr. Zheng was raised in a strong educational environment from childhood, developing habits of diligence and eagerness to learn. Gifted and exceptionally intelligent, skilled in poetry and couplet composition, he passed the xiucai (county-level) examination at 15 and the … Details+