Former Residence of the First Jinshi Scholar of Changtai

　　The former residence of the first Jinshi scholar of Changtai is located in Xicuo Community, Xuemei Village, Chenchang Town. Originally built during the Northern Song Dynasty, it faces east, has a construction area of approximately 400 square meters, and features a single-eave hip-and-gable roof with a structure made of stone, brick, and wood. It consists of an entrance hall, a central courtyard, side corridors, and a main hall. The beams in the entrance hall are inlaid with carved wooden lion reliefs. According to the *Changtai County Annals*: “Yang Lingwen was the top scholar (Jinshi) of the first class in the 3rd year of the Chunhua era (992 AD) under Emperor Taizong of Song, on the same list as Sun He. He was also the first person from our county to pass the imperial examination. After becoming a Jinshi, Yang served as Vice Minister of the Ministry of War. During the Xianping and Jingde eras of Emperor Zhenzong’s reign, northern invaders threatened the border. He was appointed as a Defense Commissioner and received imperial commendations three times. In the early Tian Sheng era of Emperor Renzong’s reign, he was exiled to Zhangzhou by imperial decree and settled in Taotangyang (Xuemei Village), where he built this residence.” The residence remains largely intact to this day and was designated as the fourth batch of county-level cultural heritage protection units in July 1996.