The memorial archway of Mei City had many historical values. First of all, the Meicheng Archway was the embodiment of traditional China culture. It combined the beauty of design, architecture, painting, carving, diction, calligraphy, and other arts. It fused history, literature, philosophy, aesthetics, ethics, sociology, and other cultures into one furnace. Secondly, these memorial archways had a distinct function of commendation and ethical guidance. They were set up to commend those who had achieved academic success, had noble morals, and made contributions. They recorded the deeds of Mei City's ancestors and heroes, carrying the historical memories of Mei City. Moreover, in terms of quantity, there were many memorial archways in Meicheng in history, with a maximum of 199. Although they had experienced wind and rain, wars, man-made destruction, etc., the remaining memorial archways or their components still reflected the historical style of Meicheng in different periods. For example, the fragments of the memorial archway components excavated through archaeology, such as inscriptions, carvings, dougong, pedestal, etc., also had high historical value.
Jiande Plum City was a city of archways. The memorial archway here was one of the most distinctive traditional cultural symbols in China. It combined the beauty of many arts and cultures into one furnace. It had a distinct commendation and ethical guidance function, as well as a high aesthetic value and historical and cultural value. The memorial archways of Mei City were ancient sceneries that dotted the streets. They were solemn and gorgeous artistic works that added luster to the ancient city. They witnessed the history and vicissitudes of the small city and silently told the history and stories of the ancient town. There were still more than 20 memorial archways left in Mei City.
The memorial archway of Si Fan in Mei City was built in memory of Fan Zhongyan. Fan Zhongyan was once demoted to Muzhou (Yanzhou). Although his term of office was short, he left behind significant political achievements. When he was in office, he founded the first school in Jiande, Longshan Academy, to promote the development of local education; dredged the east and west lakes of Meicheng to improve the irrigation environment; and presided over the construction of Yan Ziling's ancestral hall and personally wrote the Record of Mr. Yan's Ancestral Hall. These measures reflected his outstanding political skills and left a deep impression on the people. Therefore, the locals built the Si Fan Archway in the center of the ancient city to commemorate his contribution.
The old town of Mei City was a city of memorial archways. The archways in the ancient town were an important material heritage. There used to be hundreds of them, and now there are 19 of them. Jiande Archway stood in the middle of the main street, ancient and heavy, it was to commemorate the achievements of Marquis Jiande in protecting Yan Zhou City. These memorial archways came from different eras and were important references to ancient civilizations. They combined the beauty of design, architecture, painting, sculpture, diction, calligraphy, and other arts. They fused history, literature, philosophy, aesthetics, ethics, and sociology into one furnace. They had a distinct commendation and ethical guidance function, as well as high aesthetic value and historical and cultural value. They were antique sceneries that dotted the streets. They were also solemn and gorgeous artistic works that witnessed the history and vicissitudes of the small city. They silently told the history and stories of the ancient town.
The ancient town of Meicheng had many cultural values: - ** In terms of architectural culture **, there are many ancient buildings preserved in the ancient town of Meicheng. The Mei Family Courtyard was one of the most representative buildings. It was built in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty and took decades to complete. It was the largest architectural complex of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Mei City and one of the best preserved Jiangnan residential houses in China. The building complex was a combination of traditional Jiangnan residential architectural style and religious culture. It was divided into three courtyards with a total of 169 rooms. The structure was exquisite and the carvings were gorgeous. In addition, there were also ancient buildings such as the North Gate, the Seventh Floor, the Flower Horse Building, the Yanmen Bridge, the Pinhong Building, the Panpu Ancient Pavilion, the Eighth Floor, and the Bamboo Mat Building. These buildings witnessed the development of the ancient town and carried the traditional architectural culture of Jiangnan area. - ** History and culture **: The ancient town of Meicheng has a long history, which can be traced back to the Southern Song Dynasty. In the Yuan Dynasty, it evolved from "Meixi Town" to Mei City. It reached its peak during the Ming and Qing Dynasties and was an important transportation, trade, and cultural center at that time. The ancient town was originally named Yanzhou and Muzhou. It was once the seat of the government of Yanzhou Prefecture, the prefect of Zhejiang Province. It had a history of more than 1,300 years since the early Tang Dynasty. It was once the political, cultural, commercial, and shipping center of tens of thousands of square kilometers in western Zhejiang Province, witnessing the political and economic development of different historical periods. - ** Folk culture **: There are many folk festivals with historical and cultural value in the ancient town of Meicheng, such as the oil lamp festival, the water splashing festival, and the traditional Dragon Boat Festival. These folk activities inherit the local traditional cultural customs and reflect the lifestyle and values of the local people. - ** Business culture **: As early as the Southern Song Dynasty, it was an important business center. The development of the ancient town was closely linked to the prosperity of the business. The commercial products such as the Mei's Four Wonders (Mei's Dried Sauce, Mei's Bad, Mei's Tea, and Mei's Local Specialties) reflected the business culture of the ancient town. Among them, Mei's Dried Sauce was one of the core business products of the Mei Group. These commercial products went abroad and became famous, reflecting the influence of the business culture of the ancient town. - ** Regional culture **: The ancient town of Meicheng has the characteristics of a typical Jiangnan water town. Its development is closely related to the history of Jiangnan. The ancient town was located at the intersection of Xin 'an River and Lan River in the upper reaches of Qiantang River. It was backed by Wulong Mountain and faced Sanjiangkou. This unique geographical location made it integrate the landscape culture and reflect the regional cultural characteristics of Jiangnan water town.
The ancient town of Meicheng had a deep history. Since the establishment of the county in the fourth year of Emperor Wu of the Eastern Wu of the Three Kingdoms (AD 225), it has been a county town for nearly 1800 years. Since the first year of Emperor Wu of the Zhou Dynasty (AD 679), the city of Muzhou has a history of more than 1200 years. It was the seat of Muzhou, Yanzhou, and Jiande County in the past. It was once the political, cultural, commercial, and shipping center of tens of thousands of square kilometers in western Zhejiang. In terms of culture, the only local poetry school in the Tang Dynasty, the Muzhou Poetry School, was born here. It was also the breeding ground of Wuju and Hui opera, an important activity area of the Xin 'an Painting School in the Qing Dynasty, and one of the important engraving places of good books in the Song Dynasty (known as the Yanzhou Book). Many famous China classical novels, such as "Water Margins,""Scholars,""Records of officialdom,""Golden Lotus," etc., all described the cultural landscape here, forming the "Yanzhou Phenomenon." In addition, many high-end talents, such as the top scholar, the Jinshi, and the Juren, were successfully produced here. Dozens of memorial archways were built for this purpose. During the Ming Dynasty, many indicators ranked second in Zhejiang for a long time. In terms of food culture, because it was located at the intersection of the three rivers, it integrated the culture of Wu and Yue and the characteristics of many places, forming its own unique local specialties.
Stone archways were a very important type of building in traditional Chinese architecture. Archways built with stone were built in feudal society to commend meritorious deeds, imperial examinations, benevolent government, loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness. The stone archway had a variety of styles and carving techniques. The common ones were shallow embossed, deep embossed, flat carving, hollow carving, round carving, lead carving, and so on. Stone archways had a special status in traditional Chinese culture, and were regarded as the symbol and symbol of ancient Chinese culture. Stone archways were also regarded as a symbol of Chinese culture overseas.
The following are some stories related to the memorial archway: ** I. The conspiracy story behind the Zhenlie Archway in Luochuan County of the Ming Dynasty ** 1. ** The opening of the memorial archway raises doubts ** - During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, there was an opening ceremony for the Chastity Archway in Luochuan County. This was originally to commend Zhao's act of sacrificing herself for love, but the moment the memorial arch was unveiled, a poem written in blood appeared," Luo Jurchen's Injustice ", which made the entire ceremony awkward and chaotic. This poem hinted that there was a hidden story behind Zhao's suicide for love, causing people to question whether her behavior was really out of love or was used by others as a farce. 2. ** Complicated factors behind Zhao's tragedy ** - Zhao Shi's husband was Zhang Mindao. After his death, Zhao Shi committed suicide. At that time, women were required to be absolutely loyal to their husbands, and this loyalty was regarded as an important standard of virtue. Although Zhao's suicide was praised, she was under great psychological pressure and social expectations. - In fact, Zhao Shi's death for love was not entirely out of her own will. The investigation found that the Zhou family and Zhang Han used emotional manipulation and deception to make use of the society's worship of the heroic women and the importance the government attached to the Zhenlie Archway to design the Zhao family to become the victim of their plot to seek personal benefits. They turned Zhao Shi's suicide into a drama, making her a so-called "hero" in the tragedy, while Zhao Shi was actually a materialized tool. This incident also reflected the distortion of the society's belief in women's chastity at that time. - Magistrate Li Guang and Tongzhi Li Shou began to investigate under the stimulation of the blood letter poem. They realized that this might be the result of a bigger conspiracy. As the investigation deepened, the truth of the dark transaction between the Zhou Consortium and Zhang Han was gradually revealed. ** 2. The story of the folk stand-in girl and the memorial archway ** 1. ** The wedding of a rich man ** - There was a rich man whose son was very ill. He looked for many doctors but could not prescribe medicine. The witch suggested marrying a wife to bring happiness. The rich man signed a marriage contract with the in-laws. The in-laws were landowners. They knew that their son-in-law was seriously ill and did not want to marry their daughter off to waste her life, so they bought a girl as a substitute to marry. 2. ** A happy event turns into a funeral and a memorial archway related agreement ** - When the bridal sedan landed, the patient died, and the happy occasion instantly turned into a funeral. According to the rules, the bride accompanied the spirit and attended the funeral. Three days later, the landlord's family came to pick her up. The rich man said that if the bride could keep the festival, they would prepare the stone for the memorial archway and the invitation card. The landlord responded that the married daughter could not ruin the family's reputation. The landlord also instructed the substitute girl to follow the rules and enjoy a lifetime of happiness. <a href="/?from=ask_words" style="color:red" target="_blank">Read more exciting novels for free</a>
The ancient town of Mei City had many historical allusions. Its name originated from the plum blossom shape built on the riverside section of the city wall. There were two and a half plum blossoms in the world, one in Beijing, one in Nanjing, and half in Yanzhou (Meicheng). The ancient town of Meicheng was the seat of the ancient Yanzhou government. In ancient times, it was as famous as the Hangzhou government and the Shaoxing government. It had been the seat of the state government for more than 1,300 years since the early Tang Dynasty. Jiande County was established in the fourth year of Wu Huangwu of the Three Kingdoms (225), and Meicheng was the county seat. In the first year of Tang Shengong (697), the state seat of Muzhou was moved from Pheasant Mountain (now Chun'an) to Meicheng. From then on, until 1959, Meicheng was the seat of the state, government, road, and special office. This place was once the political, cultural, commercial, and shipping center of the Zhejiang region, which was tens of thousands of square kilometers. During the Ming Dynasty, it was the place where the country's high-end talents were imported. The success of the imperial examination led to the emergence of many top scholars, scholars, and juren. Dozens of memorial archways were also built for this purpose. Many famous people in history had interacted with Mei City. Du Mu, Fan Zhongyan, Lu You, and Liu Changqing had all served here as officials. Poets Xie Lingyun, Li Bai, and Meng Haoran had traveled here. The ancient city had also appeared in the classical novels Water Margins, Scholars, and Golden Lotus. Wu Zixu, Zhu Maichen, Yan Guang, Jiang Gongwang, Zhu Xi, Pan Tianshou, etc. had also been officials, lectured or lived in seclusion here, leaving behind many allusions and good stories.
Meicheng Ancient Town was located in the east of Jiande Town, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province. Its origin was related to the city wall. Looking down from the sky, the shape of the battlements on the city wall was half a plum blossom, which was the same as the plum blossom shape of the city wall battlements in Beijing and Nanjing in history. Therefore, it was named. There was a saying that there were two and a half plum blossoms in the world, one in Beijing, one in Nanjing, and half in Yanzhou. The ancient town of Meicheng had a long history, and its historical background was rich and varied. As early as the Three Kingdoms period, in the fourth year of Wu Huangwu (AD 225), the county was set up, which has a history of more than 1700 years. It can be traced back to the first year of Zhou Wuze Tianshen Gong (AD 679), when the state of Muzhou moved here, it has a history of more than 1200 years. Since the state of Muzhou moved here in AD 697, it has a history of more than 1300 years. It is also the seat of the state, the state and the county. Mei City had always been the political, cultural, commercial, and shipping center of the western Zhejiang region. In history, there had been people coming and going here, and there were more than 100 memorial archways. Many famous people, such as Du Mu, Fan Zhongyan, Lu You, and Liu Changqing, had come here to serve as officials. The poets Xie Lingyun, Li Bai, and Meng Haoran had also traveled here. The ancient city had appeared in the classic novels, Water Margins, Scholars, and Golden Lotus. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Mei City was located at the mouth of the three rivers. It had convenient waterway transportation, merchants gathered, and the economy was prosperous. It was one of the leading important towns in Jiangnan, comparable to Yangzhou at that time. Before 1959, Mei City had always been the location of the state, government, road, and agency.
Meicheng Ancient Town is located in the east of Jiande City, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, covering an area of 157 square kilometers.(The other data is 154.9 square kilometers), with a population of about 50,000 people (the permanent population of the seventh national population was 38969). It governs 13 administrative villages and 5 communities. It is an important economic town of Jiande City. It has been rated as one of the top 1,000 towns in the country and the first batch of central towns in Zhejiang Province. In 2023, it was selected into the list of provincial 4A and above scenic towns and 5A scenic towns in 2022, successfully establishing 5A scenic towns in Zhejiang Province. The ancient town of Meicheng had a long history. It had a history of more than 1700 years since the establishment of the county during the Three Kingdoms period. As the seat of the state capital, it had a history of more than 1,300 years since the early Tang Dynasty. There was also a saying that it had a long history of more than 1800 years. Its original name was Yanzhou. It was the seat of the government of Zhejiang Restaurant (Yanzhou Prefecture in the government, which may be inaccurate, but it should be speculated to be Yanzhou Prefecture). It was as famous as Huzhou Prefecture, Hangzhou Prefecture, Shaoxing Prefecture, Jinhua Prefecture, etc. It was once the political, cultural, commercial, and shipping center of tens of thousands of square kilometers in western Zhejiang. During the Ming Dynasty, this was the place where the country's high-end talents were produced. After the successful imperial examinations, many top scholars, scholars, and scholars were produced. After these scholars passed the imperial examinations, they became officials of the imperial court and built dozens of memorial archways for this purpose. It was named Plum City because the ancient city wall was built in the shape of plum blossoms. The ancient town was located at the confluence of the Fuchun River, Xin 'an River, and Lan River. It was close to the Wulong Mountain in the north and the mouth of the three rivers in the south. It was surrounded by mountains and rivers, with beautiful scenery, ancient fragrance, and a quiet environment.