Fuzi Jinshi Paifang, Memorial arch in Dabu County, China.
The Fuzi Jinshi Paifang is a memorial gate in Dabu County with a multi-tiered stone structure and traditional Chinese architectural elements. The gate displays intricate carved details and written inscriptions on its columns and beams that tell who is being honored.
Built in 1610, the 38th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming dynasty, the archway commemorates Rao Xiang, vice surveillance commissioner of Jiangxi, and his son Rao Yuling, a secretary of the Grand Secretariat, who both passed the highest imperial examination as jinshi. It was listed as a Guangdong provincial cultural relic in 1989 and among the seventh batch of national key cultural relics in 2013.
The archway's name comes from its front plaque, "父子進士" (Father and Son Jinshi), while the reverse reads "絲綸世美", praising the Rao family's service in drafting imperial edicts. It stands at the gate of Dabu Middle School in Chayang, and two more arches, the "天褒節孝" filial-piety arch and an unnamed one, stand just west of it.
The archway stands at the gate of Dabu Middle School in Chayang Town, so visits are best timed outside school hours. The central opening lines up with a staircase behind it; the two companion archways, Tian Bao Jie Xiao and an unnamed one, lie to its west. The carved panels face front and back, so walk around to read both inscriptions.
The archway's name is carved on both faces: "父子進士" (Father and Son Jinshi) on the front and "絲綸世美" on the back, the latter alluding to the imperial edicts the Rao family served. Beside it stand two further arches, the "天褒節孝" arch honouring chastity and filial piety and one that has lost its name.
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