Liukeng, Top Village of Gan Culture

This book makes a comprehensive and general introduction to the material and intangible heritage treasures of Liukeng from eight aspects: the vicissitudes of the millennium， the grand occasion of humanities， the layout of villages， the historical sites of ancient buildings， architectural art， plaques and couplets， ancient architectural relics， and traditional folk customs. It richly presents the history， geography and humanity of Liukeng with nearly 500 exquisite pictures. Some of the heritage and treasures on display were excavated for the first time and have not been found in any of the published works.

Liukeng， Top Village of Gan Culture

Edited by Propaganda Department of Le’an County Party Committee of the Communist Party of China

Jiangxi People’s Publishing House

March 2017

860.00 (CNY)

The existing ancient villages scattered on the vast Chinese land have all gone through vicissitudes of life and moved forward with traditional cultures. These pearl-like villages will be polished by the modern age and shine again. Liukeng is one of the most outstanding of them.

Vicissitudes of life have left marks of glories and failures;

Nature and culture interact harmoniously here;

Sincere villagers preserve the ancient traditions;

Wisdom of elites lingers until nowadays.

Liukeng Village， with its original name Yaoshi Village or Liuxi Village， is located by the side of the Wu River， a branch of the Ganjiang River， in southwest Le’an County in Fuzhou City， central Jiangxi Province. Covering an area of 3.61 square kilometres， the village consists of 260 traditional constructions. Now， about 6，000 villagers are living here， most of them from Dong Family.

The ancestry of the Dong Family can be traced back to Dong Zhongshu (179 BCE--104 BCE)， an influential Confucian scholar， via Dong Jin (723 CE--799 CE)， the Prime Minister of Emperor Dezong of the Tang Dynasty. The family moved to Jiangxi Province due to the battles in the late Tang Dynasty. Dong Qingran led his family to Kuoyuan in Linchuan (now Yihuang County in Jiangxi). From 937 CE to 942 CE， Dong He， the grand-grandson of Dong Qingran， moved his family to Liukeng and settled down here at Fengshui expert Yang Junsong’s suggestion. At first， Liukeng belonged to Jishui County， then to Yongfeng County of Jizhou. Since 1149 CE， it has been administrated by the newly built Le’an County of Fu Prefecture.

The war-torn southeastern China was pacified by Zhao Kuangyin in the late 10th century. Seeing this， Dong Wenguang， the eldest grandson of Dong He who settled the family here， resolved to help the kids in the village follow the roadmap of school—imperial exam—government officials. Soon， his efforts in education revival yielded great results: In 1015， Dong Chun achieved top rank during the imperial exam， which was a great inspiration to all the students.

Since then， generation after generation， top students and government officials came emerged from the Dong family until the late 13th century. In 1034， five men connected to each other as fathers and sons， uncles and nephews， or brothers and cousins passed the imperial exam. In 1148， Dong Deyuan ranked first place in the imperial exam. In the early 12th century， to avoid battles with Jin Troops， the Zeng Family immigrated from Songjiang in Yongfeng County in Jizhou to Liukeng. Years after their settlement in Banqiao in Western Liukeng， students from this family also passed the imperial exam consecutively. Like the Dong Family， Zeng Feng and his four sons had all passed the imperial exam in the same year.

In the late 13th century， Liukeng Village went downhill after it was looted by Yuan Soldiers. In 1356， Jiangxi Province was in chaos because of the uprising of the Red Scarf Army. The Dong Family was slaughtered by the local troops led by Xia Pu. As a result， many villagers fled and tried to make a living in various places.

After Zhu Yuanzhang pacified Jiangxi， many Dong people who had fled returned to their homeland for revival. In 1369， the Grand Ancestral Hall for the Dong was erected to rejuvenate the village. Later， the rates of top students and government officials increased. In 1561， Liukeng was looted by the Peasant Army led by Zhong Lingxiu. Two years later， Dong Sui gave up his career in Penalty Ministry and worked with Dong Ji and Dong Yu to carry out a comprehensive village renovation: The ancestral halls were rebuilt， the village was planned and renovated， the condition of Long Lake was improved， and the administration system was upgraded. As a result， Confucianism was well spread， the society flourished， and businesses thrived， making Liukeng regulated and taking off with a new look.

In the Qing Dynasty (1616--1911)， business thrived in Liukeng based on the foundation laid in the Ming Dynasty. The main businesses were wood and bamboo trades thanks to the rich resources in the mountains in the upper streams of the Wu River. By hiring workers to transport resources such as wood， bamboo and rice to areas along the Ganjiang River or down-stream through waterways of the Wu River， many rich people emerged. They were devoted to house construction and donations to public service. As a result， mansions appeared in clusters， educational and cultural constructions scattered in the village， ancestral institutions were huge and influential， and folk and entertaining activities were popular， representing a booming economy.

Also， a great many businessmen purchased government official titles.

However， there were few people that succeeded in the imperial examinations.

In 1855， Le’an County was invaded by the Taiping Army. Jin Danshu， official of Le’an， collected tax and formed troops for them. Dong Tingbiao led Liukeng villagers to join into the troop. Many villagers were wounded and even died during the battles. In 1857， the village was slaughtered， plundered and looted by Taiping Army troops and went downhill again.

During the Republic of China’s period (1912--1949)， Liukeng creaked under the weight of heavy duties and military service. To make things worse， in August 1927， the defeated Xing Yutang from the Northern Warlords slaughtered and plundered Liukeng and burnt many structures， including the Grand Ancestral Hall， into ashes. During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression， although Le’an was not occupied， cities such as Nanchang and Fengcheng fell into Japanese hands， blocking the channel of wood and bamboo trade， thus the economic resources of Liukeng. As a result， Liukeng struggled throughout the entire Republic of China’s period and was not revitalized until after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

Because of their devotion to farming， schooling and business， the forefathers of Liukeng have created a rich and splendid culture which gives birth to a great many talents in administration， education， academia， and business.