A photograph of the main gate, directly opposite of the reflecting wall, which portrays an impressive carving of a tan--a mythical creature said to have an insatiable appetite, so much so, that it went on a feeding craze, eating gold, silver, and precious objects until it had eaten everything. Still not satisfied, it chased after the sun, and tried to swallow it too, but it fell into the ocean. This was a reminder to the officials that governed the locale, that greed did not pay in the end.
An artist's renderingof the Neixiang county yamen and what it might have looked like during the Qing Dynasty.
The complex was originally built in 1304.
Above, a modern sketch of the Neixiang county yamen. From Neixiang xianya yu yamen wenhua (The Neixiang County Yamen and Yamen Culture), edited by Liu Pengjiu, Zhengzhou
Remembering the District Magistrate
Zhang Bingtao was a native of Zhejiang Province, from the area known today as the municipality of Shaoxing. Zhang Bingtao was posted to Neixiang in the spring of 1892. Upon his arrival, the yamen was in a shambles, having had only light repairs to the major buildings after a partial fire in 1857. Magistrates were typically well enough off for their own living expenses and comfort, but always lacked funds to pay their support staff, much less take on the upkeep of a complex of thirty or so buildings such as the yamen. The situation of the Neixiang yamen was even worse, having been built originally in 1304. Zhang, however, was an architectural enthusiast, and soon laid plans for a complete restoration of the building. He was inspired by the age of the building and many of the features that had remained over the years. He was especially taken by the rear courtyard and its Yuan dynasty era cassia tree.
The administrative categorization for the Neixiang district was classified between “fan” and “nan,” meaning that in an earlier period the district “flourished” economically, but had since until that present time at the end of the Qing dynasty suffered a reversal of fortune and was classified as “poor.” In order to fund the renovation of the yamen, Zhang Bingtao quickly assessed the districts economic resources, and instituted a wide-scale agricultural agenda for the district to farm fruit orchards, the harvest of which would be in large part sold out to neighboring provinces. Though this policy did not benefit him directly, it indirectly brought in capital for the renovation. His plans for the yamen, however, did not wait for these funds to come in. Instead he personally financed the renovation until the taxes from the successful agricultural agenda started to roll in. There are few financial records that remain from this period. Speculation by Liu Pengjiu, the local historian, suggests that records were not very well kept during this period for lack of supervision from Zhang’s superiors. If this is the case, it might explain Zhang’s flexibility toward fiscal matters. There is more salience to this argument as we start to consider the renovation project. The size and layout of yamens in Qing China were standardized by the capital. The size of the complex depended on the local classification and rank of the post. The Neixiang yamen was not officially classified according to architectural standards. It was perhaps a “Class 5” size yamen, but as it was renovated Zhang built according to a larger “Class 3” size, which meant the number of buildings and annexes were increased by about a third. Oral tradition also has it, that when the renovation was complete, Zhang’s father traveled from Zhejiang to visit Neixiang. As Zhang gave his father the tour of the recently finished complex, Zhang’s father stalled a moment and asked if there was something missing from the buildings. Zhang replied that he couldn’t imagine what it might be. His father, feigning an air of superiority, elaborated, “Why, where are the wheels?” Zhang stood puzzled, while his father smiled and asked him, “How else do you suppose you will be able to take it all with you to your next post?”[1]
The refinement and decoration of the yamen was brilliant. A local pride was instilled in its beauty by Zhang as he began a local fund to contribute to its further restoration and adornment. He also set apart a mandatory surcharge for civil suits and business transactions carried out in the yamen. For those who lost civil suits, they were required to pay an irregular type of court cost, and to those who won civil suits as well, Zhang would add, “Now that you’ve won your suit, why not give a little back to help fix the place up?”[2] He used the money to commission large epigraphs on both stone steles and wooden plaques. The poetry or slogans were sometimes written by him and always featured a theme that either complimented the characteristics of the local community, or praised the value of local administration. Possibly the most well-known of these was the plaque that hung above the main gate of the yamen, which revived the ancient name of the community: “Chrysanthemum Pond.”
After the renovation as well, Zhang did something unprecedented that truly exemplified the significance of the yamen as the center of the community. In China, at the end of the second week of the lunar New Year, there is a “lantern festival” that features the lighting of colorful lanterns and the visiting of friends and family. At this time Zhang opened the gates of the yamen, including the ceremonial gate to let the community come in and roam freely throughout the yamen. The purpose of this was so that the community could come and visit with his wife in her home (at the rear of the yamen complex). The yamen in late imperial history was often thought of by the public as a severe if not forbidding domain that symbolized the power of the political sphere, which could be just as corrupt as it could be just and fair. People frequently avoided these buildings, fearing that if they strayed into the neighborhood of the yamen, then they might become entangled in some legal trouble or scheme. The nature of the yamen under the tenure of Zhang Bingtao in Neixiang became a surprising contradiction to this mentality, and even more local and more public.
In 1900, Zhang was transferred to another post. As he took his leave from Neixiang, a crowd of locals accompanied him to the edge of town to bid him farewell. The parting was bittersweet, and many were reluctant to see him leave. Not too long after his transfer, he ran into some financial trouble over an investment in a training academy. It seems that he was swindled by a business partner. He soon thereafter transferred to Kaifeng, a city not too far north of Neixiang. The economy in Kaifeng was especially bad and he fell on hard times financially. He therefore planned for his daughter to return to Neixiang to live with an acquaintance and promised her he would visit soon. When she arrived she was welcomed back warmly. News traveled fast about the old magistrate coming back for a visit. When he actually did make it back, there was a score of locals waiting to greet him. Though he was pleased to see them, he was embarrassed because they had heard of his financial misfortune, and they had pooled a donation for him. He shrunk from their generosity and refused to take the money. The crowd then gave it to his daughter for him. The event is remembered in poem.
This celebration of Magistrate Zhang by a loyal public certainly speaks to his accomplishments as a local official and a community leader. Interestingly, these accomplishments are remembered and shaped through something altogether different than a historic text. Instead, it is a collective memory shared from generation to generation through the institution and edifice of this yamen.
If the Earth has waters it must have hills,
Where there are people there must be officials,
When balanced and peaceful are the commoners’ hearts,
We'll donate some funds for our Magistrate Zhang.[3]
This celebration of Magistrate Zhang by a loyal public certainly speaks to his accomplishments as a local official and a community leader. Interestingly, these accomplishments are remembered and shaped through something altogether different than a historic text. Instead, it is a collective memory shared from generation to generation through the institution and edifice of this yamen.
[1] Liu Pengjiu ed., Neixiang yamen yu yamen wenhua (Zhengzhou: Zhong zhou gu ji chu ban she, 1999), p. 53.
[2] Ibid. pp. 52-53.
[3] Ibid. pp. 53-54.
Hello Christopher,
ReplyDeleteＩwas reading your blog about Neixiang yamen as it is part of my M.A. research and I would like to ask you about the second picture (birds perspective of yamen / drawing) if you have the source information. It would be very helpful for my thesis. Thank you very much in advance.
Maria