The Wangs began to decline during Emperor Daoguang's Reign (1820-1850). Besides the social and political reasons, another important factor that led to their decline was the later generations' abandonment of the family's traditional values like diligence and thriftiness. They became increasingly luxurious; some gave up attending school, choosing instead to bribe their way into government positions; while others indulged in opium, leading to the erosion of the once-prosperous family.

The few members of the family who still had shops and stores within the province or other big cities like Beijing and Tianjin before the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-1945) lost what little they had after the outbreak. The whole family moved southward after the Lugou Bridge Incident (or Marco Polo Bridge Incident, staged by Japanese imperialists in their attempt to control the whole of China, which marked the beginning of China's war against Japan).

With a history of more than 680 years, the Wangs have lived on for 27 generations throughout all the ups and downs. Now there are some newly emerged talents in various fields from the Wangs. Upon gazing at the Wang Grand Courtyard, one can vividly feel the history of China in the past few centuries through the legend of one common family.

  The construction style and folk customs 

With a time-honored history, Jingsheng is a famous historical and cultural town. Archeological finds have revealed a painted pottery site of the Neolithic Age in the town, demonstrating that Chinese ancestors have dwelt in the place a long time. The tomb cluster dating form the Shang Dynasty (About 16th - 11th century BC) boasts a lot of precious relics from the Bronze Age. The cultural relics from the Qin and Han dynasties (221BC-220AD) also abound in the town. Currently, there are still many buildings in Jinsheng that were built in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

The Grand Courtyard of the Wangs, deliberately protected and left from the Qing Dynasty, boasts strong ethnic Chinese flavor and occupies an important position in Chinese construction history.

Page:

1

2

3

4

5

All rights reserved. Reproduction of text for non-commercial purposes is permitted provided that both the source and author are acknowledged and a notifying email is sent to us.