Shiqian Treasure in a small town(2)

2007-05-10 11:51:57 [ Big Normal Small ]    　Comment

Without the crowds, it's only ten minutes' walk along the old street to the magnificent Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) stone bridge across the Longchuan. From there, the history hunter turns away from the river and strolls five minutes into the new town, where Shiqian's most remarkable treasures are preserved.



Wanshougong was built in 1403 as a kind of clubhouse for wealthy immigrants from Jiangxi Province. To modern eyes it looks much like a temple-and does indeed house Buddhist icons in one hall-but the stage in the main courtyard betrays the building's secular purpose. Both behind and around this stage are examples of the artistry that convinced the central government's heritage protection bureau to list Wanshougong in 2001-a rare honour for a building outside the major cities. Finest of all are the wood carvings on three sides of the stage. Beautifully preserved and untouched by restorers, they depict stories from the epic Three Kingdoms saga.

Next door to Wanshougong is a similar structure that belonged to immigrants from Hunan. Sadly, it's boarded up, doubtless awaiting the day when enough tourists come to town to pay for renovation.

A much later group of immigrants was responsible for the lovely church just a couple of hundred metres south of Wanshougong. In the nineteenth century, Guizhou was a particular target for European Christian missionaries, who made many of their first converts among the province's oppressed minority peoples. Shiqian became the regional headquarters of a large Catholic mission, which built its church in 1901. Most of the mission compound has made way for new buildings, but the church has been renovated together with the black-brick priests' and nuns' residences that flank it.

The nuns' home was used as a temporary residence by the communist General He Long in 1936; it is now a museum dedicated to the communist Red Army, while the upstairs of the priest's residence house bears remains of graffiti the Red soldiers painted on the walls. Although there are doubts about whether or not it's genuine, this is a quite unique collection that illuminates the revolutionaries' overriding concerns at the time: taxes, imperialism and the Japanese invasion.

The church itself, however, has been restored to the congregation. On Sundays, a handful of old people and children gathers to hear the Shanghai-trained priest deliver an idiosyncratic sermon peppered with traditional Chinese sayings and quotes from Deng Xiaoping and Karl Marx.

A short walk south stands a temple to a very different faith: Confucianism. This was built in 1413 and has recently been given a fresh lick of paint and a teahouse to encourage visitors. By the time I settled down with a glass of green tea, I had almost completed a circuit of the town, walked no more than an hour, but spent an entire day. It's a rich and restful experience, as long as you forget about the bus ride.

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