Zhu Xi Granary

Originally known as Wufu Granary, Zhu Xi Granary dated back to the 7th year of Emperor Qiandao in the Southern Song Dynasty (1171). It was a privately-run granary first created and gestated by Zhu Xi. It was so named as it is located in Wufuli, Chong’an County. Villagers changed the name to Wufu Granary to commemorate the benevolent deeds of the patriarch Zhu Xi. The granary lies in Fenghuang Alley of Jixifang (now Xingxian Street, Wufu Town), Wufuli, Chong’an. After completion of Wufu Granary, Zhu Xi noted down the article entitled The Story of the Wufu Granary in Chong’an County, Jianning Prefecture, which traced and described the history of the Granary. Since then, Wufu Granary has been hailed as the “pre-Confucian classics prosperous ruins” for its pioneering efforts in the rescue of famine. Thanks to reconstruction and embellishment, it is well-preserved. It was last re-constructed in the fifteenth year of Emperor Guangxu, and was hosted by Zhu Jingxi, squire of Zhu Xi’s descendant. The plaque outside the gate of granary reads “Wu Fu She Cang” (Zhu Xi Granary) with four large brick carvings. The first paragraph goes “it was built in the summer of Yichou Year of Emperor Guangxu”, and the next paragraph goes “it was built by Zhu Jingxi, an officer”. A courtyard lies inside the gateway for food pickers to get relaxed. It covers about 30 square meters. Plaque on the second door goes four characters ‘Zhu Zi She Cang’ (Zhu Xi Granary), and the upper and lower sections are “Guangxu Yichou Zhongxia” and “Yi Sun Zhu Jingxi Jian” (“summer in the year Yichou of Guangxi period” and “it was built by Zhu Jingxi, the descendent”). Behind the second door is the granary that is juxtaposed on the left and right, and it can hold six to seven hundred thousand Qianliang (1 Qianliang is equal to about 50 kilograms) grains. Spacious passages are built in the two silos, which is convenient for farmers to weigh their grains and keep accounts. A dormitory for granary management personnel lies behind the granary. The granary area is about 1,400 square meters. It is communal granary still used for grain storage in the Wufu Town Grain Station. The original stele of Wufu Granary Record can no longer be traced. A new monument has been erected to commemorate it. In September 2018, the Fujian Provincial People’s Government announced it as among the ninth batch of cultural relics protection sites.