Census takers from Xuyong county, Luzhou, Sichuan province, conduct a fieldwork of the ongoing fourth national census on cultural relics in China. A stone capstan (inset) on the bank of the Yongning River once used by trackers to moor their boats. [Photo by XU LIN/CHINA DAILY]
While tracing the stone capstan that trackers used to moor their boats along the Yongning River in Xuyong county, Luzhou, Sichuan province, Liu Xin and his colleagues made a serendipitous discovery of the Ancestral Temple of Caogong.
It was recorded in the local county annals for centuries but never physically located until March, when the county team was doing fieldwork of the ongoing fourth national census on cultural relics in China.
Caogong refers to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) official Cao Zhen, who followed the government decree to undertake the task of building Jiangmen Gorge to tame the river's dangerous rapids and reefs.
In 1550, to commemorate Cao's achievement, the Sichuan provincial governor ordered the construction of the ancestral temple, which was finished seven years later.
The 57-year-old Liu recalls that he first stumbled upon a heavily weathered stone tablet whose inscription had eroded.
His instinct suggested further relics might be present nearby, so he prompted the team to expand the search area.
The Ancestral Temple of Caogong was dedicated to Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) official Cao Zhen, who built Jiangmen Gorge to tame the Yongning River's dangerous rapids and reefs. [Photo by XU LIN/CHINA DAILY]
Soon, two stone heads emerged from muddy deposits, encouraging them to work even harder. After removing mud, vegetation and tree roots for several hours, they couldn't believe their eyes when they saw the characters Caogong Ci carved on a stone slab beneath the main niche, confirming the site as the Ancestral Temple of Caogong.
"We were so thrilled! The greatest satisfaction is to discover new cultural relics," says Liu, a worker from the county's cultural relics protection and management office.
Within the main niche stand two figures — a male and a female — each 0.6 meters tall and 0.3 meters wide, adorned in Ming court regalia. There are also two other statues in another niche.
They also found a fractured stone slab bearing half of an antithetical couplet, with the other half missing, which is from a poem written by esteemed Ming scholar Yang Shen to extol Cao's achievement.
"It's an unprecedented discovery. Once the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) official Dong Xince visited the county in search of the ancestral temple and composed a poem. In the past few years, several culture and history experts have attempted several times to locate it but all their efforts ended in failure," says Huang Ying, head of the county's cultural relics protection and management office.
Liu Xin (left) and his colleagues clear the surroundings of the Ancestral Temple of Caogong. [Photo provided to China Daily]
After the gorge's construction, boat trackers started to work there for the official waterway that transported tribute rice and other goods.
Another new discovery of the fourth national census is the ruins of boat trackers infrastructure along the Yongning River, including a stone capstan on the bank and stone beds in a cliff cave serving as the trackers' rest area.
Liu's survey team also found remnants of a well-preserved Qing Dynasty port at another place, w
