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Pingyao Tour of
Qu's Compound
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Besides Qiao's Compound, Qi County has another famous
compound located on its east street, the Qu's Compound. Being built
during the reign of Qianlong during the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911),
this 240-rooms compound has history dating back over 300 years and
covers an area of over 5300 square meters (6340 square yards); yet
it is only one-fifth of the Qu family's estate. The Qu family was an
outstanding representative of Shanxi Merchants and their estate used
to occupy almost the entire eastern half of Qi County.
Qu's Compound uses a rarely found five-row layout in
its subsidiary courtyards. Upon entering, you will find that each
new door is higher than the former and each courtyard is wider than
the last. This is because there is a saying that exceptional people
come forth by walking from the low to the high and from the narrow
to the wide. This design shows the good wishes of the Qu family to
their later generations that they would be richer and get higher
official titles in government.
In old times, businessmen usually carved small beasts
crouching with their mouths closed, on their roofs. These beasts
implied that people who were doing business should work in a
down-to-earth way and speak little so that their fortunes would not
be Rishengchang:lost through extraneous talking. But at Qu's
compound you will find the mouths of these beasts are open. This is
because the Qu family members are both businessmen and officials who
got salaries from the government. The open-mouthed beasts symbolized
that they were fed by the government. Being businessmen however, the
Qu family also wrote 'Be Cautious of Your Tongue' on their
buildings. This was to make sure their later generations treasured
the rule of speaking less but working more, because they strongly
believed that all one's troubles were caused by their tongue.
The biggest stage and theater in a civilian residence
was also found in the Qu's Compound, which in many ways proved the
wealth of the Qu family. It is said that during the Sino-Japanese
War period, the Japanese invaders found 400,000 liang silver ingots
(approximately 10 million US dollars today) when excavating an
air-raid shelter at the Changyuchuan Teahouse, which was one of the
Qu's main assets.
The Changyuchuan Teahouse has since been turned into a
Tea Museum of the Shanxi Merchants and today the Qu's Compound is
the Shanxi Merchant's Culture Museum. The museum displays the
history of the Shanxi Merchants' development, their brilliant
achievements and their fascinating experiences.
Tour Pingyao
with Great Wall Adventure Club, the best Pingyao
tour agent to help
you with your hotel booking and transfers.
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