Xiangcheng District, Zhangzhou
Encyclopedia
Xiangcheng District or called as Sin Kang District in Hokkien
. Xiangcheng is a county within the prefecture of Zhangzhou
in China
.
Xiangcheng was developed as a clan village with specific surnames for more than 600 years since the Ming Dynasty
, with various small communities settled within the clan were formed. Clusters of houses with red-tiled roofs scatter among the labyrinthine alleys, and westward, in the near mid-west of the village, the main street runs from north to south. In the middle part of it stands the marketplace. Xiangcheng is the second place where dominated by 邱 (Qiū) or (Khoo in Hokkien
) surnames settlers, and the second is Penang
, Malaysia.
The village has thirteen ancestral halls of different sizes, each representing a branch of the Qiu clan. There are two main temples in the village, namely the Cheng Soon Keong and the Hock Leng Keong. The former enshrines Ong Soon Yah and Tua Sai Yah, the patron saints of the Qiu clan, while the latter houses Poh Seh Tai Tay, the God of Medicine.
(1966~1976). The present building was rebuilt in 1997 with a donation of US$0.84 million from Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi
, Penang
. Situated at the downstream of Kew Leong River, Xiangcheng was near the trading ports of Southern China from where people of Southern Fujian went overseas during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In 1567, Guek Kang, a new port which was located about 22 kilometres from Xiangjang, replaced Chuan Chiew as the major port in Southern Fujian. Guek Kang was then superseded by Amoy
during the Qing dynasty.
After the 1842 Opium War, Amoy was declared as one of the five treaty ports. Since the 1920s, it has been an important international trading port of China. People in this area were good seafarers. They had been keeping in touch with foreign traders since the imperial government. Migration was a common practice among them during the heyday.
Min Nan
The Southern Min languages, or Min Nan , are a family of Chinese languages spoken in southern Fujian, eastern Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, and southern Zhejiang provinces of China, and by descendants of emigrants from these areas in diaspora....
. Xiangcheng is a county within the prefecture of Zhangzhou
Zhangzhou
Zhangzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. Located on the banks of the Jiulong River , Zhangzhou borders the cities of Xiamen and Quanzhou to the northeast, Longyan City to the northwest and the province of Guangdong to the southwest.Zhangzhou...
in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Location
Xiangcheng is surrounded by the Chuan Chiam Boey Mountains in the south, a bay in the north, the Khor Chu Village in the east, and the Hui Chor Village in the west, where the clan village residents with the surname 邱 Qiū are the majority.Xiangcheng was developed as a clan village with specific surnames for more than 600 years since the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
, with various small communities settled within the clan were formed. Clusters of houses with red-tiled roofs scatter among the labyrinthine alleys, and westward, in the near mid-west of the village, the main street runs from north to south. In the middle part of it stands the marketplace. Xiangcheng is the second place where dominated by 邱 (Qiū) or (Khoo in Hokkien
Hokkien
Hokkien is a Hokkien word corresponding to Standard Chinese "Fujian". It may refer to:* Hokkien dialect, a dialect of Min Nan Chinese spoken in Southern Fujian , Taiwan, South-east Asia, and elsewhere....
) surnames settlers, and the second is Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
, Malaysia.
The village has thirteen ancestral halls of different sizes, each representing a branch of the Qiu clan. There are two main temples in the village, namely the Cheng Soon Keong and the Hock Leng Keong. The former enshrines Ong Soon Yah and Tua Sai Yah, the patron saints of the Qiu clan, while the latter houses Poh Seh Tai Tay, the God of Medicine.
Landmarks
The original Cheng Soon Keong temple collapsed due to lack of maintenance during the Cultural RevolutionCultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
(1966~1976). The present building was rebuilt in 1997 with a donation of US$0.84 million from Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi
Khoo Kongsi
The Khoo Kongsi is a large Chinese clanhouse with elaborate and highly ornamented architecture, a mark of the dominant presence of the Chinese in Penang, Malaysia. The famous Khoo Kongsi is the grandest clan temple in the country. It is also one of the city's major historic attraction...
, Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
. Situated at the downstream of Kew Leong River, Xiangcheng was near the trading ports of Southern China from where people of Southern Fujian went overseas during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In 1567, Guek Kang, a new port which was located about 22 kilometres from Xiangjang, replaced Chuan Chiew as the major port in Southern Fujian. Guek Kang was then superseded by Amoy
Amoy
Xiamen, or Amoy, is a city on the southeast coast of China.Amoy may also refer to:*Amoy dialect, a dialect of the Hokkien lects, which are part of the Southern Min group of Chinese languages...
during the Qing dynasty.