When it comes to ancient towns in Jiangnan, people may think of Wuzhen, Xitang, Nanxun, Tongli and other towns. In fact, Jiangnan has been prosperous since ancient times and has a long history. For example, Lili Ancient Town located in Wujiang, Suzhou is one of them. Its landscape is equally beautiful and its culture is equally profound. Since the Southern Song Dynasty, Lili has gathered people and talents. According to statistics, Lili has produced one champion, 26 Jinshi, and 61 Juche. Among them, there was Wei Ruxian, the most famous champion in the Southern Song Dynasty; Ling Xin, the Shaoqing of Taichang Temple, and Ru Wenshu, the famous female painter, who used diplomacy to appease Annan; in the Qing Dynasty, there were Zhou Yuanli, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, Kuai Hesun, the Zhejiang judge who intervened in the Yang Naiwu cabbage case, and Zhang Yao, the patriotic general who fought against Tsarist Russia.

A large number of celebrities have made the not-so-large ancient town of Lili famous all over the world. There are also countless scenic spots and historic sites in the town. Unfortunately, many of them have been destroyed over the long history, and only a small part of them have been preserved or have been rebuilt, so it is particularly rare. Among them, Emperor Qianlong's order to build the Zhou Palace Fu Temple is an outstanding representative.

According to information, the Zhou Palace Fu Temple is located in Miaoqiao Lane, Nanxin Street, Lili Ancient Town, Wujiang District, Suzhou City. It was a special temple built in the 60th year of Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1795) to worship Zhou Yuanli, the minister of the Ministry of Industry. The first three are dedicated temples to worship Zhou Yuanli, with a stone tablet dedicated to Qianlong's royal sacrifice to Zhou Yuanli; the fourth is the place where the Zhou family worshiped their ancestors; the fifth and sixth are the Zhou family's righteous schools. During the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, Li Li people's sacrificial ceremonies were held here. As a space where three sacrifices are integrated, the Zhou Palace Fu Temple is rare in Jiangnan.

Entering the ancestral hall, the first thing you see is a stele pavilion. According to the staff, this stele was given by Emperor Qianlong. Although it was damaged before (the middle has been broken), it has been restored. This stele is not simple. It should be one of the most precious cultural relics in the entire Zhou Palace Fu Temple. It contains Emperor Qianlong's sacred order: Dedicated to your best, the trace of your courtiers, and paying tribute to your death. It is a grand ceremony of the country. Only by being rational and pure can you be competent. I was hoping to be old, but suddenly I heard of the long passing, so I mourned it. A special ceremony was issued to comfort the ghosts. Alas! The treasure is cherished and valued in ruins, and it is a reward for bandits. It is famous and believes in history, and it demonstrates immortal glory. If you have knowledge, you will appreciate it and enjoy it.

Who is Zhou Yuanli? How could I obtain Emperor Qianlong's sacred decree to build a temple? Let me give him a brief introduction first: Zhou Yuanli was elected in the third year of Qianlong (1738), and eight years later he was appointed as the magistrate of Li County in Zhili. Since then, he has successively served as Governor of Wanzhou, Governor of Bazhou, Governor of Yizhou, Governor of Xuanhua, Governor of Guangping, Governor of Baoding, Governor of Zhili, Governor of Zhili, Governor of Shandong, Governor of Zhili, Minister of Industry, etc., and was regarded as an important official in the court during the Qianlong period.

In the Fu Temple of the Zhou Palace, there is an introduction to Zhou Yuanli. To sum up briefly, Zhou Yuanli is good at water control and has made contributions to pacify the rebellion in Shandong. As governor of Shandong and governor of Zhili, he proposed corresponding river dredging plans based on the actual situation of local river affairs, and was approved and recognized by the court. Zhou Yuanli performed his duties in managing river affairs to ensure the safety of the people. He has a general understanding of politics and was appreciated and promoted by Governor Fang Guancheng when he was a magistrate. He treats his subordinates with tolerance, dares to speak for them, and is respected by them.

Nowadays, people had to retire after working for a certain period of time. In ancient times and feudal times, the imperial court also had a rule: all officials who had reached the age of 70 had to "beg to retire", which meant retiring from their old age and returning to their hometown. In fact, it was similar to the current retirement. However, when Zhou Yuanli proposed to retire to his hometown when he was 70 years old, Emperor Qianlong asked him to stay in office because he was a dedicated official and felt that he was a rare and good official. Therefore, he stayed for five years.

However, when Zhou Yuanli became an official at the age of 75, his health was no longer as good as before. Emperor Qianlong kindly allowed him to go home. Unexpectedly, he died of illness only more than three months after returning to his hometown of Lili. After Emperor Qianlong found out, he was very sorry and guilty. So Qianlong dictated an encyclical and a memorial, and asked the eunuch to record it, hand it over to the governor of Jiangsu, and take it to Lili for sacrifice. Zhou Yuanli's third wife, Mrs. Xu, and his son Zhou Shengshi carved Qianlong's encyclical and memorial rites into inscriptions and placed them in the imperial stele pavilion of the Zhou Palace Fu Ancestral Hall. It is said that this imperial tablet in the Fu Temple of the Zhou Palace is also the only imperial tablet in Suzhou where the emperor worshiped ministers.

According to his evaluation in "The History of the Qing Dynasty":"Yuan theory is the general rule of governance and is compatible with universal love. At that time, there were elderly people who valued them, and Fang Guancheng recognized them. Yuanli builds water conservancy and rectifies agricultural work. We take this as an urgent matter and each takes its own achievements." Later, in order to commemorate him, his descendants built this building south of Lili Temple Bridge. Lili people used to call it the Zhou Palace Fu Temple. Gong Fu is the respectful title of Zhou Yuanli by the people in the village. The biggest feature of the Zhou Palace Fu Temple is the "three sacrifices in one", that is, the royal sacrifice, Confucius sacrifice and ancestor sacrifice are all in the same temple.

Located behind the main memorial hall is the ancestral hall of the Zhou Clan. According to a genealogy table in the ancestral hall, Zhou Yuanli was a descendant of the famous litterateur Zhou Dunyi. Therefore, in the ancestral worship hall, the first floor is dedicated to Zhou Qiling, the first ancestor of the Zhou family who moved to Lili, and Zhou Dunyi is dedicated to the second floor. There is a couplet on it: The military appearance of the Han Dynasty pushes a trickle. In the Song Dynasty, Neo-Confucianism advocated Lianxi; according to Yu Fan's understanding, this couplet mainly describes two famous people in the history of Zhou: Xiliu refers to Zhou Yafu, and Lianxi refers to Zhou Dunyi. Both of them were great figures;

Zhou Yafu was a famous general in the Western Han Dynasty. He belonged to Pei County, Jiangsu Province. He was a fellow villager with Liu Bang and a famous general in the Western Han Dynasty. He had outstanding military talents. During the period of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, he assisted Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty. In just three months, he settled the War of the Seven Kingdoms and defeated the Seven Allied Forces. He served as prime minister until he became prime minister, and was granted the title of grand marshal. Later, when the Xiongnu invaded, Zhou Yafu was sent to the north to garrison. Zhou Yafu was stationed in Xiliu. He governed the army strictly, had strict military discipline, and had strong combat effectiveness. The Xiongnu were all intimidated by the news. As a result, Xiliu became the proxy for Zhou's generals. Zhou Dunyi, also known as Lianxi, was the founder of Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Ming Dynasties. Zhu Xi promoted him as the originator of Neo-Confucianism. His "Love Lotus Theory" was selected into middle school textbooks and can be said to be well known to everyone. Therefore, it is only natural that Zhou Dunyi is a model of literati and has become the second couplet of the Zhou Ancestral Temple couplet.

Later on, it was originally a place for foreign people to live and eat, but it was used once or twice a year, so it was often idle. Therefore, descendants of the Zhou family allowed surrounding people to come here for free to study, and a charity school was established. There were no Confucian temples or Confucian temples in Lili. After studying in the school, people wanted to worship Confucius, so a hall for Confucius was added behind this school, making it a place for Lili people to worship Confucius. It is for this reason that the Zhou Palace Fu Temple formed the phenomenon of three sacrifices in one.

It is understood that ancestral halls that simultaneously have three rituals: imperial sacrifice, ancestral sacrifice, and Confucius sacrifice are rare in China. Although this ancestral hall was a later rebuilt building, its history is real, and the imperial tablet of Emperor Qianlong is still there. Therefore, when traveling to Lili, visit this place and you will have a better understanding of Lili's long history. If you are a member of the Zhou family, you should visit this place.