Zhuang Gongsheng Old House

Zhuang Tingcan, a Gongsheng (Imperial Student), hailed from Guiyang Township, Nanjing, Zhangzhou, Fujian. His great-grandfather, Zhuang Chaoxin, moved to Taiwan in 1756. His father, Zhuang Yuanzhu, moved to Shuangxi in 1851 (the first year of the Xianfeng reign), upholding the family tradition of farming and scholarship. Zhuang Tingcan passed the imperial examination to become a Xiucai (cultivated talent) in 1877 (the third year of the Guangxu reign) and was selected as a Linsheng (stipendiary student) in 1888 (the fourteenth year of the Guangxu reign). In 1895 (the Yiwèi year), he fled from the Japanese army and returned to Zhangzhou. In 1901 (the twenty-seventh year of the Guangxu reign), he took the prefectural examination for Juren and Gongsheng in Zhangzhou, later returning to Shuangxi to live out his old age. After becoming a Xiucai, Zhuang Tingcan established the 'Meizhuyuan' (Plum and Bamboo Garden) private school near his ancestral home, practicing Confucianism as his profession and nurturing talented individuals. During the Japanese colonial period, local people referred to him as a 'Qing dynasty relict'. His eldest brother, Jinbo, also became a Gongsheng. With both brothers achieving academic success, they were highly respected. Therefore, the 'Zhuang Gongsheng' family has close ties to the local historical development, traditional Confucianism, and cultural development.