Yangming Shrine 阳明祠

About Yangming Shrine

Its courtyards and corridors preserve a collection of inscriptions, including portraits and texts associated with Wang and later scholars. The neighbouring Yin Daozhen Shrine and Fufeng Temple broaden the site beyond a single memorial hall. A visit is best paced around the architecture and stone inscriptions, with attention to the labels that distinguish originals, later copies and commemorative additions.

The shrine was first built by Wang Shouren's (王守仁) disciples in the thirteenth year of the Jiajing era (1534) on the former site of Baiyun Convent (白云庵), and was later moved to the east side of the city, beside the government office. The present shrine, at the southern foot of Fufeng Hill in Yunyan District, was built in the nineteenth year of the Jiaqing era of the Qing dynasty (1814). Qing-dynasty stone inscriptions by Luo Wenbin (罗文彬) and others were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and were re-carved from rubbings in the 1980s after the painter and calligrapher Xie Xiaosi (谢孝思) hired skilled stone carvers for the work.

The shrine faces west and is built along the slope of the hill as a single quadrangle courtyard (四合院). The plaque over its gate, reading 'Shrine of Mr. Wang Yangming,' was inscribed by the calligrapher Xiao Xian (萧娴). It holds a statue of Wang Shouren and a line-engraved portrait of him, together with stone-carved inscriptions of poems and writings related to him.

The Guiyang municipal government designated a protected area of 43,700 square metres around the shrine in 1988. In 2006, Yangming Shrine was listed, together with Yangming Cave (阳明洞), as part of the sixth batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level (全国重点文物保护单位).

What to look for

• Portrait and calligraphic stone inscriptions line the shrine’s halls and corridors.
• The Yangming, Yin Daozhen and Fufeng buildings form a hillside group of courtyards.

The surrounding area

A food-and-city chapter with contemporary cafés, local snacks and river walks.

Location & getting there

Getting to Yangming Shrine

Use 15 Dongshan Road in Yunyan District, Guiyang, at the foot of Fufeng Hill. Enter through the shrine visitor approach and follow the open courtyard route; this is separate from the Yangming sites in Xiuwen County.