Xuezhai Bridge

Xuezhai Bridge stands in Xuewai Village, Sankui Town. Built in the sixth year of the Xianfeng reign of the Qing Dynasty (1856), it is a multi-layer braced wooden arch covered bridge. The bridge stretches 51 metres in total length and 5.1 metres in width, with a single span of 29 metres and a clearance of 10.5 metres above the water surface. It is sheltered by a covered corridor with fifteen bays. The arch features a steep rise, boasting an unadorned, unique shape and magnificent momentum, and has been recorded in A History of Chinese Bridges. In 1986, Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Cultural Relics allocated funds supplemented by public donations for its restoration. In 1988, it was listed as one of the third batch of Cultural Relics Protection Units of Taishun County.

In the Jimao year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty (1579), an exceptionally heavy rainstorm hit the Sankui area, triggering ferocious mountain floods. Historical records state that “three bridges at Jinxi, Jianzhou and Sanguangong collapsed simultaneously”. After Jinxi Bridge in Xuezhai was destroyed, travel between the two riverbanks was severely disrupted. With no funds available to rebuild the original bridge, the Xue clan erected a small crossing in front of their ancestral hall for temporary passage. Meanwhile, the eastern bank of the former Jinxi Bridge site was purchased by the Zhang clan from Guiyan (Zhangzhai Village), turning the land into their property. The Xue clan never anticipated that this transfer would create enormous obstacles to bridge construction generations later.

In the Jiwei year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1739), the Xue clan planned to build a Centipede Bridge (wooden arch bridge) on the original site of Jinxi Bridge. However, the Zhang clan firmly blocked the project on the grounds of feng shui geomancy. According to local geomantic beliefs, the terrain of Zhangzhai resembled a turtle and snake, two creatures said to fear centipedes. Learning of the Xue clan’s plan for a Centipede Bridge, the Zhangs resolutely opposed it. Since the eastern bank land had long been sold to the Zhangs, the Xue clan had no choice but to build a temporary crossing at a location called Xiaokeng. Yet the site suffered fierce winds and swift currents, making wooden structures hard to stabilise and unfit for a permanent bridge. Later, the Zhang clan resold the eastern bank plot of the old Jinxi Bridge site to the Lin clan, from whom the Xue clan eventually bought the land back. Regaining the original bridge site from an unrelated clan steadfastened their resolve to restore the ancient crossing.

In 1856, the sixth year of the Xianfeng reign, the Xue clan once again set out to construct a Centipede Bridge, receiving financial support from prominent local gentry including Qiu Guangqing, Su Peiming and Zhang Yongcao. Construction broke ground on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, yet the Zhang clan of Guiyan again cited geomantic theories to vehemently halt the works. Hu Dongwei from the prestigious Hu clan of Xuexi mediated the dispute, but all efforts proved futile. The Zhangs filed a lawsuit against the Xue clan with the local magistrate for trespassing to build the bridge. The county magistrate accepted bribes from the Zhangs and dispatched officers to seal off all timber and stone construction materials, halting the project entirely.

Numerous neighbouring clans backed the Xue’s bridge-building initiative; hundreds of villagers flocked daily to offer labour, rendering the official seal ineffective. The Zhang clan gathered their kinsmen, threatening to raid the construction site, so the Xue clan mobilised their own clansfolk to stand guard. At the sound of warning gongs, every household rallied at once: mothers urged their sons, wives encouraged their husbands. A hundred clansmen assembled in minutes to defend the site day and night, as if under martial law.

By the chen hour of the 29th day of the eighth lunar month, the arch frame of the bridge was completed. Tragically, when workers removed the supporting scaffolding in the si hour, the entire arch caved in and lay across the river like a giant dragon. Over fifty people standing on the bridge plunged into the water; fortunately only one person sustained an injury to his left shin and recovered fully afterwards. At first, villagers blamed the lead craftsman Wu Guangqian for flawed measurements and workmanship. Upon reflection, however, the clan elders concluded the collapse stemmed from rushing construction amid constant obstruction by the Zhangs. They shifted blame to the Zhang clan and exonerated the craftsman.

The Zhang clan’s geomantic objections and the corrupt magistrate’s interference delayed progress severely. Even after construction began, the entire arch collapsed and all timber was washed away by the river. Resentment toward the Zhangs deepened, yet the Xue clan’s determination to fund and rebuild the bridge grew stronger. The whole clan pooled funds to source new bridge timber and hired master craftsmen to restart construction. The Zhangs intensified their obstruction through further bribery, prompting the biased magistrate to conduct unfair surveys and deliver unjust rulings; two court hearings failed to resolve the conflict.

Soon afterwards, a new magistrate named Yang Bingchun took office. He personally visited the disputed site to conduct an on-site survey and interviewed locals extensively. After inspection, he confirmed the original Jinxi Bridge site as the most suitable location for the Centipede Bridge. He issued a written official edict ordering construction to resume immediately without delay, warning of severe punishment for anyone who dared to obstruct the works by force. The edict was issued on the 21st day of the eleventh lunar month in 1856. More than ten days later, on the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, the new arch frame took shape. The main beams for the covered corridor were hoisted into place in the fourth lunar month of the following year, and Xuezhai Bridge was fully completed by the fifth lunar month