The Two Sages Shrine, also known as the Ridgeless Temple, was first built in the Han Dynasty and reconstructed in the Ming Dynasty. It is located in Jishu Village, Jishu Town, Jinxiang County. The shrine was erected in memory of Fan Shi and Zhang Shao and their well-known "Jishu Appointment".
Local people admired the two men for their sincere integrity and their willingness to keep their promise even at the cost of their lives. They built a tomb for the pair and raised funds voluntarily to construct the Temple of the Two Sages. Later, Fanzhuang Village was renamed Jishu Village.
When the prefect of the prefecture learned about the story, he submitted a memorial to the throne. Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty was deeply moved by their loyalty and trustworthiness, and allocated funds to build the Two Sages Shrine.
The temple has no main ridge. The roofs of the main hall, west hall and south hall all use two flat wooden rafters bent into the shape of an ox yoke and fastened tightly together. This structure symbolizes Fan Shi and Zhang Shao walking side by side, never to be separated.
The hollow walls represent their sincere friendship and mutual understanding. Instead of a conventional roof ridge, the ceiling is supported by two parallel rafters and purlins, signifying that the two were equal brothers with no distinction of rank.
This uniquely designed ridgeless shrine with profound symbolic meaning is rarely found anywhere in the world. The touching story of the "Jishu Appointment" was recorded in The History of the Han Dynasty and Amazing Tales.
The existing ruins date back to the reconstruction in the Ming Dynasty, together with stone steles recording its history. The original architectural complex consisted of the main temple, west temple and south temple.
Magistrate Sheng De renovated it during the Chenghua reign of the Ming Dynasty. In the forty-eighth year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty, local villagers organized another reconstruction voluntarily.
Outside the temple stands a deep well. Nine deep grooves can be seen on the well edge, commonly known as the Nine Grooves. They were left by the constant friction between well ropes and the stone rim when water was fetched for the construction project, solid evidence of the huge scale of the original shrine.
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