【Introduction】

Qiu Liang-Gong, known by his courtesy name Yuyun and pseudonym Zhuozhai, was born in Houpu, Kinmen County. His father passed away 35 days after his birth, leaving his mother and him helpless without resources. Unwilling to remarry, his mother was determined to raise her son alone. Eventually, Qiu’s mother nurtured him into a military officer who repeatedly established unusual merits. During his office as Zhejiang Provincial Naval Commander-in-Chief, his faithful mother was honored for her virtue and the Chastity Arch was built for her in 1812. The Chastity Arch located next to the Guanyin Pavilion in Dongmen (East Gate) is a four- pillar, three-section stone arch built with granite and limestone. Granite was used for the pillar and beam structures, while limestone was used for architrave engravings. It is the largest remaining stone arch with the most sophisticated craftsmanship in the Taiwan-Fujian area. The chastity archway is supported by four equal height square pillars carved with couplets depicting the chastity merits of Qiu Gong-Liang’s mother. The four pairs of stone lions in front and back of the pillars sit like guardians of the arch. Under the rooftop is an imperial edict, under is a horizontal inscription of “Qinjing Jiexiao”(“Imperial Citation for Moral and Filial Integrity”) . The horizontally inlaid peridotite contains vivid hollow carvings of sculptural characters and landscapes. The engravings of the horizontal tablet on the large architrave seems to proclaim to those who pass the glory of Madam Xu, the loving and devoted mother of Qiu Liang Gong who was honored with the highest ranking in ancient China.

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