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Pushi Town is located 35 kilometers southeast of Luxi County, Hunan Province, on the west bank of the middle reaches of the Yuan River. To the east it faces Fangtian Township of Chenxi County across the river, to the south it borders Changping Township, to the west it connects with Dalang Town and Baiyangxi Township, and to the north it links with Lijiatian Township. Within a 20-kilometer radius of Pushi, streams crisscross and the terrain is flat; the climate is mild and the soil fertile; transportation is convenient and commerce prosperous. Pushi Town is a famous historical and cultural town in China and one of the three great ancient towns of Xiangxi. Pushi Town has a long history and culture. Because of its developed water transportation, Pushi's commerce and culture were extremely prosperous in history. Pushi is an important distribution center for materials in the middle reaches of the Yuan River. Agricultural and sideline products such as water chestnuts, garlic, lotus roots, and sweet oranges are sold far beyond the province to various places.
The town was established in November 1949, covering an area of 143.5 square kilometers with a population of 39,000, of which the urban area covers 2.5 square kilometers with a population of 16,000. It administers 92 county- and town-level government organs, factories, mines, enterprises and institutions, as well as 4 neighborhood committees—Cross Street, Taiping Street, Xinjian Street and Yanfang Street—and 22 village committees: Yinjiaqiao, Chengxiang, Huangjiaqiao, Puxi, Xiao'anping, Gaoqiao, Qingcao, Yinjingchong, Xinbao, Duqi, Tianjiaxi, Gaoshanping, Huidong'ao, Yuping, Xiaoma, Yanmenxi, Leigupo, Wuguoliu, Maojiatan, Maxikou, TiezhuTan and Niujiawan Citrus Farm. In 2010, it was awarded the honorary title of the fifth batch of "Chinese Historical and Cultural Towns" by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the National Cultural Heritage Administration.
Thanks to its well-developed waterway transportation, Pushi's commerce and culture flourished greatly throughout history. From the Ming and Qing dynasties to the Republican era, within this ancient town of less than two square kilometers, three ancient commercial streets, six ancient opera towers, thirteen provincial guild halls, more than twenty cargo wharves, forty-five alleys, over fifty fireproof-walled vaulted houses, seventy-two temples and Taoist shrines, and more than ninety workshops were built. Because of its commercial exchange and cultural fusion, it earned the reputation of "Little Nanjing."
Pushi Town has a long history, and the ancient town's culture runs deep. Its main cultural relics and historic sites include Pushi Old Street, Wanshou Palace, the Ji Family Ancestral Hall, a Neolithic site, the Zhou Family Compound, Tianwang Xinggong (Heavenly King Temporary Palace), and Jiangdong Ancient Temple.
Guanlan Academy in Pushi was a cradle for cultivating talent. In the twelfth year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty (1807), Fu Ding, the Daoyin (circuit intendant) of the Chen-Yuan-Yong-Jing Military Defense Circuit, established an academy here and allocated 420 dan of grain from garrison farmland as stipends for teachers and students. The academy was initially named "Puyang Academy," with teachers and students lodging at Wenchang Pavilion (now Pushi Hospital). It was not until the eighteenth year of the Jiaqing reign (1813) that the academy was formally built at Dading Gate (now Pushi Central Primary School). After former observer (i.e., Daotai) Yao Jiqing consulted the "Luxi County Gazetteer" and found that there was a Guanlan Pavilion 50 li southwest of Wuxi in Pushi, the academy was renamed "Guanlan Academy."
Against the backdrop of convenient transportation, gathering merchants, and accumulating wealth, the tall, imposing, and fully functional Pushi residences gradually matured and became refined. The Ji Family Compound represents the overall standard of Pushi residences. It is said that the Ji family ancestors traveled from Shanxi to western Hunan to do business, starting out by selling tung oil and timber, and accumulated great wealth.
Generally speaking, Pushi residences all follow the structural pattern of "shop in front, residence behind." The Ji Family Compound is built of brick and wood, with a depth of 58 meters, and the interior consists of "three wells, three halls, and twelve rooms." The surrounding firewalls rise over ten zhang, serving both to prevent fire and block wind. The front facade is a three-story connected structure, all built with stone slabs. The door lintel features high-relief carvings of auspicious phrases such as "Family Rules, Pure Breeze," with lotus flowers and fragrant grasses carved at both ends, geometric patterns decorating the surroundings, and window tracery mainly in geometric designs, with carvings of the Eight Immortals, figures, flowers and grasses, and combat scenes in the center. All the carving work is exquisitely detailed and lifelike.
The side rooms within the compound were occupied according to the seniority of family members. The wooden windows of the side rooms are carved with dragons and phoenixes, and each panel carving tells a beautiful legend. Among them, carvings such as "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai," "The Heavenly Match," "Clam Shell Lantern," "Painted Dragon Boat," "Mouse Stealing Grapes," and "Eagle Catching Chicken" are especially vivid and remarkably true to life. The upper floors were mainly used for storing goods, keeping miscellaneous items, and drying clothes. At the rear were the kitchen and toilet facilities, and at the back of the compound was a garden, at the far end of which was a private wharf connected directly to the river.
Pushi residences have extremely high research value. The architectural layout of "shop in front, residence behind" is rarely seen, and especially on the threshold of the second entrance, every building has a dog hole, reflecting the historical representation of local folk dog worship and providing physical evidence for the study of Panhu culture. "I have seen many Hunan residences and often felt a sense of inferiority compared with northern residences. But after seeing the Ji Family Compound this time, I can finally straighten my back and say that our Hunan residences are by no means inferior to those in the north. Their exquisiteness is comparable to the Qiao Family Compound, and they fully qualify for designation as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit. The Ji Family Compound is the most exquisitely designed and best-preserved Ming-Qing large residence discovered in our province to date."
