The tale of Longchuan

Although most Longchuan villagers are surnamed Hu, they rarely intermarried for health reasons. Long ago, they established a strict policy requiring that a newly-wedded couple must be removed five generations from each other's families to decrease the chances of health problems in their children. Because the villagers maintained this strict marriage policy, historically, the people of Longchuan Village are said to enjoy an excellent gene pool. Indeed, Longchuan Village has produced an unusually high number of great figures in Chinese history. At the same time, the Hu family has enjoyed great longevity. Thus far, there have been 48 generations of people surnamed Hu from Longchuan Village.

In the long history of the Hu clan, Hu Zongxian (1512-1565) of the 38th generation had a particularly distinguished record, both as a military officer and a senior government official. As a military officer during the reign of the eleventh Ming emperor Jiajing (1521- 1567), Hu Zongxian led forces including the eminent military heroes Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang – known for their prowess battling seaborne invaders -- to drive invading Japanese pirates from China's eastern seaboard, and ultimately restored peace to the area. He later held offices as the Minister of National Defense and governor of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces. The Hu Family Ancestral Hall standing today exists because Hu raised funds from Longchuan residents to restore the building. Additionally, the Yishi Minister Arch erected in his honor and the Hu Zongxian Residence are among Longchuan's most important historical buildings.

Hu Family Ancestral Hall