The Xuguo Stone Memorial Archway is located in Shexian County of Anhui Province.
The archway is a piece of typical Ming (1368-1644) architecture rarely seen in the country. Built in 1584 during the Ming Dynasty, the stone memorial archway stands on an imitation-wooden structure in the shape of a square. It is 11.54 meters long from south to north, 6.77 meters wide from the east to west, and 11.4 meters high, and covers an area of 78.13 square meters. The entire architectural complex actually comprises two archways with three small archways and five layers of roofs, including two archways with two columns, a single archway and three layers of roofs. All of the archways have an overhanging gable roof with a beast-shaped ornament decorating roof ridges. They were built using solid black stones measuring 50 by 50 centimeters each with a height of seven meters and weighing about four to five tons.
A large number of inscribed stone tablets were erected at the site. Records indicate that the inscriptions were written by the great calligrapher Dong Qichang of the Ming Dynasty.
The Xuguo Memorial Archway was built to commemorate Minister Xu Guo of the Ming Dynasty. Xu, born in Shexian County, was sent on a diplomatic mission to Korea in 1567. He was praised highly by the Korean regime owning to his refusal of gifts, since such behavior was regarded as honest and upright. Xu held an important position in the imperial government after his return. He died in his hometown in 1596.
(Source: chinaculture.org)
