Photo courtesy of: Li Xiuchun, Le Ting POLITICAL COOPERATION research historical materials
The picture shows a corner of the walled city tower of the rare Liu family manor of Jingdong. Liu Yiwang, the last descendant of the Liu family who lived in the manor for 8 years, recalled: "My grandfather and cousins had 10 cousins, living in 10 large mansions, with a total of 1,040 houses, forming a huge complex. The main part of it is surrounded by a wall of 3 meters high, which resembles a castle. Some people say that the Liu family's manor is no less than the palace in Beiping, which is not an exaggeration. ”
Liu Xinting, the ancestor of the Liu family, opened the road to business in the northeast by trafficking hoes and established "He" shops. Later, as the economy of the northeast became more and more prosperous, the Liu family shifted its commercial focus to the northeast, using the natural resources of the northeast to drive shops, run money houses, set up grain warehouses, and build oil mills. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were more than 100 large and small businesses in the Liu family. The Liu family's business became more and more prosperous, the family's property increased day by day, the Liu family manor was expanded several times, and finally became a super large castle-style manor, with as many as 10 hall numbers (Hede Hall, Renhe Hall, Zhonghe Hall, Baohe Hall, Huihe Hall, Yuanhe Hall, Henghe Hall, Lihe Hall, Zhenhe Hall, Qinghe Hall). On the other hand, Liu Jiashi's journey has developed smoothly. In the fifth year of Xianfeng (1855), Liu Zhaoxiong was raised in the examination and awarded the title of Hubu Langzhong; in the second year of Guangxu (1876), Liu Zhaoxiong's eldest son Liu Zhen was raised in the examination; in the twelfth year of Guangxu (1886), the third son Liu Pei was also a high school huiyuan, and was merged into the imperial post of Zhongshu Sheren (the official who wrote the edict), and later promoted to attendant and assistant official of the prime minister Yamen; in the twenty-third year of Guangxu (1897), Liu Zhaoxiong's seventh son Liu Tan was also selected as a person in the examination. The golden plaques of "Huiyuan Di" and "Compatriots Three Branches" given by the emperor are hung high above the lintel of the Liu family. Liu Zhaoxiong once took Shangshu Wenxiang of the Hubu Department as a teacher, and also had contacts with Yi Xi, the Prince of Qing. In addition to continuing to maintain contact with The Prince of Qing, Yi Xi, Pei Zi Zaizhen, and other relatives of the emperor, his son Liu Pei also befriended Li Yuanhong, Feng Guozhang, Xu Shichang, and other presidents of the Republic of China. His son Liu Tan had a close personal relationship with Feng Guozhang, and after the two families married, Liu Tan married his granddaughter to Feng Guozhang's grandson Feng Haigang, whose son was the famous cross-talk actor Feng Gong.