The Site of Laosicheng Tusi Domain in Yongshun County, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture is a place where the Tusi of Peng’s family lived from the fifth year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty (1135) to the second year during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty (1724).
In 2015, along with the Tangya Tusicheng Site of Enshi in Hubei and the Hailongtun Tusi Site in Zunyi of Guizhou, it was included in the world cultural heritage list.
Laosicheng Site can provide knowledge on the Tusi system that existed in history for tourists.
On the way from Yongshun County to the Site of Laosicheng Tusi Domain, there are some scenic spots like Laosicheng Memorial Archway. Thousands of mountains and valleys head back to the capital of Tusi by the Mengdong River. On the towering stone mountains is the training camp of the Tusi Domain.
Laosicheng was built in the 12th century and has been inhabited by 28 generations of Tusi for over 600 years. It was not until the second year during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng when the Qing government abolished the Tusi system, and appointed officials to directly manage Laosicheng that it gradually became desolate.
According to historical records, the Tusi regime of Peng’s family emerged during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period after the downfall of the Tang Dynasty. At that time, Hunan was ruled by the king of South Chu State Ma Yin and his sons Ma Xisheng and Ma Xifan. In 940 AD, Ma Xifan engaged in a battle with the governor of Xizhou, Peng Shichou. Finally, they put up the sword and erected a copper pillar as a promise at Huixiping by the Youshui River on the border of Yongshun and Guzhang counties.
The Xizhou Copper Pillar is currently collected in Wangcun Village (Furong Town), Yongshun County, with more than 2,600 words of inscriptions recording its history. Since then, the Xizhou people have enjoyed a stable life free from wars for over 800 years.
At that time, the capital of Tusi Domain was relocated from Huixiping to the current Sicheng Village on the banks of the Mengdong River, with mountains as a barrier that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. There is a cobblestone-paved road leading to the outside of the mountain.
The site includes a palace area, a government office, a residential area, a burial area, a religious area, and other parts. What’s distinctive is the “Hall of Patriarch” located 2 kilometers downstream, which can be directly reached by boat from the Laosicheng Pier, with clear river water and flocks of finger-sized swimming fish.
There are three halls located on the same axis, rising layer by layer along a steep mountain slope. The halls are made of precious wood such as nanmu, with a mortise and tenon structure, reflecting the intelligence and talent of Tujia woodworkers.
As there have always been people who live and carry out production here, the site has not been well preserved and has become a corn field. In addition, the cemetery has also been repeatedly stolen. At present, only a stone foundation and few original objects can be seen on a terrace by the river. Most houses, such as the Hand-waving Hall, Ancestral Temple, and stilted-buildings, are newly built according to their original look. There are not many cultural relics unearthed and collected, so it’s difficult to imagine its situation during the prosperous period.
What is more historic is the memorial archway “Forever Shared by Descendants”. From the middle of the Ming Dynasty, Japanese pirates often started riots along the coast. The Ming government recruited 5,000 soldiers led by Hunan’s and Guangzhou’s Tusi and killed more than 1,900 Japanese pirates in 1555, which was rated as “the first battle achievement in the southeast”. In order to commend their achievements, the government specially built the memorial archway.
Today, the Tujia people live and work in peace in Laosicheng. Visitors from all directions are welcome to visit here.
