Yang Jiaoshan Memorial Temple (Songyun Hut)

Yang Jiaoshan’s former residence in Beijing is located at 12 Dazhiqiao Hutong, Xuanwumenwai Dajie in Xuanwu District, which was originally called Songyun Hut.

Yang Jiaoshan Memorial Temple (Songyun Hut)

Yang Jiaoshan (1516-55) was originally named Yang Jisheng. A native of Rongcheng in Hebei Province, he was a renowned honest and loyal high official of the Ming Dynasty, but was executed at the age of 40 by the corrupt prime minister Yan Song in the 34th year of Emperor Jiajing’s reign (r.1522-1566). A memorial temple was built at his residence, Songyun Thatched Hut, during the reign period of Qing Emperor Qianlong. In 1895 after the Qing government signed the hu- miliating Treaty of Shimonoseki, some 200 people headed by Kang Youwei gathered at Songyun Thatched Hut and made the Joint Petition of Imperial Examination Candidates to the Emperor to oppose the signing of the treaty and to institute reforms, which marked the beginning of the famous Reform- ist Movement in modern Chinese history.