Shanlian Town Nanxun Meng Gong Temple
Nanxun Meng Gong Temple is located in Shanlian Town, Nanxun District, about 28 kilometers away from Huzhou. Shanlian is the pen capital of China and the birthplace of Hu Bi, and the ancestor Meng Tian is enshrined in Meng Gong Temple. Meng Tian was a general in the Qin Dynasty, and historical records recorded that he was the ancestor of pen-making. Shanlianhu pen has a long history, especially in the Southern Dynasties. According to written records, Meng Tian, the ancestor of Mongolian temple ceremonies, was in the Yuan Dynasty at the latest. During the Republic of China, the Mongolian temple was rebuilt. It was destroyed during the Anti-Japanese War (1943). 1959, due to the construction of Shanlianhu Pen Factory, Meng Gong Temple was destroyed again. Meng Gong Temple was rebuilt in 1992 and completed in April 1995, covering an area of 4,000 square meters. Lake pen and ink, Guangdong inkstone and rice paper are also called "Four Treasures of the Study". Every year on March 16, Meng Tian's birthday, and on September 16, Bizu's birthday, pen makers from all over the country gather in Meng Gong Temple to pay homage to Bizu Meng Tian, which has become a folk custom in Shanlian Town.