崇仁古镇Chongren ancient town

从嵊州城往西北走十来公里，就到了崇仁。这不是一座为游客新造的古镇：老台门里还住着人家，小巷铺着鹅卵石，周末玉山公祠的古戏台上还在唱越剧。镇上保存着从明初到民国的二百多处老建筑，2006 年被列为全国重点文物保护单位，2014 年入选中国历史文化名镇。

About eleven kilometers northwest of central Shengzhou lies Chongren. It is not an old town rebuilt for tourists: families still live in its courtyard houses, its lanes are paved with river cobbles, and on weekends Yue opera is sung on the old stage of the Yushan Ancestral Hall. More than two hundred historic buildings survive here, from the early Ming dynasty to the Republic. Chongren became a major national heritage site in 2006 and one of China’s historic towns in 2014.

崇仁建村很早，国家文物局的资料说，三国以前这里就有村子了。北宋时，裘氏一族迁来，渐渐成了村里的第一大姓。迁来的年份有两种说法：嵊州市志引《裘氏宗谱》说是熙宁年间（1068—1077），国家文物局的图录写的是庆历年间（1041—1048）。按宗谱的说法，裘氏的先祖在公元 316 年随晋元帝南渡，隐居婺州（今金华），他的儿子迁到会稽云门（今绍兴），后来又有一支分迁到嵊县西部。这支裘氏自称“义门裘氏”，是剡西的望族。

Chongren is old: China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration says there was a village here before the Three Kingdoms period. In the Northern Song dynasty the Qiu family arrived, and in time they became the largest clan in the village. Sources differ on the date. The Shengzhou gazetteer, citing the Qiu genealogy, says the Xining years (1068–1077); the national heritage catalogue says the Qingli years (1041–1048). According to the genealogy, the family’s ancestor came south in 316 with Sima Rui, the future founder of the Eastern Jin, and settled in Wuzhou (today’s Jinhua); his son moved to Yunmen near Kuaiji (today’s Shaoxing), and a branch later moved on to western Sheng county. The Qiu of Chongren call themselves the Yimen, or “righteous house,” Qiu, and were long the leading family of western Shengzhou.

至于“崇仁”这个名字，流行的说法是裘氏家风“崇尚仁义”，地方因此得名。不过，嵊州新闻网 2018 年的《嵊州地名杂识》指出，唐代剡县的四十个乡里就已经有“崇仁乡”，比裘氏迁来还早；唐代的乡名，多取“仁、义、礼、信、忠、孝、善”这样的字眼。所以说崇仁因裘氏得名，并不确切。

As for the name, the popular story says the Qiu family prized benevolence and righteousness — chong ren means “honoring benevolence” — and the place was named for their family values. But as Shengzhou News pointed out in a 2018 piece on local place names, Shan county already had a Chongren township among its forty townships in the Tang dynasty, well before the Qiu arrived; Tang township names often used Confucian virtues such as benevolence, righteousness, propriety and filial piety. So the idea that Chongren was named after the Qiu family is not quite right.

台门是绍兴一带对带门楼的深宅大院的叫法，绍兴鲁迅故里的周家台门就是一例。一座台门往往围着一个或几个天井，住着同一个家族的好几户人家。据国家文物局编的全国重点文物保护单位图录，崇仁现存从明初到民国的建筑遗迹二百多处，其中老台门 154 座、茶亭和路亭 14 座、近代建筑 50 多处、古井 51 口。

A taimen is what people around Shaoxing call a walled family compound entered through a gatehouse; the Zhou family compound in Shaoxing where Lu Xun grew up is a famous example. A taimen usually wraps around one or more courtyards and houses several households of the same clan. According to the national heritage catalogue, Chongren keeps more than two hundred historic structures from the early Ming to the Republic: 154 old courtyard houses, 14 tea and roadside pavilions, more than 50 early modern buildings and 51 old wells.

五联台门是其中最大的一组，清代中期由几座小台门连成一片，木雕尤其精美。走在老街小巷里，头顶常能看到连接两边房子的“过街楼”。

The Five Linked Courtyards are the largest group: several smaller compounds joined together in the mid-Qing, known above all for their woodcarving. Walk the lanes and you will often see covered passages, called guojielou, bridging the houses on either side above your head.

崇仁的老房子讲究雕饰，门窗和梁架上的木雕随处可见；镇公所和民国法院，则是民国时期留下的公共建筑。

Chongren’s old houses are richly decorated, with carving on doors, windows and beams; the town office and the old courthouse, by contrast, are public buildings from the Republican era.

玉山公祠是崇仁规模最大的宗祠，建于清乾隆五十六年（1791 年），占地 1012 平方米。祠里有一座古戏台：石质的台柱，南北两侧是两层的廊房，台前是一片小广场。

The Yushan Ancestral Hall is the largest in Chongren, built in 1791 and covering 1,012 square meters. Inside is an old opera stage with stone pillars, two-story galleries along its north and south sides, and a small square in front.

嵊州有两百多座古戏台，玉山公祠的这一座曾是远近最热闹的地方：初出茅庐的越剧演员在这里登台亮嗓，台前的广场和两侧的看台总是挤满了人。上世纪末，不少古戏台渐渐冷清；近年当地拨出专款修补屋顶、加固台柱，安排专人管理，戏台向公众免费开放。

Shengzhou has more than two hundred old stages, and this one was once the liveliest for miles around. Young Yue opera performers tried out their voices here, and the square and side galleries were always packed. By the end of the last century many old stages had fallen quiet; in recent years the city has paid to repair the roof and strengthen the pillars, put someone in charge, and opened the stage to the public for free.

如今每逢周末和节假日，崇仁会在古戏台组织越剧展演，除了折子戏，也鼓励爱唱的普通人上台。2023 年起，嵊州又办起了“嵊州村越”比赛，通过直播把乡村古戏台带给各地的戏迷。据《人民日报》2026 年的报道，嵊州注册的民营越剧团有 117 个，从业人员八千多人。越剧的来龙去脉，见我们的越剧指南。

These days Chongren puts on Yue opera at the stage every weekend and public holiday — excerpts from the classics, but also a chance for ordinary fans to step up and sing. Since 2023 Shengzhou has also run a village Yue opera contest, livestreamed so that fans across China can see the old village stages. According to People’s Daily in 2026, Shengzhou has 117 registered private Yue opera troupes employing more than eight thousand people. For the story of Yue opera itself, see our Yue opera guide.

崇仁在嵊州城西北约 11 公里，绍甘线公路从镇上穿过。古镇是有人居住的老街区，不少台门里还住着人家，参观时请放轻脚步，进私家院子前先问一声。想看越剧，最好挑周末或节假日来。

Chongren is about 11 kilometers northwest of central Shengzhou, on the Shaoxing–Ganlin road. It is a lived-in old town and many courtyard houses are still homes, so keep your voice down and ask before stepping into a private courtyard. For Yue opera, come on a weekend or a public holiday.

镇上还有瞻山庙、指道碑、张伯岐故居、辛亥革命人物王金发的故居和逵溪洗屐桥等古迹。相距不远的甘霖镇有小黄山遗址和越剧诞生地东王村，可以连成一天的行程；回城别忘了吃一顿嵊州小吃。

Other sights around the town include the Zhanshan Temple, an old signpost stone, the former homes of Zhang Boqi and of Wang Jinfa, a leader of the 1911 revolution, and the Xiji Bridge at Kuixi. Nearby Ganlin Town has the Xiaohuangshan site and Dongwang Village, the birthplace of Yue opera, which make an easy day out together; back in town, leave room for Shengzhou snacks.