Introduction to thatched cottage

The Zhuge Thatched Cottage in Nanyang is located in the middle of the back of Wuhou Temple in Wolonggang, Nanyang. It is an octagonal thatched roof pavilion built by later generations on the site of Zhuge Liang's former residence. The octagonal shape of the roof of the thatched cottage is taken from Zhuge Liang's skillful arrangement of eight formations. Wooden carved cloisters surround the surrounding area. "Zhuge Caolu" on the forehead was handwritten by Guo Moruo in 1973; "Zhuge Caolu" on the inner forehead was written by Yu Youren, director of the Supervisory Yuan of the National Government in 1940. "Nanyang Zhuge Lu" on the back of the forehead was written by Fu Fengju, the prefect of Nanyang in the 20th year of Guangxu's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1894). The pavilion preserves a stele inscription from the 14th year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty (1478), which reads "The Old House of Zhuge Kongming in the Han Dynasty" and a seal script of Ren Yi on the back, "The Book Guides the Way to the Stele Yin". This pavilion means that it was here that Zhuge Liang "cultivated the long acres" and discussed world affairs with Liu Bei, proposing for him the strategic policy of reviving the Han Dynasty and unifying the world. In the small pavilion opposite the thatched cottage, there is preserved the official script inscription "The Duel of the Thatched Cottage" written by Zhang Xiushan, a modern calligrapher from Hebei Province. Zhuge Thatched Cottage is the residence where Zhuge Liang worked in Nanyang from the age of 17 to 27. Zhuge Liang said in "Preface to the Master": "I am a commoner, working hard in Nanyang, surviving in troubled times, and not seeking to be heard by the princes. The late emperor did not think that I was despicable, and I was in vain. The "counselor" in "Chu Shi Biao" refers to the Zhuge Thatched Cottage in Wolonggang. Zhuge Thatched Cottage in Nanyang is the place where Liu Bei visited the thatched cottage three times and the origin of Zhuge Liang's strategy of "three parts of the world". It is one of the representatives of Nanyang's historical places of interest.