Nánpí

Nanpi lies on the low plain south of Cangzhou. Among its prominent local families were the Zhang, a lineage known for study and service in government during the Ming and Qing. Zhang Duancheng, born in 1756, passed the examinations and held office as far away as Yunnan. His career illustrates how education and the examination system could carry a family of the northern plain into the administration of distant provinces.