Sìchéng

Sicheng was the seat of a hereditary Cen chieftaincy in the mountains of western Guangxi. Ming troops took the district in 1372, after which Cen Shanzhong submitted and received a hereditary appointment as prefect. His descendants governed an extensive upland jurisdiction, which became a native prefecture under the Qing. In 1681 Cen Jilu built a school here, later known as the Sicheng Confucian temple. In 1727 the Qing dismissed the native prefect Cen Yingchen after accusations of oppressive levies and incursions beyond his territory. Troops were sent against him, and the hereditary office was replaced by a regularly appointed prefect. The change ended centuries of Cen rule at Sicheng and brought the district under a different form of administration.