Xiuwu, a small county in the east of Jiaozuo, Henan Province, is known as "Xueban County", that is, there are many people with the surname Xue in the whole county, and they are all descendants of Xue Shu, an important official of the Yuan Dynasty. The third day of the eighth lunar month is Xue Shu's birthday. Every year on this day, the descendants of Xue Shu in Xiuwu County will hold a grand ceremony to worship their ancestors. As early as the first year of the Yuan Dynasty, the emperor recruited talents for state governance. Xue Shu, who was well-educated and well-educated, passed the imperial examination in the second year of Yuanzhen and passed the imperial examination. He was full of vigor, youthful and talented, and won the recommendation of the court. "At first, he was appointed as the chief of Chengwulang, and then he was promoted to the history of tea transportation, and the minister of the Ministry of Personnel was in charge of the five ministries." Xue Shu served in the court, assisted the emperor, followed the trend of the times, and advocated "saving the time and extending the way, changing the barbarians with the Chinese", easing class contradictions, and integrating Han and Mongolian cultures, making outstanding contributions to governing the country and maintaining peace. Xue Shu's talent was also well utilized in politics. He became a genius in governing the country and was called "the pillar of the heaven". The pillar of the heaven, the communication between the north and the south, the wise minister, the customs and stability; the great man of the Central Plains, the ancient and modern exchanges, the great longevity, the model of the ritual of farming. In December 2011, the ancestral worship ceremony of the Xue clan ancestral hall was included in the third batch of the provincial intangible cultural heritage list of Henan Province. Link: Introduction to Xue Shu Xue Shu (1249-1345) was born in Xiuwu County, Jiaozuo, Henan. He successively served as the first-rank Tongyi doctor of the Yuanzheng period, the minister of the Ministry of Personnel, the academic director of the Imperial College, the chief official of the Chengwulang, the transport envoy of the tea, and the academic director of Baode Prefecture, Shanxi. In the 54th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty, the Biography of Xue Shu in the Records of Huaiqing Prefecture states: "Xue Shu, courtesy name Shiqing, was from Xiuwu. He was well-versed in many books and was a great scholar. He was a great scholar of Confucius and Mencius. He was granted the title of Chengwulang Zhushi as a Jinshi, and was promoted to the position of the Transport Commissioner of the Tea Bureau and the Minister of Personnel. His father and grandfather were both granted the title of Henei County Marquis." The Xue family's ancestral home was east of the Fen River in Shanxi Province. His grandfather moved to Xunfeng Village, Liping Township (now Xunfeng Town), Xiuwu County, in the late Song Dynasty and early Yuan Dynasty. His father Xue Juren was granted the title of Jiayi Dafu, Minister of Rites, Shang Qingche Duwei, and posthumously granted the title of Hedong County Marquis. His grandfather Xue Degui was granted the title of Yazhong Dafu, General Manager of Huaiqing Road, Qingche Duwei, and posthumously granted the title of Hedong County Marquis. De was married to a famous official, doctor, and Confucian scholar in the early Yuan Dynasty. He was a famous Neo-Confucianist and educator. He served as a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy, a university scholar in the Zhaowen Academy, a senior official, a grand master, the daughter of Duke of Wei Dou Mo (1196-1280), and a first-rank imperial lady Dou (1248-1281). He had two sons, Bingzhen and Bingyong. After Dou's death, De married Princess Borjigin Mengmanqige (1265-1348), the daughter of Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty. The Xue family in Xiuwu County, Jiaozuo and some neighboring counties regarded him as the ancestor. "The family started from the east of the river and flew like a colorful phoenix, and the bloodline spread to the north of Henan and flew like a dragon", so the Xue family was known as the "Hedong family". Xue Shu was studious and well-read, and his main focus was Confucius and Mencius. In the 13th year of Zhiyuan (1276), he passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi in Bingzi. He was initially appointed as the academic principal of Baode Prefecture in Shanxi and the academic principal of the Imperial Academy. In the 21st year of Zhiyuan (1284), he married Princess Borjigin Mengmanqige (1265-1348), the daughter of Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty. In 1285, he was appointed as the chief official of Chengwulang, and later as the official of Tongyi. In 1290, he was transferred to the post of the transport envoy of Quecha. In the second year of Yuanzheng (1296) of Emperor Chengzong of Yuan, he was appointed as the Minister of Personnel. During the reign of Emperor Wuzong of Yuan, he was in charge of the five ministries. During the reign of Emperor Renzong of Yuan, the emperor implemented Han law and restored the imperial examination. He was appointed to be responsible for restoring the imperial examination. In the sixth year of Tingyou (1319) of Emperor Renzong of Yuan, Xue Gong returned to his hometown with his wife at the age of 70. He died in the fifth year of Zhizheng (1345) of Emperor Shundi of Yuan at the age of 97 and was buried in his hometown.