Xinye was founded in 1219, during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). The village is home today to the largest settlement of people surnamed Ye. Every year on the third day of the third month on the lunar calendar, the Ye clans conduct ancestor veneration ceremonies steeped in tradition. The village has pre-served 16 ancestral shrines, halls, pagodas, and temples, as well as more than 200 traditional-style dwelling houses. Known for the high value they place on farm work and education, members of the Ye clan have actively engaged in building academies, private schools, free schools, and government-sponsored schools. The streets and lanes that crisscross Xinye Village all have large slabs of stone running down the middle, one after another. Each leads to a school, so that students need not muddy their shoes while walking to and from school. This illustrates the re-spect held by rural villages in ancient China for knowledge and learning.