Wang Family Ancestral Hall in Jiangyan

Jiangyan Wang Family Ancestral Hall

The Jiangyan Wang Family Ancestral Hall is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

The Wang Family Ancestral Hall, also known as the Wang Ancestral Shrine, is a family clan temple building originally constructed in the mid-Ming Dynasty. It serves as a site for ancestral worship and honoring virtuous forebears. Located on Donghou Street in Jiangyan Town, Jiangyan City, Taizhou, it is a memorial hall for the founders of the Taizhou School — Wang Gen, Wang Dong, and Wang Bi — and was also a place for lectures during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Its teachings primarily targeted the grassroots population. The Taizhou School is the only philosophical school in Chinese history named after a place. It emerged in the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty. Its founders, Wang Gen, Wang Dong, and Wang Bi, collectively known as the Three Sages of Huainan from the Wang family, were all natives of Taizhou, and most of their disciples were also from Taizhou. During the late Ming and early Qing periods, the philosopher Huang Zongxi referred to it as the Taizhou School. The shrine was originally built in the third year of the Wanli reign of Emperor Shenzong of Ming (1575), and at that time consisted of seven buildings with twenty-one rooms. Today, two buildings and six rooms remain.

In March 2019, the Jiangyan Wang Family Ancestral Hall was included in the eighth batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units