The Wang Family Ancestral Hall of Lijia

The Wang Family Ancestral Hall of Lijia

The Wang Family Ancestral Hall of Lijia is a cultural heritage conservation unit of Jiangsu Province.

The Wang Family Ancestral Hall at Lijia Bridge is located in Yuchi Village, Lijia Town, Wujin District, Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province. It was first built during the Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty (1628–1644), with the rear section added during the Yongzheng era of the Qing Dynasty (1723–1735). In the 14th year of the Jiaqing reign (1809), the ancestral hall was reconstructed on the original site with an expanded scale, taking eight years to complete.

The Wang Family Ancestral Hall has a long history. According to the "Genealogy of the Zhouchen Wang Clan," the Zhongsha Lijia Wang Clan were descendants of the Zhouchen Wang Clan who migrated to Lijia, Wujin, during the Southern Song relocation from the north. The Zhongsha Zhouchen Wang Clan are descendants of Wang Dan (also known as Wang Wenzhenggong), a prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, whose father, Wang Hu (also known as Wang Jingong), served as Vice Minister of War in the early Northern Song. It is said that he once “planted three scholar trees in the courtyard, declaring, ‘My descendants will surely produce high-ranking officials.’” The famous essay “Inscription of the Three Scholar Trees Hall,” included in the classic anthology "Guwen Guanzhi" by the great literary figure Su Dongpo, recounts this story. Since then, wherever Wang descendants have settled and built ancestral halls, they have been named “Three Scholar Trees Hall.”

The original Wang Family Ancestral Hall had five bays and four sections, with a large central courtyard, representing a classic hip-and-gable style Huizhou architecture. The hip-and-gable roof style was widely used in ancient China, referring to the roof form of temples and halls where the two sloping sides are truncated and a wall is erected, forming another slope. This design gives the building a sense of weightiness, depth, grandeur, and stunning beauty. The restoration also guided the local determination of the repair plan, adhering to the principle of “restoring the old as it was,” to revive its historical appearance.

The main structure of the Wang Family Ancestral Hall faces south and consists of four sections. These are, in order: the Entrance Hall, the Three Scholar Trees Hall, the Shade of Scholar Trees Hall, and the Grace of Scholar Trees Hall. The entire ancestral hall complex covers an area of 2,172 square meters, with a built-up area of 1,100 square meters.

The first section, the Entrance Hall, has six bays and five rooms, with the central area being the “Ritual Hall.” The front eaves feature a stone-arched gate tower, with the lintel inlaid with brick carvings in regular script reading “Wang Family Ancestral Hall.” On both sides are couplets: “The prestige of the Five Horses family reaches far; the grace of the Three Scholar Trees lasts long.” Behind the gate hangs a horizontal plaque inscribed “Ancestral Hall of Wang Wenzhenggong.” In the rear courtyard, two parallel shaded corridors connect to the second section.

The second section is named the “Three Scholar Trees Hall,” with six bays and five rooms. Both the front and rear eaves have corridors. The front eaves feature a horizontal plaque inscribed “Three Scholar Trees Hall,” and the hall enshrines a full-body seated statue of the ancestor Wang Dan. In the rear courtyard, stele corridors on the east and west sides, each three bays deep and 3.5 bays wide, display various stelae including the “Praise of Ancestors’ Portraits Stele,” Yue Fei’s “Postscript on the Wang Family Genealogy Stele,” the “Qian Zhen Dingchou Refugee Memorial Stele,” the “Zhouchen Wang Clan Ancestral Hall Restoration Stele,” and the “Merit Stele for Ancestral Hall Restoration and Genealogy Continuation.”

The third section is called the “Shade of Scholar Trees Hall,” with six bays and five rooms. The front eaves feature upturned corners with corridors, and a horizontal plaque reading “Shade of Scholar Trees Hall” hangs below. Inside the hall, from left to right, there are seated statues of Wang Zhenyi, the branch ancestor of Lijia Bridge in Zhongsha; Wang Gao, the founding migrant ancestor from the Southern Crossing; and Wang Wu, the ancestor of Zhongsha.

The fourth section is named the “Grace of Scholar Trees Hall,” with five bays in depth and five rooms in width, dedicated to enshrining the spirit tablets of the Wang ancestors. Additionally, auxiliary rooms such as kitchens, storage rooms, and the Immortal Pavilion are built on both sides of the main hall.

Exquisite brick carvings and wood carvings are also a highlight of the Wang Family Ancestral Hall. The carvings depict birds, flowers, landscapes, and figures, all with meticulous composition and fine craftsmanship, exemplifying the typical Jiangnan style and showcasing high artistic value and aesthetic appeal. From a distance, the horse-head walls, white walls with black tiles, brick-carved gate towers, upturned eaves, and layered ridges stand against the blue sky, narrating past glories and evoking visions of its former splendor.

Since its reconstruction in the 14th year of the Jiaqing reign (1809), the Zhouchen Wang Clan Ancestral Hall at Lijia Bridge had not undergone any major repairs, and the buildings gradually deteriorated. To protect the cultural heritage of the ancestral hall, the Wang clan initiated a restoration project in September 2006. After more than a year, the restoration was completed in September 2007, reviving the original architectural style of the late Ming and early Qing periods. On February 26, 2008, it was announced as part of the fourth batch of cultural heritage conservation units of Changzhou City.

Lijia Town: A town under the jurisdiction of Wujin City. It is a major grain production base in Changzhou and nationally renowned as the “Raincoat Capital.” In 1993, it was upgraded from a township to Lijia Town. Located in the southeastern part of the city, it is 15 kilometers from downtown Changzhou and 15 kilometers from the Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway. Covering an area of 22 square kilometers with a population of nearly 20,000, it is connected to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to the north, Taihu Lake to the south, and traversed by the Yongding River. The Liban Highway runs close to the western edge of the town. It administers 15 village committees including Xinlu, Xinsheng, Yujia, Qinxiang, Yuchi, Xinglong, Sundi, Jiandong, Goudong, Luzhuang, Beizhuang, Lijia, Xiyi, Maojia, and Gaoshu, as well as one residential committee for Lijia Town. Popular... More detailed information about Lijia Town++

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Cultural Heritage Conservation Units of Jiangsu Province