Baixi Zhu Clan Ancestral Hall

Baixi Zhu Clan Ancestral Hall

Baixi Zhu Clan Ancestral Hall is a Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Baixi Zhu Clan Ancestral Hall (Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit)

Era: Ming and Qing Dynasties

Announcement Date: March 16, 2005

Facing south, it consists of a front hall, main hall, two side wings, and a courtyard converted from the eastern wing room on the north side. The front hall has a single-eave flush gable roof, a width of five bays with three-bay wings on either side, and a depth of five rafters. The central bay’s beam frame uses double-step beams at the front and back, divided in the center with three posts. The main hall also has a single-eave flush gable roof, a width of three bays, and a depth of eight rafters. The central bay features a five-rafter beam with a front single-step and rear two single-step beams, using five posts; the side bays use central posts. The beams are made of thick timber, with the five-rafter beams being composite and shaped like crescent beams; the purlins are round, using thick dougong-style lintel supports; beneath the ridge purlin is what is known as a “mountain mist cloud” decoration. The column bases are drum-shaped. The side wings have a single-eave flush gable roof, a width of three bays, and a depth of seven rafters. On both sides of the main hall’s gable walls, there are additional attached rooms. Among them, the eastern attached room was later modified into a three-courtyard sub-compound. Originally, there were also structures such as a memorial archway in front of the front hall, and their foundations still remain.

According to the Guangxu-era “Changxing Annals,” the Zhu Clan Ancestral Hall was built in the eighth year of the Shunzhi reign during the Qing Dynasty and underwent renovations in the late Qing period. Judging from the architectural style of the main hall, the building is believed to have been constructed in the late Ming or early Qing period. As one of the few surviving ancient buildings from the Ming-Qing transition period in northern Zhejiang, it holds considerable cultural relics value.

Source: Zhejiang Cultural Relics Network

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units