The Yu Family Ancestral House in Poshi

The Yu Family Ancestral House in Poshi

The Yu Family Ancestral House in Poshi is a municipal-level cultural heritage site of Quzhou City.

The Yu Family Ancestral House in Poshi is located at No. 108, Shangcun, Poshi Village, Hunan Town, Qujiang District. It was designated as a municipal-level cultural heritage site in June 2014. This residence was built by Yu Rukui, an ancestor of the Yu family, during the Daoguang era. According to the Yu Family Genealogy of Poshi: “Rukui, the eighteenth in lineage, was granted the eighth-rank honorary title in the seventeenth year of the Daoguang reign and appointed as the Chief Administrator of the General Pacification Inquiry Office.” The Yu Chengji Ancestral House faces southwest and is situated to the northeast, covering a total area of 408.09 square meters, with a built-up area of 266.39 square meters. The main building features a courtyard layout. The front hall has five bays, with the central bay supported by post-and-lintel beams, while the side bays use through-tenon construction. On either side of the central courtyard are north and south wing rooms, and the courtyard floor is paved with long flagstones. The rear building also has five bays, with the central bay using post-and-lintel beams and the side bays using through-tenon construction.

The Boudoir Tower is located opposite the main building, facing northeast. It has five bays, with a through-tenon beam structure. The top of the door and the second-floor facade feature “?d”-shaped lattice windows, and the brackets are simply carved. This structure covers an area of 55.5 square meters. The Yu Family Ancestral House complex is well-preserved, with a rigorous layout, considerable scale, and original main framework. Its carvings are exquisitely detailed, and the Boudoir Tower is particularly rare in Quzhou, featuring complete architectural form and refined craftsmanship. The village itself has a history of over 1,000 years, with settlers living here since the Tang Dynasty. It has produced seven jinshi (advanced scholars), 15 juren (provincial degree holders), 26 gongshi (tribute students), and nearly 100 officials of seventh rank or higher. In the Ming Dynasty alone, Poshi produced four jinshi. Yu Zhen served as an imperial censor; Yu Jing as an imperial surveillance commissioner for Fujian Circuit; Yu Guobin as the Jiangxi Provincial Administration Commissioner who was later promoted to Right Provincial Administration Commissioner; and Yu Maozhong as an imperial censor. These structures provide tangible evidence for studying the region’s history and hold significant value in reflecting the area’s economic, cultural, and social development.

Poshi Village: Poshi Village comprises 16 natural villages and 17 villager groups. It currently has 422 households with a total population of 1,443, including 779 males and 664 females. There are 438 migrants and 398 people working away from home. The village has 351 mu of arable land and 19,661 mu of forestland, including 9,668 mu of ecological conservation forest. It cultivates 370 mu of tea, 1,940 mu of chestnuts, 6,737 mu of bamboo, and 600 mu of citrus. Poshi Village is an industrial hub within Hunan Town, currently hosting 14 glass filament manufacturing enterprises, two of which employ about 120 workers each and serve as key pillars of the village’s economy... More details on Poshi Village++