Yaduan Rong’an Hall

Yaduan Rong’an Hall

Yaduan Rong’an Hall is a Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Unit.

Rong’an Hall is situated in the center of Yaduan Village, oriented west to east. The layout includes three courtyards, three bays, two side wings, two corridors, and two courtyards. It features a grand scale and intricate carvings, holding high cultural and artistic value, and was declared a provincial cultural relic protection unit in 2011. It was first constructed by the ancestor Chen Qiwén in the 24th year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, starting with the main hall and the hall building. Later, his grandson Chen Yachuan continued construction by adding the front gate hall, which was completed in the 5th year of the Jiaqing reign. The main structure has a “日” (sun) shaped floor plan, with the central axis consisting of three halls: the front hall, the main hall, and the hall building, forming a two-courtyard quadrangle with the side wings on both sides. On the north and south sides, there are symmetrically arranged double side buildings named Rongchun Hall, Mingxing Hall, Láncuì Hall, and Zhūbǎo Hall. Throughout the compound, farming and scholarly pursuits were integrated, and resources were allocated as needed. It once witnessed four generations living together without dividing the household, maintaining harmony and happiness. Over a hundred members of the family would start their days by ringing a bell and heading to the fields, then return in the evening to share meals in a communal dining hall, making it a “living specimen” of the Confucian ideal society in practice.

The master who built this residence was a Mr. Chen from Yaduan, named Jìshòu. Jìshòu’s grandfather, Xīngshíliù, was not originally from Yaduan Village. As a child, he was frail, lost his mother at an early age, and was regarded as a burden by his stepmother, who drove him out of the house. When Xīngshíliù wandered the streets, he was encountered by Mr. Chóu and Madam Chóu, who ran a tofu business in Yaduan. They took him in, raised him, and doted on him. Through his intelligence and resourcefulness, Xīngshíliù helped the Chóus with farming and business, gradually growing their family wealth. By the time Chen Jìshòu was born, the family was already quite prosperous.

Under Jìshòu’s management, the Chen family’s fortunes flourished even further. Once, when Jìshòu attended the completion celebration of his uncle’s new house, he publicly pledged in front of relatives and friends to build a house several times more magnificent than his uncle’s. Known for being frugal and unassuming, Jìshòu always kept his word. Three days later, he sold the family’s rice and went to Lanxi to inspect timber. The seller, seeing Jìshòu dressed in a simple coarse robe and hesitating in front of the wood, assumed he wasn’t a serious buyer and joked, “I have some top-quality timber in Zhangshutan, Quzhou. Normally it sells for 300 yuan per log, but I’ll let you have it for 200 yuan per log. Can you afford it?” Jìshòu, who had been silent until then, finally spoke up and firmly signed a purchase agreement with the seller. The logs were increasingly large, with the biggest requiring 36 men to carry it back. Using these premium timbers along with stones from nearby mountains, Jìshòu built the grand Rong’an Hall.

Designated as a sixth batch provincial-level cultural relic protection unit in January 2011.

Zhudian Village: Zhudian Village…… More details about Zhudian Village ++

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units