Tao Dian He Family Residential Complex

Tao Dian He Family Residential Complex

The Tao Dian He Family Residential Complex is a cultural relic protection unit of Jinhua City.

The Tao Dian He Family Residential Complex, dating back to the Qing Dynasty, includes the He Family Ancestral Hall, Shenxiu Hall, Jishan Hall, and Thirteen Rooms

The He Family Ancestral Hall is located at No. 66, North Road, Tao Dian Village, Niansanli Subdistrict, Yiwu City. Also known as the Lesser Ancestral Hall, it faces east with its back to the west, and features a small stream winding in front, resembling a flowing sash. The building is divided into front and rear courtyards, consisting of three sections and five bays, with left and right wing rooms. It has a total construction area of 641 square meters and took four years to complete. It was initiated for construction in the 54th year of the Qianlong reign (1789) by He Maozai. In the 12th year of the Daoguang reign (1832), his descendants carried out large-scale renovations and expansions of the ancestral hall. The existing bluestone gate tower is an original structure from the Daoguang period, inscribed with the year of its completion. In the 11th year of the Xianfeng reign (1861), it was burned down by the Taiping Army, and later restored in the 14th year of the Guangxu reign (1888). The building uses wooden beams and stone pillars, winter melon-shaped arch beams, fully exposed roof structures, with robust beam frameworks and exquisite wood carvings. The bluestone gate facade features intricate stone carvings. It once housed a private school, where He Jing, a local scholar from Yiwu, studied under the tutelage of his grandfather. The He Family Ancestral Hall is large in scale, well-preserved, accurately dated, and holds significant historical, artistic, and scientific value.

The He Family Ancestral Hall is surrounded by important halls such as Shenxiu Hall, Jishan Hall, and Thirteen Rooms, forming a grand architectural complex. Shenxiu Hall, commonly known as Xiaofen Li or Xiaofang Hall, is located at No. 52, North Road, to the right of the He Family Ancestral Hall. It was built by He Dezhai and completed in the 22nd year of the Daoguang reign (1842). The building faces east with its back to the west, covering a total area of 1,038.6 square meters, and consists of three sections and three bays, with front, middle, and rear sections, two wing rooms, and two corridors. It includes a front hall, main hall, main-floor chamber, and ten rooms on each side. The layout is neat and the scale is grand. The main hall features robust beams, and in the central room hangs a black-lacquered and gold-plated wooden plaque inscribed by Wang Pinfang, who served as a Grand Secretary concurrently holding the posts of Vice Minister of Rites and Compiler at the Hanlin Academy. The second gate leading from the main hall to the inner residence is a classic “merchant-style” door. The outer eaves of the main-floor chamber use floor-to-ceiling lattice windows, intricately carved on both sides with figures of the Eight Immortals, demonstrating extremely fine craftsmanship. It has a verifiable date and high historical, artistic, and scientific value. Jishan Hall, commonly known as Dafen Li or Dafang Hall, is located at No. 16, North Road, west of Shenxiu Hall, separated by a fire lane. Its construction period and architectural style are largely similar to those of Shenxiu Hall. The building consists of three sections and three bays, with left and right wing rooms, covering a construction area of 1,076 square meters, and is composed of a two-section, quadrangle-style courtyard. The Thirteen Rooms were built in the late Qing Dynasty, located at No. 33, North Road. They consist of five main rooms, flanked by two sets of wing rooms and corridors, forming a three-sided courtyard covering an area of 440 square meters. The entire residential complex is large in scale, well-preserved, clearly dated, exquisitely crafted, and holds high historical, artistic, and scientific value.

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