The Chen Clan Ancestral Hall in Xiabai Shi

The Chen Clan Ancestral Hall in Xiabai Shi

The Chen Clan Ancestral Hall in Xiabai Shi is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Chen Clan Ancestral Hall

Age: Qing Dynasty

It faces southeast at approximately 20 degrees west of due east, with an overall layout consisting of three sections arranged from front to back. Facilities include a stage, wing rooms, bell and drum pavilions, and a tea pavilion, covering an area of about 970 square meters. The front hall is five bays wide with two side passages and has a depth of six rafters supported by four columns. The stage is a double-eaved pyramidal-roofed structure supported by four pillars, located between the front hall and the main hall, separated from the main hall by a courtyard. Bell and drum pavilions are situated on both sides of the courtyard. The main hall is five bays wide, with a roof frame of eight rafters; the central bay features a five-rafter beam structure with double steps in the front and single steps in the rear, using straight beams. The entire hall, apart from the rafters, is fully painted with colored designs. Between the central bays of the main hall and the rear hall is a connecting hall (tea hall), with ponds and wing rooms on either side. The rear hall has a roof frame of seven rafters; the central bay features a five-rafter beam structure with single steps in both the front and the rear, using straight beams.

The ancestral hall features a variety of colorful paintings with exquisite materials that remain as vivid as when first painted. Its individual structures are diverse in form, rich in meaning, and laid out cohesively, making it an important example of ancestral hall architecture.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units