The Cheng Family Qingyu Hall

The Cheng Family Qingyu Hall

The Cheng Family Qingyu Hall, built during the Qing Dynasty, is located at No. 7 Caiyuan Lane in Cicheng Town. It is a key cultural relic protection unit of Jiangbei District, Ningbo City, and was designated and established in 1986.

The Cheng Family Qingyu Hall was constructed in the 55th year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1731) by descendants of the Northern Song philosophers Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi, making it 266 years old to date. On the west wall of the front corridor of the ancestral hall, there is a stone tablet inscribed with “The Record of Constructing the Cheng Family Qingyu Hall” from the 55th year of Qianlong. The tablet stands 189 cm tall and 74.5 cm wide. The building features a flush gable roof, characteristic of early Qing architecture. Many of its pillars are adorned with carvings of flowers and fruits, some of which still exhibit styles reminiscent of the Ming Dynasty, making them rare in modern architecture.

The hall is designed as a traditional three-sided courtyard. The entrance gate is situated on the east side, while the main hall faces south with five bays. It employs the raised-beam construction method typical of the Ming Dynasty, using five-purlin and flat beams. The ridge-supporting column is shaped like an eagle’s beak, and the small columns beneath the brackets feature round, tongue-like skirts. Under the beams are auxiliary beams, with two sets of bracket sets installed. The front corridor features a raised platform (xuan), with the front section of the embracing-beam shaped like a nose. The four front eave pillars are melon-shaped, and the spandrel carvings are floral. Both the xuan and the entrance gate are decorated with scrollwork, kui-dragon motifs, and the character for longevity (“shou”).

This building boasts an intact layout and well-preserved structure. With an inscribed tablet that clearly records its construction date, it stands as a representative example of late-Qianlong period architecture in Ningbo.