Ancestral Filial Piety Shrine

Ancestral Filial Piety Shrine

The Ancestral Filial Piety Shrine is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Zhejiang Province.

The Ancestral Filial Piety Shrine is located in Yangxi Village, Qingliangfeng Town, Lin’an District. The current shrine is not a Ming Dynasty structure but was built during the Qing Dynasty. In the 25th year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign, the emperor bestowed an imperial order to rebuild the shrine. It was later destroyed during the Xianfeng era due to warfare and was reconstructed in 1807.

The shrine has been damaged and expanded many times, and its current scale is grand. The building faces south and is a typical Huizhou-style corridor courtyard structure, featuring blue bricks, Han-style tiles, a "four waters returning to the hall" layout, and horse-head walls. Ninety-six massive and straight pillars—some round, some square—are neatly arranged, topped by hundreds of arched beams made from variously shaped stone bases including drum-shaped, hexagonal, square, and inverted basin forms. Together, they form a layered and complex roof framework. The shrine consists of three sections and two courtyards: the entrance gate, central hall, and rear chamber, spanning five bays in width and covering a total area of 739 square meters.

The entrance gate is a five-rafter front-scroll style, two bays deep. The central bay features the main gate, decorated on the outer eaves with bracket arms and fan-shaped arches, along with carved wooden elements on the rafter ends. The roof is covered with traditional small blue tiles in a flush-gable style. Above the gate hangs a plaque inscribed with the two characters “Filial Son” (孝子), personally written by Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty. On either side of the eaves are a pair of couplets: the upper line reads “The temple stands near Han’s tomb,” and the lower line: “Filial devotion continues the legacy of Emperor Shun’s court.”

Central Hall: Three steps higher than the front hall, this is the space for—, and for conducting ceremonies. The central hall features exquisitely carved structures. The spandrel brackets are adorned with carvings depicting stories of figures, ruyi patterns, and floral motifs, while the bracket arms are carved with animal figures. A wall screen is installed in the central hall, with a plaque reading “Eternal Blessing Hall” (永锡堂) mounted upon it.

Rear Chamber: At the center is a statue of the filial son Chen Dulong. The ridge beam bears an inscription of a couplet: “A distinguished Confucian family of the Han Dynasty, the home of a filial son in the Yuan Dynasty.”

The physical architecture of the Ancestral Filial Piety Shrine showcases the exquisite craftsmanship of the shrine and represents the traditional techniques of Huizhou-style buildings. Its overall structure is solid and rigorous, the spatial layout is open yet well-organized, the materials used are on a grand scale, and the construction techniques are refined and meticulous.

Centered around the themes of ancestor worship, promoting filial piety, and upholding clan law, the shrine served its purpose for several hundred years. It is a sacred place in the hearts of the descendants of the Chen family, who return every Spring Festival to conduct ancestral worship. Today, the shrine also takes on another role as the “Loyalty and Filial Piety Academy.” It is said that children from the village come here annually to attend classes. Dressed in traditional Han clothing, the children transform into little Confucian scholars, listening to the master tell the story of Chen Dulong’s filial deeds and receiving the moral influence of the Confucian value that “of all virtues, filial piety comes first.”

In 2014, the “Loyalty and Filial Piety Academy” was designated as a Zhejiang Provincial Base for Social Science Popularization, an off-campus activity base for the Lin’an City Youth Activity Center, and a second-class classroom base for elementary school students in Lin’an City.

Yangxi Village: Located at the eastern foot of the Qingliangfeng National Nature Reserve in Qingliangfeng Town, Yangxi Village lies 1.5 kilometers from the town government seat. Following village consolidation in November 2007, it was formed through the merger of the former Yigan Village and Zhou Tou Village. It now has 497 farming households, a rural population of 1,549, and encompasses 23 villager groups, covering a land area of 8.8 square kilometers. Since 2006, through new rural development initiatives and the vision of creating “China’s No. 1 Village of Loyalty and Filial Culture,” Yangxi Village has successively been honored as a Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Demonstration Village, a Lin’an City Cultural Demonstration Village (Community), and a Lin’an City Civilized Village… More detailed information about Yangxi Village++

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units