Dunlv Hall

Dunlv Hall

Dunlv Hall is a cultural heritage site protected by Anhui Province.

Dunlv Hall is located in Shangzhuang Village, Shangzhuang Town, Jixi County, 39 kilometers from the county seat. It is believed to be the only Ming Dynasty residence in Shangzhuang Village, giving it significant cultural heritage value. Its existence provides valuable physical material for studying the social history of Shangzhuang Village, as well as the architectural styles and characteristics of Huizhou-style residences from the Ming Dynasty. In May 1998, Dunlv Hall was designated as a provincial-level cultural heritage site by the Anhui Provincial Government.

Dunlv Hall is several hundred years old and looks somewhat worn, but its beams and columns remain intact, which is enough to prove the high level of architectural skill among ancient builders.

The house covers an area of 280 square meters. It took two years and a large amount of money to build at the time, making it one of the more upscale residences in Shangzhuang Village—something that could not have been achieved without considerable financial resources. The owner’s ancestors were from a family of merchants. Like all merchants from Jixi, they not only possessed a steadfast work ethic but also knew how to accumulate wealth, continuously expand their capital, and achieve new business successes. The plaque inscribed with “Dunlv Hall,” hanging above the central beam, is a testament to this tradition. The term “Dunlv” (敦履) reflects the ancestors’ teachings to descendants: to be honest and unassuming in business and life, treat others with sincerity, and approach every task with diligence and earnestness, learning through practice.

Dunlv Hall faces south and has three bays in width and seven in depth, with a symmetrical layout along the north-south central axis, forming a plan shape resembling the Chinese character “亚” (Yà, meaning “sub”). It features a brick-and-wood structure, a flush-gable roof, interconnected second-floor corridors, and enclosed fireproof walls on the perimeter. The walls are built using whole flat bricks laid tightly together, saving space—an inevitable choice in Shangzhuang where land is extremely precious.

This construction method became a model for ancient residences in Shangzhuang and was widely adopted. The main gate of Dunlv Hall is located in the middle of the southern eaves wall, framed by two angled stone pillars and a decorative stone lintel, topped with three rows of projecting bricks, with upturned eaves on the east and west sides adorned with makara motifs. The entire gate is simple yet majestic, and it had a significant influence on the gate-building techniques of contemporary and later residences in Shangzhuang.

The courtyard is one of the key structural elements of traditional Huizhou-style residences, serving both practical functions such as lighting and ventilation, and aesthetic pursuits like “bathing in morning sunlight and observing the stars at night.” The courtyard of Dunlv Hall is situated between the front and rear halls, built with granite slabs, featuring recessed drainage around the perimeter and a central stone path. The second-floor courtyard is surrounded by low wooden railings with simple carvings. The residence exhibits typical features of Ming Dynasty Huizhou architecture, such as moon beams, eagle-beak columns, bracket arms, floorboards supported by transverse battens, and partition walls made of reeds. These reflect an artistic pursuit of simplicity, elegance, stillness with implied motion, and bold grandeur.