Five Temples Hall

Five Temples Hall

Five Temples Hall is a cultural relic protection unit of Anhui Province.

This surviving Ming Dynasty residence provides important physical evidence for studying the development history, architectural history, and family cultural history of Jixi County. It is also one of the significant carriers of Jixi as a provincial-level historical and cultural city. In May 1998, Five Temples Hall was designated as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit by the Anhui Provincial Government.

As early as the 1950s, the renowned Chinese architect Professor Liu Dunzhen discovered it during his investigation of ancient architecture in Huizhou and spoke highly of it. Fifty years later, Five Temples Hall has become the only remaining Ming Dynasty residence in Jixi, an ancient county with a history of over a thousand years, making it as precious as a jewel in the palm.

Jixi is one of the important birthplaces of Huizhou culture and has been greatly influenced by Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism. “Unless the commentaries on the Six Classics have been reviewed and affirmed by Zhu Xi, fathers and elders do not use them for teaching, nor do children and youngsters use them for study.” The belief in Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism was deeply rooted and revered. The Ge family was a prominent clan in Jixi County, excelling both in literary and martial pursuits, and adhering to Confucian doctrines. It was only natural for them to follow Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism. The wooden plaque of “Five Temples Hall,” hung prominently on the screen wall, was striking and served as a creed that the Ge descendants strictly observed and diligently practiced.

Five Temples Hall faces south and is laid out along a north-south axis, symmetrically on the east and west. It consists of three main parts: front, middle, and rear, with a total floor area of 303.18 square meters. The main gate is located on the gable wall in the southeast corner, framed by two angled stone pillars and a decorative stone lintel. Above the lintel, square water-ground blue bricks are inlaid with tight joints, topped by three flying bricks forming the eaves, covered with small tiles, and adorned at the ends of the wall ridge with ceramic makara. The two vertical bands are decorated with blue bricks featuring ruyi patterns, giving an impression of simplicity and dignity. Inside the gate is a long, narrow courtyard with a screen wall facing south. The front hall is five bays wide and two bays deep, with rooms on the east and west sides. The front eaves are supported by bracket sets of the fifth rank, extending the eaves outward. The central bay features latticed doors, while the side bays are fitted with parapet walls and panel windows. The rear eaves are supported by ruyi-shaped bracket arms, with the side bays decorated similarly to the front. The central bay’s beam frame uses the exposed beam technique, with intricately carved components such as cloud-ribbon crossed brackets, lotus-petal camel humps, nail-head brackets, and beam corbels, all in a simple and unadorned style. Behind the front hall is a rectangular courtyard paved with strip stones, with drainage channels along the four sides. A strip stone is laid horizontally along the central axis, leading directly to the middle hall.

On the east and west sides of the courtyard are wing rooms, with their outer eaves supported by bracket arms and fitted with parapet walls and panel windows. The middle hall is the main part of Five Temples Hall and serves as the space where the house owner receives guests or hosts celebratory events. It is spacious and bright, five bays wide and four bays deep, with a floor plan in the shape of a Chinese character “品” (pronounced “pin”). The bays other than the central one are rooms used for the house owner’s daily life. The materials and craftsmanship used in the middle hall are extremely refined. The columns are all slightly tapered, resting on inverted-bowl-shaped stone bases, topped with nanmu wood lotus-petal column capitals. The ridge purlin posts on the north and south sides are fitted with ruyi-cloud-ribbon-patterned crossed brackets, and the column bases are supported by vividly carved lotus-petal camel humps. The ends of the three-purlin beams are decorated with ruyi-cloud heads. Particularly notable is the front eave’s single-step beam, which is supported by a combination of ruyi-cloud-patterned camel humps and a one-bracket-three-jump cross bracket assembly, creating an elegant and rational structure that is truly a masterpiece of architectural art. The front end of the single-step beam is also adorned with ruyi-cloud heads, and the nail-head brackets feature four curved cuts with cloud-patterned arches, producing a bold and unrestrained artistic effect. The front eaves of the middle hall are supported by bracket arms, while the rear eaves use bracket sets of the fifth rank. The reason for this structural change remains uncertain and warrants further research. The rear hall consists of a small courtyard and two rooms, with the eave section fitted with starry-patterned low windows and scattered panels. It is worth mentioning that from the south to the north, Five Temples Hall has a 1-meter-wide passage between the mountain walls and the columns, with the roof partially supported by cantilevered purlins.

Protected area: 5 meters on the east, south, west, and north sides outside the wall.

Construction control zone: 10 meters on the east, south, west, and north sides outside the protected area.