The Wu Clan Ancestral Hall in Jing County

The Wu Clan Ancestral Hall in Jing County

The Wu Clan Ancestral Hall in Jing County is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Anhui Province.

The Wu clan is a prestigious family in southern Anhui. Since their relocation during the Northern Song Dynasty, they have fostered a flourishing cultural legacy and are regarded as the foremost family in Jing County. The Wu Clan Ancestral Hall in Maolin, built during the Ming Dynasty, is a family temple structure that serves as a site for ancestral and historical veneration. It is now a provincial-level cultural heritage site. The ancestral hall represents an outstanding cultural form of ancestral faith and holds significant influence and historical value.

The main structure of the ancestral hall features five bays and three courtyards, covering a construction area of 1,131 square meters. According to the Wu Clan Genealogy, it was initiated in the Ming Dynasty’s Chongzhen Ji Mao year (1639) by Wu Shangmo, the governor of Huguang, who advocated for its construction. In 1941, when the New Fourth Army withdrew from southern Anhui, a farewell assembly was held in this ancestral hall, making it also a revolutionary site. Among existing ancestral halls, it is the only one referred to as the “Grand Ancestral Hall,” and it belongs to the Wu family of Maolin. The horizontal plaque above the main gate inscribed with the five characters “Wu Clan Grand Ancestral Hall” was written by Wu Guolun, a local scholar of the Ming Dynasty. The calligraphy is vigorous, archaic, and uniquely free-spirited, resembling old tree branches and vines supporting each other, or stone ladders and plank paths interlocking naturally. On either side of the gate are also a pair of gilded couplets composed by Li Banghua, a Ming Dynasty scholar and the magistrate of Jing County, which read: “The grace of the Yanling lineage spreads across the lands east of the river; the distinguished family of Jingli thrives west of the waters.”

The overall layout of the Wu Clan Ancestral Hall follows a central axis, consisting of three main sections: the entrance hall, the hall of offerings, and the dormitory tower, with auxiliary rooms on both the eastern and western sides. A pair of drum-shaped stones and stone lions are positioned in front of the main gate. Inside the hall, there are 18 square white marble pillars and 64 large round wooden columns, with a hip-and-gable roof. Each side of the entrance hall contains a side room, followed by a large square courtyard with a bluestone-paved walkway in the center. Flower stands on both sides hold arborvitae and osmanthus trees, symbolizing “everlasting greenery throughout the seasons.” The courtyard is flanked by wide corridors connecting to the second section, the main hall. The hall can accommodate hundreds of people for ancestral worship and other events. Above the screen hangs a horizontal plaque inscribed with “Xulun Hall.” The walls on both sides are embedded with blue stone tablets engraved with the four characters “Loyalty, Filial Piety, Chastity, and Righteousness.” The components of the hall — including the moon beams, bracket arms, struts, and flat capitals — are adorned with gold-lacquered paintings, featuring scroll patterns, cloud motifs, as well as depictions of dragons, phoenixes, lions, unicorns, and human figures. The column bases and corridor dadoes are also finely carved, showcasing the distinctive artistic style of ancient family architecture. Behind the hall of offerings lies another rectangular courtyard with a pair of golden water basins, connected by a single-arch stone bridge. The golden water basins are protected by bluestone, featuring white marble lion-head pillars and stone railings with relief carvings of ruyi patterns. The third section is a two-story building with wooden shrines on both the upper and lower floors, housing memorial tablets of ancestors throughout the generations, known as the “Dormitory Tower.” In the past, the ancestral hall’s entrance hall, corridors, and main hall displayed hundreds of plaques, signifying the Wu clan’s exemplary figures in imperial examinations, official service, filial piety, and virtuous deeds.

(1) The Wu Clan Ancestral Hall in Maolin.

Protected area: To the east up to the outer wall of the residential buildings on the east side (7.4 meters), to the south up to the square in front of the ancestral hall (13 meters), to the west up to the outer wall of the residential buildings on the west side (including the alley, 3 meters), and to the north up to the outer wall of the Sanwu Memorial Hall (5 meters).

Construction control zone: Extending 40 meters outward from the protected area on the east, south, west, and north sides.

(2) The Wu Clan Ancestral Hall in Xihong.

Protected area: 10 meters outward from the outer edges of the ancestral hall on the east, south, west, and north sides.

Construction control zone: Extending 40 meters outward from the protected area on the east, south, west, and north sides.

(3) The Gate Tower of the Qiaowu Wu Clan Ancestral Hall.

Protected area: 10 meters outward from the outer edges of the ancestral hall gate tower on the east, south, west, and north sides.

Construction control zone: Extending 40 meters outward from the protected area on the east, south, west, and north sides.