The Ancient Ming and Qing Architectural Complex in Zhaji

The Ancient Ming and Qing Architectural Complex in Zhaji

The Ancient Ming and Qing Architectural Complex in Zhaji is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

This ancient Ming and Qing residential architectural complex is located along both banks of the murmuring Zhaji River, stretching over ten li. There are currently 80 Ming dynasty structures and 109 Qing dynasty buildings still standing. Nearly all the Ming and Qing buildings feature exquisitely carved beams and painted rafters, with upturned eaves and graceful roof corners. Among them, residences such as the De Gong Hall, Song Qing Hall, and Ai Ri Hall are particularly grand, featuring elaborate structures. In particular, the De Gong Hall has a magnificent four-pillar, three-story, memorial archway-style gatehouse, with five dougong brackets on the roof covering the gatehouse in slightly upturned tiers—creating an atmosphere that is both rustic and majestic. The back features openwork carvings of auspicious patterns such as two dragons playing with a pearl, a red phoenix facing the sun, a fish leaping through the dragon gate, and lions playing with a silk ball. The craftsmanship is exquisite and refined.

Stone carvings, brick carvings, and wood carvings can be seen everywhere in Zhaji. Intricately carved wooden window and door panels, stone bases under hall pillars, and brickwork on gateways are all finely and elaborately crafted, transparently delicate, and diverse in design—featuring flowers and birds, animals, or human figures, all vividly lifelike. The houses are mostly multi-courtyard style, with three or four courtyards, and between them there are “four waters to the hall” style courtyards. The second-floor corridors along the courtyards are fitted with “beauty’s lean” railings. The walls are built with strip stones, the column bases are circular carved stones, the walls are blue bricks, and the roofs are black tiles. Traditional double-sloped roofs are partially hidden and partially revealed, tucked behind layers of gabled walls. Gables that rise higher than the roof not only help prevent the spread of fire but also serve a security function. The gables come in rich shapes—cloud-like, bow-shaped, stepped, etc.—with upturned, hollow horse-head designs at the top. The exteriors of these ancient residences are entirely blue brick and black tile—not because the ancient people of Zhaji lacked the wealth or aesthetic sense, but because during the Ming and Qing periods, many locals engaged in business outside and included wealthy merchants. Moreover, Zhaji had a strong literary culture. Around the Zhaji village are four gates and three pagodas: the Zhongxiu Gate, Pingling Gate, Shimen Gate, and Bashan Gate; and the Rushong Pagoda, Qingshan Pagoda, and Bashan Pagoda. These are rustic and elegant. The three pagodas were funded and built by the Zha family during the Qing Dynasty’s Jiaqing era to revive Zhaji’s literary culture. Zhaji natives Zha Bingjun and Zha Chunru were also renowned calligraphers and painters of the Qing period.

So why didn’t the people of Zhaji decorate their homes in dazzling colors? It turns out that in feudal China, the use of color was subject to extremely strict hierarchical distinctions. Even if commoners were wealthy, they were absolutely not permitted to adorn their homes with gaudy paintings and decorations. “What you lose inside, you make up for outside.” Although the homes were uniformly blue brick and black tile, the clever people of Zhaji skillfully arranged their dwellings, “building houses against the mountains and settling villages by the water.” The layout of the residences cleverly employed classical Chinese garden design techniques such as borrowed scenery and framed views, creating a “heaven and man in unity” atmosphere where “the green mountains outside the gate seem to be within the home, and the flowing water of the east neighbor enters the west.” The houses are connected by lanes and alleys. The Zhaji River, formed by the convergence of the Cen, Xu, and Shi rivers, meanders through the village, with stone channels running past every household. Due to the steep gradient, the clear river water cascades down in layers. Along the river are various arched stone bridges, slab stone bridges, and cave stone bridges, connecting the residences on both banks. The weathered stone bridges, entwined with vines, look from afar like jade bridges spanning the water, echoing the blue brick and black tile buildings on either side. It is said that Zhaji village once had 108 bridges, 108 temples, and 108 ancestral halls.

Even today, although Zhaji Village has weathered a century of storms and no longer retains its former splendor, it still has 15 bridges—including Hong Lou, Tian Shen, and Ling Zhi—along with over 10 ancestral halls and temples. Among them, the larger structures such as the Bao Gong Ancestral Hall, Hong Gong Shrine, and Er Jia Ancestral Hall, with their gilded upturned eaves and carved beams and painted rafters, offer a glimpse into the village’s former glory. With three rivers flowing through the village and three pagodas framing the four gates, stone bridges crossing streams, and ancient building complexes on both banks, the unique and profound architectural culture, along with the spiritually enriching landscape, nurtured the people of Zhaji in days gone by. Standing before this ancient Ming and Qing architectural complex, we cannot help but feel a sense of pride in China’s long-standing cultural heritage and marvel at the diligence and wisdom of our ancestors who created this splendid ancient civilization.

Protected Area: The protected area is divided into two levels—the Key Protected Zone and the General Protected Zone.

Key Protected Zone: This includes 131 buildings and courtyard spaces designated as National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units, contiguous areas where the ancient residential buildings are densely clustered, along with the surrounding streets, water systems, and public spaces, covering an area of 16.12 hectares. Specifically, it includes: from the west to the Jinshi Gate, east to the Xing Wu Gong Da Fu Di, north to Zhaji Primary School, and south to the Hong Gong Ancestral Hall—covering the concentrated cultural relics area along the middle reaches of the Xu Stream. The cultural relics and courtyard space centered around the Li Lang Ai Ri Hall. The cultural relic concentration area upstream of the Xu Stream, including the Zha Ming Residence and Man Tang Hong. To the east of the confluence of the Cen Stream and Shi Stream, the surviving cultural relics in Si Jia Village. The cultural relics centered around the lotus pond in the Wo area north of the Cen Stream.

General Protected Zone: The area within the protected zone that is not part of the Key Protected Zone is designated as the General Protected Zone, mainly consisting of cultural relic buildings and important historic natural landscapes, covering an area of 12.32 hectares. Specifically, it includes: a 30-meter buffer beyond the Hong Xing Mountain Villa Key Protected Zone, using the 150-meter elevation contour of Xiushan Mountain as the base, encompassing the Wo area, extending northward along Broadcast Mountain and Lion Mountain to the exterior lines of buildings on both sides of the Zhongxiu Road and extending to the Shi Stream, then northward to the 115-meter elevation contour of the Laolengyang Mountain, ending at the Lielie Ridge. To the west of the Xu Stream, a boundary approximately 30 meters outside the Key Protected Zone is used, with some steep slopes directly adjacent to the Xu Stream up to the Linzhi Bridge. Southward, a 50-meter extension from the Li Lang Key Protected Zone to the foothills near the Zha Qingyuan Residence, then westward parallel to the Tong Xinfeng Highway up to the current boundary of Si Jia Village. Separate 30-meter buffer zones are designated around the Zha Ming Residence, Wo area, Hong Xing Mountain Villa, and Li Lang Ai Ri Hall.

Construction Control Zone: This extends beyond the protected area, including the farmland boundary of the Zhaji Shuikeng Group to the east, the southern mountain control line of Zhaji Village to the south, 500 meters west of the Linzhi Bridge in western Zhaji Village to the west, and the northern mountain control line of Zhaji Village to the north. It also includes a 50-meter radius around the Rushong Gate and Rushong Pagoda as the core.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units