Haiyun Ancestral Temple

Haiyun Ancestral Temple

Haiyun Ancestral Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Haiyun Ancestral Temple, also known as Wushi Hall, is located in Wujing Village, Zhangpu County. It faces the Dan Mountain and Yinshi Peak, with nearby Meiling Mountain resembling a brush rack; the majestic Haiyun Mountain stands in the northwest; to the left is Ziwei Mountain (Dragon Mountain); to the right are Tianma Mountain, Fuhu Mountain, and Tower Mountain; behind it stands the Imperial Screen-like Zimaishi Rock, and through the gap of the Inverted Pavilion, one can see Fanshan Mountain in Pinghe County in the distance; the Wujing River comes from the northwest, flows along Guilin Mountain and Ziwei Mountain to the due east, and then rushes directly southeast toward Futou Bay, where it flows into the East China Sea. Haiyun Ancestral Temple is one of the main ancestral halls of the Lin family in Zhangpu. The Zhangpu Lin family mainly has two origins: one is called Luxia Lin, descendants of Lin Chang from the Southern Song Dynasty. The other is called Wushi Lin, whose founding ancestor Lin An migrated from Changle to Zhangpu during the Southern Song Dynasty. Their descendants settled at the foot of Haiyun Mountain and along the banks of the Wujing River, forming a community known collectively as Wushi, centered around over 40 villages including Jiuzhen, ShenTu, Chitu, and Xiamei. From the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty to the Jiaqing era of the Qing Dynasty, the Wushi Lin clan flourished greatly, producing 11 jinshi (successful imperial examination candidates), 25 juren (provincial examination candidates), over 40 gongsheng (tribute students), and more than 80 individuals who held official positions through the imperial examination system. There are notable stories such as "Three Phoenixes Singing Together" and "Five Laurels Blooming in Harmony," with famous figures including Lin Shizhang, the Jiajing-era third-place imperial scholar and Minister of Rites of the Nanli Ministry; Lin Gongmao, the Guangxi Censor; and Lin Shihong, the Prefect of Chengtian Prefecture. The Wushi Lin clan is divided into four branches, each with an ancestral hall also called "Haiyun Ancestral Temple," among which the Wushi branch’s is the largest, also bearing the hall name "Shide Tang."

Haiyun Ancestral Temple was first built in the 13th year of the Zhengtong era (1447) of the Ming Dynasty by Lin Puxuan and others. It was renovated in the 15th year of the Zhengde era (1520) by Lin Zhen. On October 24 of the 8th year of the Wanli era, it was rebuilt on the original site under the supervision of Lin Chu, Prefect of Leizhou, and Lin Shizhang, Minister of Rites, among others. During the reconstruction, the orientation of the ancestral hall was altered but not its location, resulting in its current scale. During the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty, Lin Chen, an Inner Cabinet Secretariat clerk, renovated it again. In addition, it underwent multiple repairs during the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty, the Republican era, and the 1970s.

Haiyun Ancestral Temple faces 5 degrees southeast. It covers an area of 5,000 square meters with a construction area of 1,080 square meters. Along the central axis are, in sequence, a water pool, stage, main courtyard, entrance hall, front hall, patio and corridor, main hall, patio and corridor, and rear hall. The entire structure is five bays wide, with a main gate and side gates. The wall brackets feature high-relief qilin designs. The middle and side bays have wooden lattice windows. The square stone pillars support a roof with inverted hanging lotus carvings, and the door drums are made of bluestone with high relief carvings. The front hall has eleven rafters with a front corridor and a triple-eave roof, significantly raising the height of the entrance hall and enhancing the building’s grandeur. The main beam of the entrance hall is placed between two pillars, achieving structural balance front and back. Since it was constructed by two separate groups of artisans, the number of brackets and decorative motifs differs on each side. The main hall features fifteen rafters with front and rear corridors, a front hip-and-gable roof, and is three bays deep. The column bases are high-relief bluestone carvings, and wooden pillars bear the load—now replaced with round stone pillars. The structure uses a post-and-lintel system, with the side bays using a penetrating tie-beam system. The central bay of the main hall is partitioned with a wooden screen, housing the ancestral spirit tablets. The hall displays plaques inscribed with titles such as "Third-Place Imperial Scholar," "Jinshi," and "Praised for Chastity and Righteousness." The left side bay holds a seated statue of Lin Shizhang, who served as Minister of Rites of the Nanli Ministry in the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty. The rear hall is three bays deep with fourteen rafters and front and rear corridors. The column capitals include melon-shaped and lotus pedestal types. There are no corridors in the side bays of the front and rear patios. The protective walls have outward-facing eaves. The walls are built from rammed earth mixed with lime, sand, and ash, and the brackets, beams, purlins, and other wooden elements feature exquisitely carved floral patterns, appropriately sized and positioned. The beams and purlins retain polychrome paintings from the Ming and Qing periods, and both stone and wood structures incorporate various carving styles. The roof of the ancestral hall is of the hanging gable type, with the side bays lower than the central and side ones, creating an "ear room" effect that enriches the roofline. Haiyun Ancestral Temple is the largest in scale and land area among similar structures in southern Fujian, holding significant importance for the study of early institutional designs of ancient ancestral halls. It has been listed as a cultural relic protection unit in the sixth batch of Fujian Province.

Historically, the Wushi Lin clan spread across the province, with many also migrating to Taiwan. Descendants of the Wushi Lin clan can be found in Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Fengshan, Yilan, Changhua, Nantou, Keelung, and Yunlin. Among them were the three brothers Lin Xie, Lin Jie, and Lin Liang during the Yongzheng era, who settled in southern Taiwan. Lin Yaoqi, a descendant who settled in Taichung, and Lin RuiGuo, who settled in Changhua, returned to Wushi in the early 1990s to trace their roots, pay homage to their ancestors, and contribute to the establishment of the Wushi Tianhou Palace and Changchun Middle School. Meanwhile, Lin Weishui from Yilan has led multiple group visits back to their ancestral home.