The Chen Jinheng Ancient House

The Chen Jinheng Ancient House

The Chen Jinheng Ancient House is located at No. 69, Tingyang Village, Maxiang Town. Built in the 29th year of the Republic of China (1940), it faces west and consists of two main sections — a front and a rear building — with a central courtyard and side wings (known as “ju tou”). It has a width of 11.2 meters and an overall depth of 17.6 meters, covering an area of approximately 200 square meters. The front building has three bays, featuring a concave-shaped porch and central hall, flanked by side rooms, with a flush-gable roof and swallowtail ridges. The rear building spans three bays (11.2 meters) in width and four bays (8.6 meters) in depth, with a central hall and side rooms. It uses a post-and-lintel beam frame, has a flush-gable roof and swallowtail ridges. This structure is a typical example of southern Fujian red-brick vernacular architecture built with a combination of earth, wood, brick, and stone. It showcases a variety of decorative techniques, including stone carving, brick carving, brick inlay, ceramic tile mosaic, gilded wood carving, and painted plaster relief. The most elaborately decorated facade combines granite carvings and bluestone carvings that complement each other, highlighting not only the contrast between green and white hues and textures but also intricate patterns created using relief carving, openwork carving, and incised carving. The red-and-white floral-and-bird motifs on the brick carvings are exquisitely refined. The geometric-patterned brick mosaics on both sides of the front wall are pieced together from small red and brown bricks to form couplets, poetic verses, and scenes of the Eight Immortals and historical tales — all fitted seamlessly with remarkable precision. The painted and molded landscapes and figurative designs under the eaves, known as “shuiche du,” are vibrant and layered like a traditional ink painting. The gilded wood carvings on the beams of the rear building’s eave corridor and those on the front shrine in the central hall are also well preserved.