The Xu Ancestral Hall of Xiàxǔcuò

The Xu Ancestral Hall of Xiàxǔcuò

The Xu Ancestral Hall of Xiàxǔcuò is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Xu Ancestral Hall of Xiàxǔcuò is located within the natural village of Xiàxǔcuò in the Xiàxǔcuò community, Xīndiàn Town. It was originally built during the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty and was renovated in 1988. Facing south and situated on a north-south axis, the structure consists of two sections, front and rear, with a central courtyard and side corridors. It is 11.5 meters wide and has a total depth of 21.7 meters, covering a built-up area of 259.55 square meters and an overall site area of approximately 345 square meters. The front section has three bays, with a front porch at the entrance, a recessed porch in the middle with a hanging plaque inscribed “Xu Ancestral Hall,” and a wide corridor at the back. It features a flush gable roof with three-curved ridges. The rear section is a main hall with three bays spanning 11.5 meters and a depth of four columns, also 11.5 meters, with an interior height of 5.7 meters. It uses a post-and-lintel beam frame and also has a flush gable roof with swallowtail ridges. During its reconstruction, reinforced concrete beams were used extensively. Various exquisitely crafted stone column bases—square, hexagonal, drum-shaped, and petal-shaped—are preserved around the courtyard and inside the rear hall. Each side of the roof has five rows of orange cylindrical tiles. The center of the main hall displays a plaque inscribed “General Zhènhǎi,” flanked by plaques reading “Chastity and Integrity,” “Virtuous Brothers of the Village,” “Father and Son as Military Governors,” “Jinshi (Imperial Examination Graduate),” “Literary Luminary,” and “Martial Luminary.” Granite pillars on both sides feature couplets carved with the inscription: “A dragon leaps over Héngxī Stream, branching into a hundred streams from one source; a phoenix calls at Wénshān Mountain, spreading splendor across a thousand branches in springtime.” The spiral-patterned granite drum stones beside the gate are carved with cranes and qilins. The openwork lattice windows on both sides of the recessed porch, the granite plinth carvings of pine, bamboo, flowers, birds, animals, and the baseboards are all stone components preserved from the Ming and Qing periods.

The Xu lineage of Wénshān in Xiàxǔcuò traces its origin to the founding ancestor Xu Jù of Xiāoshān, who settled there during the late Song and early Yuan dynasties. His descendants moved to the thirteenth district of Wénshān during the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty.

Source: Xiáng'ān Cultural Center

Xīndiàn Town: Established as Xīndiàn Commune in 1959, reorganized as a township in 1984, and upgraded to a town in 1987. Located in the southeastern coastal area of the county, it faces the islands of Xiàmén and Jīnmén across the sea to the south. Covering an area of 118 square kilometers with a population of 81,000, it is traversed by the Mǎ(xiàng)–Ào(tóu) and Shuǐ(tóu)–Liú(wǔdiàn) highways. Liúwǔdiàn Port is one of Fujian Province’s natural harbors and serves as a docking point for Taiwanese vessels. The town administers Xīndiàn, Liánhé, Xiáwú, Shāměi, Xiāolǒng, Héngcuò, Dōngyuán, Màolín, Dàzhái, Lǚtáng, Xīwěi, Xiángwú, Hútóu, Dōngkēng, Hóngqián, Hóngcuò, Lúqián, Xiàhòubīn, Xiàxǔ, Ānshān, Liúwǔdiàn, Dōngjiè... More detailed information about Xīndiàn Town++