Shanting Nanchen Ancestral Hall

Shanting Nanchen Ancestral Hall

The Shanting Nanchen Ancestral Hall is situated in Shanting Natural Village, Shanting Community, Maxiang Town, just north of the former site of the Temporary CPC Tong’an County Committee. Constructed during the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty and refurbished in 1991, it faces west with an entrance gate at the front, a central courtyard, and the main ancestral hall at the rear. The main structure is 12.3 meters in width and 21.5 meters in depth, covering a total area of 444.19 square meters with a built-up area of 263.45 square meters. The front gate is a single-bay recessed porch connected to the surrounding walls on both sides, with a depth of 10 meters. It features a stone plaque inscribed with “Nanchen Ancestral Hall” and has a flush gable roof with swallowtail ridges. The rear main hall is three bays wide (12.3 meters) and four columns deep (11.5 meters), with an interior height of 5.9 meters. The central hall houses an ancestral shrine called “Zhuiyuan Tang.” The side pillars are adorned with couplets reading: “Tracing our roots to southern Fujian, the Nanyuan family’s prosperous years began; the Houting branch of the second household and third generation split off here.” Above the main hall are hung plaques inscribed with “Literary Eminence,” “Martial Eminence,” and “Following Our Ancestors’ Virtues.” It has a post-and-lintel beam structure, a hip-and-gable roof, and swallowtail ridges. Stone column bases from the Ming and Qing dynasties are preserved inside the hall. The front courtyard is paved with red bricks and stands adjacent to the Shanting Ancestral Shrine, featuring a carved stone qilin (mythical beast) wall relief at the front. Due to natural wear and years of neglect, the front and rear corridor pillars and beam frames have been replaced with stone components.

Source: Xiang’an Cultural Center