The Chen Clan Five Buildings and Ancestral Hall in Luozhou

The Chen Clan Five Buildings and Ancestral Hall in Luozhou

The Chen Clan Five Buildings and Ancestral Hall in Luozhou are a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Fujian Province.

The Chen Clan Five Buildings in Luozhou are located at Houmen Square, Dianqian Village, Luozhou Town, Cangshan District (near the Luozhou Town Government). They were built by Chen Baochen (a renowned scholar of the Qing Dynasty who served as an Academician of the Grand Secretariat, Vice Minister of Rites, and Grand Tutor, and was one of the founders of modern education in Fuzhou) after he returned to his hometown following his demotion.

The Five Buildings were constructed starting in the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty and completed in the early years of the Republic of China, taking 25 years. The complex includes buildings such as the Cangqu Building, the Cishu Building, the Huandu Building, the Beiwang Building, and the Xi Building. It covers a grand area with features such as fish ponds, rockeries, courtyards, and gardens, spanning a total area of 4,113 square meters. Most of the structures in the building complex face 20 degrees southwest. Among them, the Cishu Building has two courtyards, with fireproof gables, double-sloped roofs, post-and-lintel wooden structures, and is a two-story building with seven bays in width and three columns in depth, including front and rear corridors. It houses precious books bestowed by the emperor upon Chen Ruolin. Behind it lies the Huandu Building, a two-story structure with fireproof gables, double-sloped roofs, and post-and-lintel wooden frames, featuring three bays in width and seven columns in depth. The ground floor is open, while the upper floor served as Chen Baochen’s personal library. To the east is the Xi Building, a single-eave hip-and-gable two-story building with post-and-lintel construction, featuring three bays in width and two bays in depth, surrounded by corridors on three sides. A terrace was built to the south for Chen Baochen to enjoy the cool and moonviewing. North of the Xi Building is the Beiwang Building, constructed in the early years of the Republic of China to signify “longing for the emperor.” It consists of two sections, both with five ridges and four sloped roofs. The southern section has three bays in width and two bays in depth, while the northern section has four bays in width and one bay in depth. Due to its exquisite structure, it is commonly known as the “Young Lady’s Building.” In the northeast corner is the Cangqu Building, which served as Chen Baochen’s collection space for inscriptions, paintings, and calligraphy. It is a two-story building with a hip-and-gable roof, post-and-lintel construction, featuring five bays in width and five columns in depth. Between it and the Huandu Building lies a small garden that includes the Tieshi Pavilion, rockeries, ponds, and pavilions.

It was designated as a municipal-level cultural heritage site in August 1983 and was listed as a provincial-level cultural heritage site in 2009.

Luozhou Town: A town under the jurisdiction of Cangshan District, Fuzhou City. Luozhou Town was established in 1958, incorporated into Chengmen Commune in 1970, and reinstated as Luozhou Town in 1984. Located in the southeastern part of the city, it is 17 kilometers from the city center. Covering an area of 6.4 square kilometers with a population of 9,000, it is connected by road to the Fu-Xia Highway, and the Luozhou Tiancuo Wharf provides waterway access to Minhou Town. The town administers seven village committees—Tianfu, Qianyuan, Aoshan, Du Yuan, Dianqian, Wucuo, and Zhouwei—and the Luozhou Neighborhood Committee. Local industries include stone products, scented tea processing, construction, transportation, and printing. The main agricultural products are rice and fruit. ... More information about Luozhou Town++

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Provincial-Level Cultural Heritage Sites in Fujian Province