Ancestral Branch Hall of the Qi Clan – Jushuntang

The Ancestral Branch Hall of the Qi Clan – Jushuntang

The Ancestral Branch Hall of the Qi Clan – Jushuntang is located in Xiefu Village, Hujian Township, Gan County, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, approximately 50 kilometers north of the county seat. The building was renovated in the ninth year of the Republic of China (1920). It faces west and is built with a brick-and-wood structure, featuring a post-and-lintel framework and a flush gable roof, with tiled flooring. The hall has three bays and three courtyards, measuring 17.4 meters in width and 32 meters in depth, covering an area of 557 square meters. The entrance features a memorial archway-style gatehouse with six hanging columns and five bays across five stories, adorned with grey-relief carvings of figures and flowers and birds. Between the lintel and the horizontal beam is embedded a plaque inscribed in seal script reading “Ying Yun Kai Yuan” (“Opened in Response to Destiny”) in right-to-left clerical script. The central bay’s dragon-and-phoenix panel bears a plaque inscribed in left-to-right regular script reading “Qi Yingyuan Gong Ci” (“Ancestral Hall of Qi Yingyuan”). A pair of drum stones flank the main gate on the north and south sides. The secondary bays on the north and south each feature a three-bay, three-pillar gatehouse, with plaques inscribed in regular script reading “--” and “Wei Wu” (“Great Martial Feat”). Originally, there was a stage with a caisson ceiling painted with theatrical figures, flowers, birds, and animal designs. Around 1990, due to the construction of the Wan’an Reservoir, a national key project, the north and south wing rooms were demolished, leaving only the main structure. The hall was first built in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, underwent a second reconstruction in the 40th year of the Kangxi reign (1701), and the current structure dates to its rebuilding in the ninth year of the Republic of China (1920).

The stone carvings and sculptures on this building feature exquisite designs and fine craftsmanship, giving it high architectural and artistic research value. In particular, the hall gained widespread recognition for housing a couplet gifted by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the then President of the Republic of China, for the hall’s reconstruction. The couplet reads: “Upholding a scene of peace, invigorating the nation’s spirit, and exalting the heroic aura of Zhanggong and the elegance of Kongtong; expanding the family’s legacy, laying the foundation of people’s governance, and glorifying the grand enterprise and ancestral merit of Chuciu.” In 2003, it was re-listed as part of the first batch of County-Level Cultural Relics Protection Units. In 2006, it was designated as part of the fifth batch of Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units.