Ancient Architectural Complex by the Pond

Ancient Architectural Complex by the Pond

The Ancient Architectural Complex by the Pond is a cultural heritage site protected by Jiangxi Province.

Ancient Architectural Complex by the Pond (Including the Eight-House Compound of Tangbian, Kuiguang Hall, and the Grand Mansion of Tangbian)

Brief Introduction to the Traditional Layout and Features:

Liu Jinghong, who served as a Hanlin Academician, relocated to Tangbian in the southern part of Ancheng County at the end of the Qianyou era (923–936) after retiring from official duties. He later chose a life of seclusion and became the founding ancestor of Tangbian, posthumously honored as Minister of War. This legacy dates back over a thousand years. By the Southern Song Dynasty, Tangbian had already divided into eastern and western sections, its scale no longer comparable to that of an ordinary village clan. During the Yuan Dynasty, the village built a ancestral hall for the entire clan, known as the Grand Ancestral Hall of the Liu Family of Tangbian. Under this ancestral hall were divided the Eastern Five Lineages and the Western Five Lineages. The Eastern Five Lineages constructed “Kuiguang Hall” (the Eastern Main Hall) in the early Ming Dynasty, which later during the Qing Dynasty further branched into “Sixi Hall,” “Jihou Hall,” “Shefeng Hall,” “Dunben Hall,” and “Siai Hall.” Meanwhile, the Western Five Lineages built the “Five-Lineage Ancestral Hall” around the same time, overseeing subsequently branched halls such as “Aiqi Hall,” “Renli Hall,” “Qingzhen Hall,” “Zide Hall,” “Zhi Mei Hall,” “Jimie Hall,” “Qiyu Hall,” “Yuting Hall,” and “Mingde Hall.”

Since its establishment in the late Tang Dynasty, the village of Tangbian has excavated hundreds of ponds of varying sizes within and around the settlement. Some are over a hundred acres in size, while others are just a few dozen square meters. There are ponds at the village entrance, outside the village, and surrounding the buildings within the village. People walk along the pond edges, fish swim in the waters, and when the water is calm, the reflections of village houses, ancient camphor and cypress trees, and the sky and clouds create a scene beautiful enough to be a painting. In addition to the ponds, the eastern side of the village features the “Yuhua Nunnery,” the western side the “Zixia Altar,” and the southern side a scholarly academy. The southeastern and central parts of the village are home to two earthen embankments—300 meters long and 2 meters wide, and 60 meters long and 3 meters wide—planted with cypress trees. The perimeter of the village is surrounded by ancient camphor trees, resembling rows of warriors standing guard. Looking down at the western natural village of Tangbian, the buildings encircle the pond in a pearl-like formation, which literati liken to “a cloud covering a bright pearl.” Villagers say it's “a dragon with a pearl,” or “a great pearl attracting the dragon.” When viewed as a whole, the eastern and western sides together form an “S”-shaped golden hook, evoking endless interpretation. On the eastern side of Tangbian, there still exists a residential compound centered around the “Kuiguang Hall” ancestral hall, along with a total of 49 residential buildings distributed in five rows on the left, right, and rear, integrating study rooms and temples, covering an area of 4,000 square meters.

“Kuiguang Hall”: A three-bay, double-eaved brick-and-wood structure from the Ming Dynasty, 14.33 meters wide and 42.34 meters deep. The front gate hangs a plaque inscribed with “Imperial Scholarly Mansion,” dedicated by “Liu Chuibao, Jinshi of the Yichou Year Imperial Examination, and erected in the early summer of the fifth year of the Tianqi era.” The central hall features couplets on wooden pillars reading “The spirit of farming and study, the literary grace of golden steeds and jade halls,” with large characters on either side reading “Loyalty and Integrity” and “Filial Piety and Righteousness,” exuding grandeur. The corridor is adorned with carved lattice windows, the door knockers are stone-carved deer, and the door knockers are inscribed with “Heaven and Earth” and “Official Rank.” The front corridor eaves feature well-preserved painted murals of figures and landscapes.

The 49 residences surrounding “Kuiguang Hall” are arranged in five rows separated by lanes. Though built over a span of more than a hundred years, they share a consistent style, neat and uniform, with grey bricks and black tiles, high rising wall battlements, and extraordinary presence.

The western section features a greater variety of traditional architectural complexes, with standardized styles and unified decorative techniques, and an even more magnificent scale and presence. Well-preserved examples include the “Zide Hall” (Civilization Archway) complex, the “Zhi Mei Hall” (Eight-House Compound) complex, the “Grand Mansion” (Jimie Hall) complex, and the “Xiji Hall” complex on the hill.

In front of the “Zide Hall” is a brick-and-stone archway gate named the “Civilization Archway,” a three-bay structure built in the mid-Qing Dynasty with brick and wood, facing south. Stone pillar couplets read “Scholarly peaks rise green, scholars arise; bright mirrors shine brilliantly, virtuous fragrance wafts.” Centered around it, the group on the east side consisting of the Old Horse Corridor and New Horse Corridor comprises 22 residence-corridor buildings, covering an area of 3,720 square meters. The west side has a seven-building group covering 1,344 square meters. The rear section consists of nine buildings covering 2,860 square meters.

Zhi Mei Hall and the Eight-House Compound were built in the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty. The ancestral hall is grand in scale, featuring large wooden pillars and caisson ceilings in both the front and rear halls. The lanes between residences are paved with bluestone slabs, with pebble stones in the middle. Entering from the front courtyard, corridors lie on both sides. The corridors have wooden hanging balconies, delicately carved like boudoirs, facing the main rooms across the lanes. Behind the main rooms are auxiliary buildings. There are four rows of main rooms, each divided into front and rear buildings, separated by lanes, with the front courtyards paved with bluestone strips. The hall interiors feature wooden carved partitions, with gold-painted images of a hundred birds, and some couplets directly written in gold powder on the pillars, creating a dazzling effect. Once the courtyard gates are closed, the interior forms a self-contained world. The entire complex covers an area of 2,500 square meters.

The Grand Mansion (Jimie Hall) and Residential Complex: The Grand Mansion is 34 meters long, 14 meters wide, and 12 meters high, covering an area of 476 square meters, built in the mid-Qing Dynasty with brick, wood, and stone. It has three front entrances, with the main gate embedded with a stone tablet inscribed in bold, vigorous regular script with the characters “Grand Mansion.” Above it are three rectangular stone carvings depicting scenes from opera stories. Inside, the structure uses large wooden beams, with octagonal stone bases for the pillars, each carved with auspicious beasts, flowers, and the Four Treasures of the Study. The hall has an octagonal caisson ceiling. To the right of the front wall of the Grand Mansion is a row of millstones and toilets built for the convenience of clan gatherings. To the left of the front wall, parallel across the lane, are two rows of connected residential buildings of the same hall, covering an area of 1,050 square meters. The courtyards of the residences have side gates, with wooden riding balconies inside, mainly decorated with carvings, rich in content and ingeniously designed.

Shangshan Xiji Hall and Residential Group: Xiji Hall is a three-bay ancestral hall building from the mid-Qing Dynasty, situated on high ground, with a low wooden fence gate at the front corridor and a flagpole stone at the entrance, inscribed with “Jinshi of the Jiayin Year of the Qianlong Era.” The interior structure is quite solemn, giving an impression of entering a government office. To the left is connected a “Fushen Shrine.” A total of 13 residences covering an area of 2,000 square meters are located behind the ancestral hall, making outsiders feel they must “look up to the ancestral hall before entering the residence”—a layout unique to Tangbian.

The Tangbian residential group has distinct characteristics of its era, arranged neatly in rows and columns, forming a “chessboard pattern.” The gables are tall and sharp, like ram horns, with walls uniformly finished with smooth, seamless joints. There are large courtyards enclosing small ones, courtyards within courtyards, family courtyards, and clan courtyards. Lanes are paved with pebbles or blue bricks, and footsteps echo loudly, reverberating into the houses. The winding lanes make it extremely difficult for strangers to find their way out of the ancient village without a guide at night.

The ancient residential group of Tangbian features a distinctive settlement-style architectural layout formed on the basis of blood relations. The “Kuiguang Hall” on the eastern side is a Ming Dynasty structure, with residences from the late Ming to various periods of the Qing Dynasty. On both sides of the Civilization Archway are early Qing Dynasty structures, mainly inhabited by descendants of Liu Binxi. The “Eight-House Compound” and “Grand Mansion” are mid-to-late Qing Dynasty constructions, respectively housing descendants of Liu Zhimei and Liu Jimie. These ancient buildings integrate ancestral halls with residences, forming enclosed communities.

The existing Tangbian residential group embodies the architectural style of elite rural residences of the Jiangyou region from the late Ming to the early, mid, and late Qing Dynasty. These architectural complexes are orderly and rationally laid out, majestic in appearance. Each group includes horse corridors, corridor rooms, hall rooms, auxiliary buildings, and side houses. They are separated by lanes, ensuring good ventilation and lighting, as well as safety and comfort. The hall rooms are primarily wooden, featuring caisson ceilings, screens, railings, and other wooden decorations. Some corridor rooms have wooden riding balconies, and important buildings are inlaid with stone plaques, stone door frames, and stone pillars. The decorative techniques mainly involve carving, including relief carving, bas-relief, line carving, round carving, as well as openwork carving, pierced carving, molding, appliqué, and gilding. Some directly use gold powder to depict objects, draw images, or write couplets. The decorative themes mostly include pavilions, towers, sages’ stories, opera tales, and flowers and birds. Especially on the upper hall screen boards of the “Eight-House Compound,” gold-covered images of birds and auspicious beasts cover the surfaces, symbolizing “nobility and rank,” “prosperity, wealth, longevity, and happiness,” “peace in all seasons,” “pine and crane for longevity,” and “four friends and eight treasures.”

The entire Tangbian residential group can be likened to a museum of southern rural residences from the Qing Dynasty. Early buildings and ornaments are relatively simple, while later decorations and layouts use refined materials, with intricate patterns and exquisite craftsmanship. Indoor furnishings are quaint and elegant, with each household equipped with name plaques, mirror screens, incense burners, offering tables, lamp stands, candlesticks, armchairs, and tea tables—all classic and timeless. Couplets, plaques, and paintings are rich in meaning, whether advising on conduct, inspiring future generations, or extolling ancestral virtues, all imbued with life philosophies. Most of these inscriptions and calligraphy works are by notable or masterful hands, fully reflecting the status and prestige of the owners. Household items are also of high quality, including not only wood and bamboo ware but also gold, silver, copper, and tin products, all gleaming as if new under the polished glow of the hall.

Among them, the “Grand Mansion” and the “Eight-House Compound” shine especially brilliantly.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of County-Level Cultural Heritage Protection Units of Anfu County

· Sixth Batch of Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units