Ancestral Temple of Qian Gong

Ancestral Temple of Qian Gong

The Ancestral Temple of Qian Gong is a cultural relic protection unit of Yifeng County and part of the national water conservancy scenic area.

The Ancestral Temple of Qian Gong is located in Miaoxia Natural Village, Tanshan Village, Tanshan Town. It was built by descendants of the Liu family in Miaoxia to commemorate their founding ancestor, Liu Yanqian, who migrated to Miaoxia during the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty. After two renovations during the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns of the Qing Dynasty, the temple evolved into a solemn, grand, and imposing structure.

The temple covers an area of over 1,650 square meters, faces west, and features a three-courtyard, two-heart-hall design. It is 63 meters deep and 22.5 meters wide, with a main ridge that stands 9.5 meters high. The front section serves as the gate tower, which has a frontal facade of four pillars and three bays, with a central main gate flanked by side doors. On either side of the gate tower are wing walls, and stone lions are placed on both sides of the stone-paved plaza in front. Entering through the main gate, there is a large central courtyard paved with granite slabs. The second courtyard is the official hall, used as a meeting place for the ancestors of the Liu family in Miaoxia. The main hall features eight pillars and seven bays, with commemorative steles from the Qing Dynasty, documenting donations for the temple’s renovation, embedded in the walls on both sides. Further inside the central hall is a small courtyard with stone railings, a central passageway, and stone steps leading up to the ancestral hall. The ancestral hall also has eight pillars and seven bays and houses the ancestral shrine of the Liu family.

The entire temple is surrounded by tall and majestic horse-head walls. The bases of the pillars are all mounted on carved stone pedestals. Its scale, layout, and carvings represent the architectural style of ancestral temples in western Jiangxi during the Ming and Qing dynasties, reflecting a profound ancestral temple culture. The Ancestral Temple of Qian Gong is now listed as a county-level key cultural relic protection unit and is highly suitable for developing tourism projects such as ancestral temple culture research and ancient village architectural sightseeing.

Tanshan Village: Tanshan Village is located southeast of Tanshan Town, bordering Tianbao Township to the east, Fuxi and Dianshang villages to the west, Duixia Village and Tianbao Township to the south, and adjacent to Dianshang Village to the north. The village administrative office is situated in Tanshan Town, at an elevation of 105 meters, approximately 0.5 li (Chinese mile) from the town government office. The overall terrain of the village is higher in the east and lower in the west, nestled against mountains and near water, offering beautiful scenery.

Huanqing Garden is located in Tanshan Village, Tanshan Town. Built in the 33rd year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1768), it has a history of over 240 years and was established by the ancestors of the Liu family in Miaoxia as a place for teaching and nurturing talent. After the liberation, the government once set up the Tanshan Central Primary School here, which operated for many years... More details about Tanshan Village ++