The Zeng Clan Ancestral Hall in Gaofu

The Zeng Clan Ancestral Hall in Gaofu

The "Zeng Clan Ancestral Hall" is located on the old street of Gaofu Village, Gaofu Town, Zixi. It was built in the third year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1738 AD) as a branch ancestral hall of Zeng Wending (Zeng Gong).

Zeng Gong (1019–1083), courtesy name Ziguo, was a prose writer and literary figure of the Northern Song Dynasty, and one of the "Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song." He was from Nanfeng, Jianchang. During the reign of Emperor Lizong, he was posthumously honored with the title "Wending." His descendants migrated to this area and constructed this branch ancestral hall, which serves as a place for enshrining ancestral spirit tablets and holding ancestor worship ceremonies. Having stood for over 270 years, it remains relatively well-preserved to this day.

The hall is 31 meters wide and 34 meters deep, divided into upper, middle, and lower sections with two interior courtyards. The middle hall and rear hall consist of seven bays each. Covering an area of 1,054 square meters, it features a brick-and-wood structure facing south. Inside the ancestral hall, many wooden panels in the side rooms have been damaged, but 146 wooden pillars remain, most of which have a diameter of about 45 cm. The roof edges of the hall are adorned with carvings of animals and flowers, painted in red and other colors. The front wall of the ancestral hall is 8 meters high and includes three gates—left, middle, and right. The central gate is square, while the two side gates are arched. Above the central gate is a wooden plaque inscribed with four large characters: “Zeng Clan Ancestral Hall.” Below these characters are ten protruding tenons—four above the central gate and three above each of the side gates. The scale and craftsmanship of the ancestral hall are rare in the province. It was newly discovered during the third national cultural relics survey in 2009.

The Zeng Clan Ancestral Hall served as the former site of the Fujian-Zhejiang-Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee and the headquarters of the Red Seventh Army.

Further reading:

· Sixth Batch of Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units