Liukeng Ancient Village (The First Village Through the Ages)

Liukeng Ancient Village (The First Village Through the Ages)

Liukeng Ancient Village (The First Village Through the Ages) is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

Known as "The First Village Through the Ages," Liukeng Village is situated on the banks of the Wu River in the southeastern part of Niutian Town. Surrounded by verdant mountains and cradled by river waters on three sides, the area features breathtaking landscapes and a spiritually enriching environment. Founded during the Shengyuan era (937–943) of the Southern Tang Dynasty in the Five Dynasties period, it has a history spanning more than a thousand years. Liukeng is a single-surname clan settlement primarily inhabited by the Dong family. The villagers revere Dong Zhongshu, a Confucian scholar of the Western Han Dynasty, as their founding ancestor. However, the earliest verifiable progenitor recorded in the genealogy is Dong He from the Southern Tang period.

During the Song Dynasty, Liukeng flourished due to the academic achievements of the Dong family, becoming a prominent hub for prominent clans in southern China. It was celebrated as "a family with five imperial examinees, four ministers across two dynasties, literary and martial top scholars, and a multitude of scholars," as well as the "famed land of Ouyang (Ouyang Xiu) and Dong (the Dong family of Liukeng)."

The village suffered destruction during the Yuan Dynasty due to warfare. However, during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, visionary locals revitalized ancestral endeavors by promoting education, compiling genealogies, constructing ancestral halls, and developing the bamboo and timber trade, ushering in another era of prosperity. From the early Song to the late Qing Dynasty, the village maintained a continuous tradition of schools and academies, numbering 26 during the Ming Wanli era and reaching 28 by the Qing Daoguang period.

The village produced one literary top scholar, one martial top scholar, 34 imperial examinees, and 78 successful candidates in the provincial exams. Over a hundred individuals held official positions ranging from high-ranking officials such as Vice Minister and Minister to lower-ranking roles like county clerks and education officers. Jiangxi Province has only four villages with more than 30 imperial examinees, and Liukeng is the only one among them where cultural relics and historical sites remain so well-preserved. The Ming Dynasty traveler Xu Xiake once visited Liukeng and praised: "Here, markets sprawl in all directions, making it a town of ten thousand households, with the Dong family being the most prominent, featuring the Five Osmanthus Archway." (See Page 147 of Xu Xiake’s Travels, Shanghai Guji Publishing House). The "Five Osmanthus Archway" commemorated the rare event in 1034 (the first year of the Jingyou era of Emperor Renzong of Song) when five members of the Dong family passed the imperial examination simultaneously—a historic honor rarely seen.

For nearly a thousand years, Liukeng has been unparalleled in Jiangxi—and rare even nationwide—in terms of its flourishing imperial examinations, numerous officials, high-ranking titles, wealthy merchants, comprehensive architecture, exquisite artistry, large clan network, and long continuity.

Liukeng is renowned for its grand traditional architecture and uniquely styled village layout. By the mid-Ming Dynasty, Dong Sui, a retired judicial official from Nanjing, led fellow villagers in a nearly two-decade transformation of the village. They began by excavating the "Dragon Lake" southwest of the village, connecting it to the Wu River. This created a moat-like system that enhanced both livability and agricultural advantages.

After Dong Sui’s redesign, the once-crisscrossed alleys evolved into eight broader streets—seven running east-west and one north-south—giving the village a comb-like structure. Each alley aligned directly with the riverbank and featured a dock. In ancient China, such a concentration of docks was typically reserved for major cities. These docks not only eased transportation but also allowed river breezes to regulate village temperatures.

Dong Sui and others also constructed an ingenious underground drainage system, which remains functional today. Alley entrances were secured with gates and watchtowers for defense. Clan members lived in designated lanes based on lineage, reminiscent of the neighborhood system from the Tang and Song Dynasties. Ancestral halls clustered around their respective lineages like stars around the moon. The main ancestral hall was built in the northern part of the village, while temples and shrines were located outside, adhering to ancient rituals. The village was encircled by the Wu River and Dragon Lake, with walls and gate towers providing security, resembling a miniature fortress.

Within the village, walls connected gate towers, enclosing the space. Cobblestone paths lined the alleys, with residences and ancestral halls built along them, covering an area of 3.61 million square meters. Among the 500-plus surviving structures, 260 are Ming and Qing-era buildings and ruins, including 19 from the Ming Dynasty.

These traditional buildings include classic residential homes, grand ancestral halls, elegant temples, diverse cultural structures (such as memorial halls, academies, stages, and archways), as well as shops, wells, bridges, ancient tombs, and pagoda ruins. Virtually every type of ancient Chinese architecture can be found here. The site features 14 cultural buildings (like stages and study rooms), five archways, 48 ancestral halls, and eight temples.

Additionally, there are 32 ruins of ancient wells, wind shelters, docks, bridges, tombs, pagodas, and village gates. The village also contains numerous architectural complexes formed by multi-generational or blood-related clans, with 18 notable groups—such as the "Dabin Complex," "Xingdi Gate Complex," "Siyi Hall Complex," and "Churen Gate Complex." These interconnected structures form a labyrinthine maze of courtyards and gates, showcasing impressive scale and ingenuity.

Residential buildings in Liukeng are single-story brick-and-wood structures, typically one-and-a-half stories high, with a simple two-courtyard layout. Externally, they feature rectangular layouts enclosed by hollow brick walls, uniform gray tiles, tall horse-head parapets, and double-sloped roofs partially hidden behind the parapets. The parapets come in various shapes—stepped, arched, or cloud-like—and serve fireproofing, windproofing, and anti-theft purposes. Interiors usually consist of two courtyards with three bays, featuring a front hall and a main room. Ming-style layouts often have front halls and rear rooms, while Qing-style designs reverse this. Most rooms are three bays wide, with the central bay serving as the main hall and side bays as bedrooms, arranged symmetrically. Wooden beam frames allow flexible interior partitions using carved screens and panels. Ceilings are often ornately designed. Bedrooms are one-and-a-half stories, with living space below and storage above. Halls are spacious and imposing. Floors are paved with long gray bricks. Shrines are placed above side doors, often holding ancestral tablets, incense burners, lamps, and ladders for rituals. Small courtyards between front and rear gates provide light and ventilation, symbolizing harmony between humans and nature. Homes typically have front and back doors, with front doors leading to the main hall and back doors to kitchens. Door styles vary, including straight, inward-curving, archway-style, protruding, and hooded designs. Ming-era homes often feature ornate brick screens, while Qing-era homes include courtyards with wooden gate towers.

Though outwardly modest, Liukeng’s residences boast exquisite decorations. Combining wood, brick, and stone carvings with paintings and calligraphy, the craftsmanship is exceptional. Intricately carved wooden components—like brackets and window lattices—feature diverse themes and unique designs. Brick and stone carvings, painted motifs, and calligraphy adorn the buildings. Notably, the "Birds, Deer, Bees, and Monkeys" brickwork in the "Huai De Hall" and the "Qilin Gazing at the Sun" relief in the "Yong Xiang Hall" are unparalleled, considered national treasures. Hundreds of buildings feature plaques, couplets, and inscriptions—188 plaques, 72 couplets, 362 inscriptions, and nearly 60 ancestral hall names (682 elements total). About 60% of halls have name plaques, justifying the saying "every home has a plaque, every household a couplet." These inscriptions reflect personal histories, family pride, Confucian values, and harmonious ideals. Liukeng’s architecture blends rural and urban elements, representing Jiangxi’s traditional style. The 67,284-square-meter complex of buildings and ruins remains well-preserved, with intact layouts and traditional streets. The wealth of plaques, couplets, and genealogical records provides precise dating for most structures. Additionally, a continuum of Ming and early Qing homes—from the Wanli era to the Qianlong era—offers invaluable insights into architectural evolution, making the site historically and academically significant.

Liukeng is a microcosm of China’s feudal clan society. For over a millennium, the Dong family maintained cohesion through a strict clan system. Vestiges of feudal clan activities abound, particularly the numerous genealogies and widespread ancestral halls. Three 16th-century genealogies, over 20 Qing-era versions, and 58 ancestral halls survive. The ruins of the "Dun Mu Hall" (the former grand ancestral hall burned by warlord Sun Chuanfang’s forces) feature five 8-meter-tall granite pillars—likened to Liukeng’s "totems"—standing solemnly as a "Liukeng version of the Old Summer Palace."

In autumn 1990, historian Zhou Luanshu visited Liukeng and penned "First Visit to Liukeng Village," unveiling this hidden gem. In winter 1996, cultural heritage experts Luo Zhewen and Zheng Xiaoxie hailed it as a "major discovery for China’s cultural preservation." On November 19, 1996, the Guangming Daily ran a front-page story, sparking nationwide attention. A senior leader promptly instructed heightened protection efforts, leading to support from the National Cultural Heritage Administration, Jiangxi Province, and local authorities. In August 1997, National Cultural Heritage Bureau Director Zhang Wenbin praised Liukeng as "The First Village Through the Ages" and inscribed the phrase. Later that month, Jiangxi designated Liukeng a provincial historical-cultural reserve, protecting 21 structures. In June 2001, it became a national key cultural relic. In October 2003, it earned the title of China’s first Historical and Cultural Village.

Transportation

Self-drive: Get off at the San Cha Kou intersection in Tan’gang Town, Le’an County (approx. 120 km, 3 hours from Qingyuan Bus Station) – then proceed to Liukeng Ancient Village

Admission

Admission: 42 RMB

Location

Liukeng Village, Niutian Town, Le’an County, Fuzhou, Jiangxi