Ningyang Huang Family Ancestral Hall

Ningyang Huang Family Ancestral Hall

The Ningyang Huang Family Ancestral Hall is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Huang Family Ancestral Hall (commonly known as the Huang Family Temple) is located on the north side of the eastern section of the old street in Southwest Tianfuzhuang Village, Jiangji Town, Ningyang County. Built in 1851, it has a history of over 150 years. It measures 30.6 meters from north to south and 18.9 meters from east to west, covering an area of 580 square meters.

The Huang Family Ancestral Hall is a two-courtyard complex, with a traditional eight-character style entrance, and fan-shaped door walls opening to both sides. In the center are seven stone steps, flanked on either side by long rectangular stone platforms that run parallel to the door walls. At the outer ends of the platforms and door walls, there is a stone lion on each side, east and west, both majestic and imposing. Ascending the steps leads to the main gate of the ancestral hall. Above the gate hangs a horizontal plaque inscribed with the four large characters “Huang Family Ancestral Hall,” written in 1844 (the 24th year of the Daoguang reign) by Qiying, Governor-General of Liangguang during the Qing Dynasty. Directly opposite the gate, on the southern side of the road, stands a screen wall, 6 meters long and 4 meters high, featuring a large brick-carved auspicious Qilin (mythical beast) in the center. Stepping through the gate, you enter a 3-meter-deep entrance hall. Exiting the entrance hall brings you to the front courtyard, where there was originally a second gate with flying eaves and half-hipped roof supported by pillars. Above this gate hung a plaque inscribed with the characters “Wen Kui” (Literary Luminary), written by Huang Bao Shu, the son of Huang En Tong’s elder brother. On the east and west sides of the second gate were two genealogical steles: the one on the east was erected in 1746 (the 11th year of the Qianlong reign) and records the major genealogy of the Huang family, while the one on the west, from the Jiaqing era, was a stone stela used to document the family lineage. Originally made in 1522 (the 11th year of the Jiajing reign) during the Ming Dynasty, it was later moved into the ancestral hall. Currently, the whereabouts of both the steles and the stela are unknown. On either side of the main gate were two wing rooms, which served as resting quarters and storage spaces for the hall’s caretakers. Passing through the second gate leads to the rear courtyard, where the main building is the great hall. Above the hall’s door were once two parallel plaques: the one on the east inscribed with “Brothers as Jinshi (Imperial Scholars),” referring to Huang En Shu and Huang En Tong, who became jinshi in 1825 and 1826 (the 5th and 6th years of the Daoguang reign) respectively; the one on the west reads “Father and Son as Jinshi,” referring to Huang En Tong and his eldest son Huang Shi Yin, who achieved the title in 1826 and 1852 (the 6th year of the Daoguang reign and the 2nd year of the Xianfeng reign) respectively. This highlights the high level of scholarship and prestigious official positions attained by the Huang family of Ningyang at the time. The great hall was where generations of the Huang family enshrined the spirit tablets of their ancestors. On either side of the hall were three side rooms each, used for storing ritual implements and preparing for ancestral ceremonies. Having withstood over 150 years of wind and rain, the Huang Family Ancestral Hall stands as a testament to the glorious history of the Huang family.