The Chenteong Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Halls are located in Chenteong Village, Nanlang Town, Zhongshan City. According to a handwritten copy of the "Chen Clan Genealogy" from the 21st year of the Qianlong reign in the Qing Dynasty (1756): The founding ancestor of the Chenteong Chen Clan was Xuanbao, also named Shangzhi and styled Zhenliuli. He was born in the second year of the Zhi zheng era during the Yuan Dynasty (1322) and died in the 10th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1377). During the Northern Song Dynasty, the family migrated from southern Fujian to the eastern part of Chayuan in Xiangshan, Wenshun Township (at that time, Xiangshan had not yet been established as a county and belonged to Wenshun Township, Dongguan), where they settled. In the early Ming Dynasty, the "Liren Ancestral Temple" was built. During the mid-Ming period, construction of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall began. In the ninth year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1652), pirates raided the village and burned down the ancestral hall. It was rebuilt in the seventh year of the Kangxi reign (1668). Subsequently, other ancestral halls such as the Gongsan Chen Ancestral Hall, Jingxi Chen Ancestral Hall, and Yunxi Chen Ancestral Hall were gradually built nearby. The Chen Clan Ancestral Hall underwent multiple renovations during the Yongzheng, Qianlong, and Jiaqing reigns. The current structure is the result of renovations from the Daoguang reign, preserving the architectural artistry of the late Ming and early Qing periods. This ancestral hall, together with the Gongsan Chen Ancestral Hall, Jingxi Chen Ancestral Hall, and others, forms a contiguous complex of three halls, all featuring flush-gable roofs with dragon-boat ridges and brick-wood structures, creating a unified Chen Clan Ancestral Hall complex.

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Chen Clan Ancestral Hall complex covers an area of approximately 2,500 square meters, with a built-up area of about 1,500 square meters. The Chen Clan Ancestral Hall has a three-courtyard, three-bay layout, featuring covered walkways, side chambers, and courtyards. The entrance gate is a single-eave structure resembling a stage with four pillars and three bays. On the stone railing of the granite platform at the front section, there are finely crafted bas-relief stone carvings including antique-patterned panels and hidden Eight Immortals motifs. The carved beams of the entrance gate feature lions holding floral and auspicious cloud designs, while the column bases of the granite gate pillars are decorated with wave patterns. The entire ancestral hall adopts a mixed post-and-lintel wooden framework with layered brackets, showcasing exquisite wood carvings—many depicting historical stories and dragon head carvings. The second-courtyard’s balcony railing includes sunken-relief granite carvings of two dragons playing with a pearl and granite lion pillars. A wooden plaque inscribed with “Xingju Hall” (Hall of Gathering Stars) hangs from the main beam of the second courtyard. Nearby, the Gongsan Chen Ancestral Hall and Jingxi Chen Ancestral Hall each have a two-courtyard, two-bay layout, with a built-up area of around 350 square meters each.

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Chen Clan Ancestral Hall is one of the larger, better-preserved, and uniquely styled late Ming and early Qing buildings in Zhongshan City. In April 2008, the Zhongshan Municipal People's Government carried out a comprehensive restoration of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall as a key project in establishing the city as a Historical and Cultural City. On November 18 of the same year, it was designated as a Guangdong Provincial Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the Guangdong Provincial People's Government.

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

Here is a story about a past plaque of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall. Legend has it that the Chen family once requested the emperor to inscribe a single character “Chen” for their newly built ancestral hall. The emperor agreed but, in a moment of confusion, misremembered their surname and ended up writing the character “Lu” (meaning “land”) instead of “Chen.” Since even the surname was wrong, the plaque obviously could not be used—but because it was written by the emperor, they didn’t want to discard it either. After much deliberation, it was decided to use only the radical “耳” (ear) from the wrongly written character, and then hire a calligrapher to add the “东” (east) radical to form the correct “陈” (Chen). That’s why the plaque of the old Chen Clan Ancestral Hall features half of an emperor-written “Chen” character.

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Gongsan Chen Ancestral Hall

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Chenteong Chen Clan Ancestral Hall Complex

The Chen Clan Ancestral Halls of Chading

The Chen Clan Ancestral Halls of Chading

The Chen Clan Ancestral Halls of Chading

Jingxi Chen Ancestral Hall

Nanlang Town: Nanlang Town is the hometown of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the forerunner of China’s democratic revolution. Located in the eastern part of Zhongshan City, it borders Wuguishan Mountain to the west, faces the Pearl River Estuary to the east, connects to the Zhongshan Torch Development Zone to the north, and adjoins Zhuhai City to the south, across the sea from Hong Kong. The town covers an area of 218.85 square kilometers, with a permanent population of 109,000, including 41,100 registered residents. Nearly 50,000 overseas Chinese from nearly 37 countries and regions across the five continents call it home, making it a renowned hometown of overseas Chinese. The area boasts convenient transportation, with key routes such as the Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway, Zhongjiang Expressway, Zhonggong Highway, Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity Light Rail, and Zhongshan Eastern Expressway running through the region... More detailed information about Nanlang Town++

Further Reading:

·Fifth Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

·Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units