The Ancestral Hall of the Jiang Clan in Quanzhou

The Ancestral Hall of the Jiang Clan in Quanzhou

The Ancestral Hall of the Jiang Clan in Quanzhou is a cultural tourism attraction.

The ancestral hall of the Jiang Clan in Shigang Village, Yongsui Township, Quanzhou County — known as Dunmu Hall, also called Swallow Nest Tower — is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit. The Quanzhou Shigang Jiang Clan Ancestral Hall is located in Shitougang Village, Yongsui Township, Quanzhou County. In the past, Shigang Village had many scholars and was once known as the “Land of Talented Scholars.” During the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong reign, the village even produced three generations of scholars from one family: Jiang Lin, his son Jiang Liangqi, and Jiang Liangyi, who respectively passed the imperial examinations in the 24th year of Kangxi (1715), the 16th year of Qianlong (1751), and the 26th year of Qianlong (1761). Constructed in the 6th year of the Ming Dynasty’s Zhengde reign (1511) under the supervision of Jiang Gan, Vice Minister of Works, the hall was completed in the 7th year of the Jiajing reign (1528). Entirely built of wood, it was formerly called Dunmu Hall.

The ancestral hall is laid out along a central axis according to the terrain, featuring an entrance gate, main hall, and shrine hall, where ancestral tablets of the Jiang family through the generations are enshrined. The ancestral hall complex consists of three courtyards and a quadrangle with two inner courtyards, covering a total area of 516 square meters, with a built-up area of 446 square meters. The gate tower of the Shigang Jiang Clan Ancestral Hall is exquisitely constructed, resembling a swallow’s nest, and has become widely renowned as the Swallow Nest Tower. The gate tower stands 8.7 meters high and 10.9 meters wide, with four tiers of brackets above and three below, tapering from top to bottom. It stands without any lateral supports, upheld solely by four wooden pillars. The upper section of the tower is formed by interlocking bow-shaped wooden tenons forming bracket sets; centered around a horizontal plaque, the projecting brackets all incline 45 degrees to either side, with diamond-shaped raised panels. Each bracket set is intricately carved with exquisite patterns. The roof features vividly sculpted qilin (mythical beast) ornaments. The eaves and upturned corners of the gate tower are dignified, simple, majestic, and unusually grand for Ming Dynasty architecture. In 1993, the Swallow Nest Tower was listed as a Regional Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit. Flanking the gate tower are a couplet inscribed by Ye Xianggao, Grand Secretary of the Eastern Library in the Ming Dynasty: “Through successive dynasties, glory graces our family name far and wide; Across generations, scholarly honors extend our legacy long.”