Longmen No. Archway

Longmen No. Archway

The Longmen No. Archway is a cultural relic protection unit of Meizhou City.

The Longmen No. Archway is located inside the east gate of the Li’s Aogong Ancestral Hall in Qiduwei, Daba Town, Wuhua County. Built during the Qing Dynasty, it serves as the entrance gate to the ancestral hall. The structure features two pillars, a single bay, and two floors, constructed entirely from granite. It stands 6.5 meters tall and is 3.5 meters wide. The first-floor gate is 4.05 meters high and 1.9 meters wide, supported by square pillars holding up a horizontal beam. The front of the beam is adorned with a bas-relief of a pair of dragons playing with a pearl, with an inset stone lintel inscribed in intaglio regular script with the words “Li’s Aogong Ancestral Hall.” The lintel is also engraved with the seal characters “Fu” (Fortune) and “Shou” (Longevity), while the doorposts feature a couplet in intaglio regular script: “Three generations of noble fame live on in the Phoenix Pavilion; ancient relics of Qidu are transformed into the Dragon Gate.” The second floor is 2.45 meters tall and 3.5 meters wide. It is supported by short stone pillars carved with bottle-and-flower patterns, holding a central horizontal beam inscribed in intaglio regular script with the large characters “Longmen No.” The beam is decorated with a bas-relief of a pair of phoenixes facing the sun, flanked by a carved stone carp on each side and topped with a stone gourd. On either side of the beam are symmetrically placed small stone houses containing figures such as a jade rabbit, a swan, and a flower basket. The archway is 4.5 meters tall and 3.5 meters wide. On the back side, the horizontal beams on both the first and second floors are carved with the same relief patterns as the front. However, the difference is that the first-floor rear beam is inscribed in intaglio regular script with the phrase “Purple Air Comes from the East,” while the second-floor rear vertical plaque is inscribed in intaglio regular script with the word “Enrong” (Imperial Favor). The short columns on either side are carved with bas-reliefs of dragons playing in water. The archway is currently well-preserved.

On March 13, 2020, the People’s Government of Meizhou City announced the Longmen No. Archway as part of the seventh batch of Meizhou Municipal Cultural Relic Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Meizhou Municipal Cultural Relic Protection Units