Ancestral Hall of Chen Yuangong

Ancestral Hall of Chen Yuangong

The Ancestral Hall of Chen Yuangong is a protected cultural heritage site of Guangdong Province.

The Ancestral Hall of Chen Yuangong is located in Changpai Village, Renshan Town, Huidong County. It was built in the 44th year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty (1779) and faces south with a slight eastward orientation of 10 degrees.

The building features three bays in width and two courtyards in depth, with a symmetrical layout along a central axis. It is built with stone, wood, and rammed earth, has tiled hipped roofs, and is trimmed with green-glazed tiles. The lower parts of the walls are constructed from long, rectangular cut stones, while the upper sections are built with rammed earth.

The main gate is designed as a four-pillar, three-bay memorial archway-style entrance. The architectural sequence from front to back includes a screen wall, the main gate, an entrance hall, a courtyard, a worship corridor, and the upper hall. There are no walls between the central and side bays. The worship corridor, entrance hall, worship area, and upper hall are supported by round granite columns bearing a mixed post-and-lintel and dougong beam framework. The left and right corridors are supported by inverted square stone pillars. The column bases are simple yet majestic. A crescent-shaped stone gate connects the worship corridor and the side corridors.

Between the worship corridor and the upper hall’s beam framework, there are two opposing arched gates. The upper sections support stone gutters that channel roof runoff away from the gable walls. The screen wall of the entrance hall features exquisite relief carvings of figures and birds. Above the main gate is embedded a stone plaque inscribed with the characters “Ancestral Hall of Chen Yuangong” and the text “In the ji chun (first spring month) of the 44th year of Qianlong, the Year of the Pig,” among others. About 5 meters in front of the main gate is a screen wall as wide as the house. Stone-paved gateways are placed at both ends of the courtyard between the main house and the screen wall.

Changpai Village: Changpai Village is a major administrative village in Renshan Town, situated along the Guang-Shan Highway. It directly governs four villager groups (namely Changpai, Haizhou, Houzhou, and Jiezhou), with a population of 5,478. The local residents mainly engage in agriculture, salt production, and fishing. … Changpai Village Detailed Information++

Further Reading:

· Ninth Batch of Protected Cultural Heritage Sites of Guangdong Province