Confucius Minister Ancestral Hall

Confucius Minister Ancestral Hall

The Confucius Minister Ancestral Hall is a protected cultural heritage site of Guangzhou City.

The Confucius Minister Ancestral Hall is located at No. 20 Dalong Road, Dalong Village, Shiqi Town, Panyu District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province. According to family records, the hall was first built in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and was renovated in the ninth year of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty (1883) and again in 1995. It faces south and has a three-bay, two-courtyard layout, with a total width of 10.8 meters and a depth of 22.4 meters, covering a construction area of 241.92 square meters. Both courtyards feature flush-gable roofs, hipped gable walls in the shape of a Chinese character “人”, grey plastered decorative ridges, grey brick walls, and granite foundations. The front courtyard is built on a granite platform, with a granite door frame and a stone plaque inscribed with “Confucius Minister Ancestral Hall” in intaglio regular script. The upper inscription reads “Dedicated on a lucky day in summer, the year of Guimao during the Guangxu reign,” and the lower one reads “Respectfully inscribed by Huang Jingzhen.” The stone beams in front of the entrance are adorned with stone lions and uniquely shaped bracket sets, while the beams and eave boards are intricately carved with patterns, showcasing exquisite craftsmanship. Paintings from 1883 on the beam lintels of the front and rear corridors remain vivid to this day, particularly the “Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl” motif above the main gate, which is especially lively and expressive. Behind the front gate lies a courtyard paved with granite slabs, flanked by corridors. The rear hall’s central bay houses an ancestral shrine where memorial tablets are placed, with the shrine base intricately carved from hardwood. The Confucius Minister Ancestral Hall is a dedicated memorial to Kong Kui, the 38th-generation descendant of Confucius, who served as the Prefect of Guangzhou and Regional Military Governor of Lingnan during the Tang Dynasty. Kong Kui rose to the position of Minister of Rites and was posthumously honored with the title of Minister of War, hence the name “Confucius Minister Ancestral Hall.” Few relics related to Kong Kui remain today. This ancestral hall holds significant value for the study of the history of Confucius’ lineage and the life of Kong Kui. In July 2002, it was designated as a protected cultural heritage site of Guangzhou City.

Shiqi Town: Located in the central part of Panyu District in the Pearl River Delta, Shiqi Town covers a total area of 71.26 square kilometers, with a permanent resident population of 78,000 and a migrant population of about 180,000. It administers 29 village committees and 6 neighborhood committees. The town enjoys a superior geographical location—just 7 kilometers east of Lianhua Port, providing direct water and land access to Kowloon and Hong Kong; it connects westward to the seat of Panyu District government, lies 13 kilometers north of Guangzhou City, and 36 kilometers south of Nansha Port. Blessed with exceptional natural conditions, the area features fertile land and abundant produce, historically serving as a golden economic zone within the Pearl River Delta and remaining one of the most economically vibrant districts in Panyu.

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