The Li Ancestral Hall in Banqiao Village

The Li Ancestral Hall in Banqiao Village

The Li Ancestral Hall in Banqiao Village is a municipal cultural relic protection unit of Guangzhou.

The Pan Yu Li Ancestral Hall, also called the Li Yongsi Hall, is located in Banqiao Village, Nancun Town, Panyu District, Guangzhou City. It was built to commemorate Li Suiqiu, a renowned anti-Qing general and patriotic poet. Originally constructed in Renhou Lane east of Guangzhou city, it was destroyed during wartime. Later, Li’s eldest son, Yanzu, erected a statue in his honor in the Li Yongsi Hall in Banqiao Village in the 26th year of the Kangxi reign (1687) during the Qing Dynasty, rebuilt the Lianxu Pavilion to house his posthumous writings, although the pavilion has since been destroyed.

The Pan Yu Li Ancestral Hall

The Pan Yu Li Ancestral Hall

The ancestral hall faces south and has four courtyards. On both sides of the outer gate are wing walls, and a screen wall along with a pair of flagpole stands are positioned at the front. The first courtyard is the main gate; the second features a stone memorial archway (refer to Section 3, Chapter 4, Part 2: “The Zhongxiao Lianjie Memorial Archway”); the third is the central hall; and the fourth is the rear chamber. The main gate is 14.95 meters wide and 7.84 meters deep, featuring wok-handle gable walls, brick-and-wood structure, with blue brick and red sandstone wall bases, and grey plaster carvings on the main ridge. The plaque above the gate is inscribed with “Beizheng Mingzong.” The central hall is 14.9 meters wide and 11.8 meters deep, with a flush-gable roof, simple beam structures, and decorations. The rear chamber is 15.2 meters wide and 11.7 meters deep, with an altar and shrine set up behind the middle bay. The base is constructed from red sandstone, measuring 4.98 meters wide, 1.83 meters deep, and 1.2 meters high, with bas-relief carvings of ruyi patterns on the facade and decorative borders of meander patterns on top. The shrine is a three-story hip-and-gable roof structure spanning three bays, made of teak wood with red sandstone column bases. It uses crescent beams and a three-tiered bracket set with double downward Ang brackets, crafted with fine detail and in a simple, classic style. The partition screens in the side bays have been removed.

The Pan Yu Li Ancestral Hall

The Pan Yu Li Ancestral Hall

Li Suiqiu (1602–1646), a native of Banqiao Township in Panyu, was well-versed and talented in poetry, calligraphy, and painting. He obtained the title of juren (successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the provincial level) in the seventh year of the Tianqi reign (1627) during the Ming Dynasty. In the late Ming period, he donated his property to produce 500 cannons and firearms machinery in support of the resistance against the Qing. In the first year of the Longwu reign of the Southern Ming (1645), he served as the Director of the Bureau of Military Affairs and led the Guangdong troops to reinforce Ganzhou. He died in battle defending Ganzhou in October of the third year of the Shunzhi reign (1646) during the Qing Dynasty. The Southern Ming Emperor Tang posthumously honored him as the Prince of Gui, conferred the posthumous name “Zhongmin,” and awarded him the title of “Minister of War.”

The Pan Yu Li Ancestral Hall

The Pan Yu Li Ancestral Hall

In 1989, the Guangzhou Municipal People’s Government designated it as a cultural relic protection unit.

The Pan Yu Li Ancestral Hall

The Pan Yu Li Ancestral Hall

The Pan Yu Li Ancestral Hall

Banqiao Village: Located northeast of Nancun Town, approximately 1 kilometer from the Nancun Town government, Banqiao Village is adjacent to Nancun to the south, Luobian Village to the east, Shitou Village to the north, and Bohou to the west. Established during the Song Dynasty, it got its name from the wooden plank bridges that were the main means of connection with surrounding villages due to the surrounding rivers. Li Suiqiu, a famous anti-Qing official and renowned poet from Guangdong, was a native of Banqiao. As stated in the couplet at the entrance of the Li Ancestral Hall: “A family of five notable officials, four generations with seven local sages.” The Ming Dynasty saw scholars such as the jinshi (advanced scholar) Li Chongshi and juren (provincial degree holders) Li Zhan, Li Zishen, Li Zhaao, and Li Chongchi; there were also anti-Qing heroes like Li Suiqiu and Li Suqi... More details about Banqiao Village++

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Guangzhou Municipal Cultural Relic Protection Units