Shawan Liugeng Hall (He Clan Ancestral Hall)

Shawan Liugeng Hall (He Clan Ancestral Hall)

Shawan Liugeng Hall (He Clan Ancestral Hall) is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Liugeng Hall is located in Shawan Town, Panyu District. Originally built in the first year of the Deyou era during the Southern Song Dynasty (1275), it was destroyed and rebuilt several times. Its current scale was expanded during the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty, making it over 170 years older than Guangzhou’s Chen Clan Ancestral Hall (built in 1890). Also known as the He Clan Ancestral Hall, Liugeng Hall is the grand ancestral temple of the He clan in Shawan. The name “Liugeng” is derived from the saying “Virtue is sown by ancestors, and the heart’s field is left for descendants to cultivate,” signifying the hall’s purpose of benefiting future generations.

The main features of Liugeng Hall include its numerous pillars, exquisite carvings, richly inscribed couplets, and majestic presence. The hall has a total of 112 stone and wooden pillars. The wood used for these pillars was originally sourced from Southeast Asian countries. In terms of carving, Liugeng Hall preserves highly refined stone carvings, wood carvings, brick carvings, and lime plaster sculptures, showcasing the exquisite architectural artistry of Lingnan gardens.

Covering an area of 3,300 square meters, the site slopes from north to south. It includes, in sequence, a large pond, a grand plaza, the mountain gate, the ceremonial gate (memorial archway), the terrace (courtyard), the moon platform (fishing platform), the offering hall (Xiangxian Hall), the main hall (Liugeng Hall), as well as east and west side corridors and auxiliary ancestral halls.

The first section is the mountain gate. In front of the Liugeng Hall mountain gate lies a spacious plaza paved with large bluestones. The plaza faces a pond, with horse-tying stones and eight stone bases for flagpoles on either side near the pond—flagpoles that were historically erected to honor scholarly achievements. On the east and west sides of the plaza are red brick walls adorned with colorful lime plaster sculptures depicting motifs such as “Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl,” “Dragon and Phoenix Bringing Prosperity,” and “Qilin Bestowing Auspiciousness.” These works are exquisitely crafted, lifelike, and vivid. Directly north of the plaza stands the grand, solemn, and magnificent main entrance of Liugeng Hall. The gate bears a horizontal plaque in red with gold characters reading “He Clan Ancestral Hall,” and the couplet on the gate reads: “What our forebears built, our descendants inherit and enjoy continuously; though the main and branch lineages differ, all are revered through the ages.” This couplet indicates that the construction of Liugeng Hall spanned dozens of generations and hundreds of years, aiming to benefit future generations and foster unity and harmony within the clan.

The two main doors of the gate are made of hard, durable wood, each painted with a golden-armored warrior as a door god, using traditional Chinese polychrome mural techniques that are strikingly vibrant. On either side of the gate are two stone drums, symbols of scholarly achievement. The bases of the drums are carved with auspicious patterns, including a lion-shaped divine beast on the front and motifs such as “An Old Dragon Teaching Its Cub” and “Three Yangs Usher in Prosperity” on the sides. The east and west sides of the gate feature three stone and wooden pillars each, supporting a horizontal beam with gold characters, forming a platform. The front serves as a ceremonial platform for receiving guests, while the back is an “Eight-Tone Platform” used for announcing guests’ arrivals. Additionally, there are two drum towers labeled “Filial Piety” and “Brotherly Respect,” together forming the impressive façade of Liugeng Hall and hinting at the grandeur of this ancient structure.

The most noteworthy feature of the gate’s roof is the beams, which feature exceptionally delicate wood carvings. Especially remarkable are the 33 three-tiered ruyi brackets, known in ancient architecture as “camel humps.” These brackets are intricately carved with a variety of designs—exotic flowers, birds, animals, and historical figures—all rendered with stunning lifelikeness. The entire front gate, with its beams, crossbeams, and brackets, forms a exquisite masterpiece of Lingnan architectural art.

Upon entering the main gate, a tall stone memorial archway stands before visitors. This archway, known as the ceremonial gate in ancient architecture, constitutes the second section of Liugeng Hall. The archway’s lintel bears a stone inscription reading “Poetry and Books Bless Generations,” written by the renowned Qing Dynasty calligrapher Chen Baisha, signifying that the He clan of Shawan is a family of scholars with many members achieving academic honors throughout history.

Shawan Liugeng Hall

The archway is divided into three entrances by eight stone pillars, with its roof adorned with exquisitely carved patterns of flowers, birds, and auspicious beasts in red and white stone—including bright red roses, gorgeous peonies, pure white chrysanthemums, and fierce falcons. The upper eaves are supported by wooden ruyi brackets that extend layer by layer, with upturned corners on all four sides. The main ridge of the archway features a colorful, lime-plastered seven-colored coiling dragon sculpted to face west with its head and east with its tail, as if about to take flight. The vividly sculpted dragon is full of vitality and symbolic of good fortune.

Passing through the archway leads to the terrace (large courtyard). Looking back, one can see the four bold characters “Three Phoenixes Leave a Lasting Legacy” inscribed on the archway’s lintel. These honor three He clan ancestors from Shawan who passed the imperial examination and became jinshi (advanced scholars) during the late Northern Song Dynasty. These three individuals were revered as the “Three Phoenixes of the He Family” and left a lasting legacy.

The second section includes not only the ceremonial gate but also the terrace (courtyard), the moon platform, and the east and west side corridors behind it. The courtyard is paved with red bricks. The moon platform (also called the fishing platform) is built against the north side of the courtyard, one meter higher than the courtyard floor. Originally a stage for watching operas during festive occasions, its foundation consists of a row of 15 marble slabs carved with patterns such as “An Old Dragon Teaching Its Cub,” “Double Phoenixes and Peonies,” “Double Lions Playing with a Pearl,” “A Rhinoceros Gazing at the Moon,” “Pine Texture,” as well as pine, plum, bamboo, chrysanthemum, and peony designs. The carvings, from the Yuan or Ming Dynasty, are natural, exquisite, and highly valuable.

The east and west walls of the moon platform also feature five differently sized red stone carvings of birds and beasts, equally striking. Each of the east and west side corridors has four stone pillars and eight wooden pillars, totaling 24 pillars. These areas were originally resting spaces for guests during ceremonies and now serve as exhibition rooms for precious cultural relics. Standing on the moon platform and looking around, one sees over 60 large pillars of the Xiangxian Hall and the east and west side corridors arranged in a balanced, open-and-closed rhythm, resembling piano keys. It evokes the feeling of hearing a classical melody—melodic, undulating, and stirring, as if immersed in an ocean of art.

The offering hall, also called Xiangxian Hall, is over 17 meters deep—an uncommon feature among ancient ancestral halls. At its center, hanging in front and back, are two red-lacquered, gold-character wooden plaques inscribed with “Grand Master of Ceremonies” and “Xiangxian Hall.” “Grand Master of Ceremonies” refers to He Qilong, the second-generation leader of the Shawan He clan, who served as the Minister of Rites during the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty. The Minister of Rites was commonly called the “Grand Master of Ceremonies.” “Xiangxian Hall” commemorates He Deming (styled Xiangxian), the founding ancestor of the Shawan He clan. Supported by four stone pillars and 24 massive wooden pillars that require two people to encircle, the hall features beams, crossbeams, and ruyi brackets adorned with intricate wood carvings of birds, beasts, flowers, fruits, insects, and fish, all astonishingly delicate. Standing in the spacious and towering Xiangxian Hall, surrounded by the forest of grand pillars, one cannot help but feel a profound sense of solemnity and reverence for the ancestors.

Behind the central hall are the east and west side corridors of the rear sleeping quarters. The corridors contain eight red sandstone pillar bases carved into lotus petal shapes, both upright and inverted, which are uniquely shaped and date back to the Ming Dynasty. The rear sleeping quarters, the final section of Liugeng Hall, are divided into central, eastern, and western sections. The central section is the largest, featuring a rectangular shrine exquisitely carved with numerous auspicious patterns and coated in gold lacquer, shining brilliantly. Below the central eave hangs a horizontal plaque in white with black characters reading “Liugeng Hall,” flanked by a wooden couplet: “Virtue is sown by ancestors, and the heart’s field is left for descendants to cultivate.” This highlights the original intent of Liugeng Hall. Currently, the east and west sides of the rear sleeping quarters host an exhibition of historical figures from Panyu.

On the west side are bronze statues of the “Three He Masters” of Cantonese music—the elegant school represented by He Liutang, He Shaoxia, and He Yunnian. The east side features statues of the Qing Dynasty poet Qu Dajun from Panyu and the “Three Masters of the Lingnan School of Painting”—Gao Jianfu, Gao Qifeng, and Chen Shuren. In the east and west chambers of the sleeping hall, there are sculptures representing Shawan’s famous folk art—Shawan Piaose. With a history of several hundred years, Shawan Piaose is renowned worldwide for its vibrant colors, lifelike designs, slender frames, and ingenious mechanisms.

For a long time, Liugeng Hall has been cherished for its grand architectural presence, superb carving artistry, and rich cultural heritage.

In 2019, it was designated and announced as part of the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Address: Beicun, Shawan Town, Panyu District, Guangzhou City

Type: Ancestral Hall

Recommended Visit Duration: 1–2 hours

Phone: 020-84738988

Official Website: http://www.gzswgz.com/

Opening Hours: 9:30–17:30

Ticket Information: The combined ticket is priced at 40 RMB, covering Liugeng Hall (He Clan Ancestral Hall), Sanren Hall, Academician He Binglin Memorial Hall, Shawan Cantonese Music Museum, and Academician He Binglin Memorial Hall.

Shawan Beicun: Located north of the center of Shawan Town and south of Qingluo Road, Shawan Beicun covers an area of approximately 2.4 square kilometers, comprising 13 villager groups with a total population of over 1,760.

Shawan Beicun boasts over 800 years of historical and cultural heritage. Its ancient streets and alleys feature exquisitely laid-out architecture, with all roads paved in granite slabs. The area is home to provincial-level cultural heritage sites such as the ancient architectural complexes of Liugeng Hall, Guangyu Hall, and Chebei Street, representing the essence of Lingnan ancient architecture. Situated just north of the center of Beicun, Xiangxian Middle School has nearly a century of educational history and is a national model... (Detailed information on Shawan Beicun++)

Further reading:

· Third Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units