Yiyong Ancestral Hall

Yiyong Ancestral Hall

Yiyong Ancestral Hall is a cultural tourism attraction.

Yiyong Ancestral Hall is located at No. 11, Shengping Lower Street, Shitan Road, Shijing Street, Baiyun District. Originally built in the 22nd year of the Daoguang reign during the Qing Dynasty (1842), it has undergone multiple renovations since then. The building faces east and is arranged along a west-east axis. It features three parallel sections with three courtyards; the central section serves as the main hall, separated by a Qingyun Lane, with auxiliary halls on both sides. The total width is 31.46 meters and the total depth is 51.26 meters, covering a construction area of 1,616 square meters. It has flush gable roofs, hipped gable walls in the shape of a reversed “人,” gray plastered decorative ridges, gray sand barrel tiles, green glazed tile edges, and carved brickwork on the stair risers. The walls are made of blue bricks, with stone bases.

The front gate is three bays wide (13 meters) and two bays deep (9 meters), with a total of eleven rafters, supported by front and rear eave columns and the gate wall. The front porch has a three-step beam, with beams and bracket arms carved with theatrical figures; the rear porch has a six-step beam. The granite door frame stones feature a stone lintel inscribed in intaglio regular script with the characters “Shengping She School,” dated “Daoguang Renyin Year (i.e., 1842) August,” and signed “Qi Gong, Imperial Commissioner for Guangdong.” The front porch has granite-clad platforms on both sides of the secondary bays, each 3.9 meters wide, 2.9 meters deep, and 0.6 meters high. Between the eave columns and the gable walls are granite “shrimp beam” supports, topped with stone lions.

The front courtyard inside the front gate is 12.3 meters wide and 13.4 meters deep. It was originally paved with granite slabs but is now filled with bricks and concrete to form a platform. On both sides are corridors; each is three bays wide and two bays deep, with the corridors featuring coffered ceilings and four rafters, and the side rooms featuring flush gable roofs and eleven rafters.

The second courtyard is three bays wide (13 meters) and three bays deep (12.7 meters), with gable walls and roofs similar to those of the front gate. The hall contains four kwangtung wood central pillars, stone column bases, square stone columns at the front eaves, and nineteen rafters, with a four-rafter front porch. Each side gable wall has a door leading to the auxiliary halls. The right stone lintel is inscribed in intaglio regular script with the characters “Yi Wei Sang Zi” (Righteousness Supports the Hometown), dated “Daoguang Year, Renyin Winter, October, Early Dawn,” and signed “Ma Dianjia, Commander-in-Chief of the Guangdong Nanshao-Lian Area.” The left stone lintel is inscribed in intaglio regular script with the characters “Qi She Jing Ni” (Might Intimidates the Whales), dated “Daoguang Year, Renyin, Early Winter, Early Dawn,” and signed “Yu Wanqing, Regional Commander of Guangzhou’s Sanjiangkou and Liyang Areas.”

Behind the second courtyard was originally a courtyard, which was covered with a roof in recent years.

The third courtyard is three bays wide (13 meters) and three bays deep (12.5 meters), with four kwangtung wood central pillars in the hall, two square stone columns at the front eaves, and seventeen rafters, with a four-rafter front porch.

The auxiliary halls on both sides are well preserved. The stone lintels of the Qingyun Lanes on either side are inscribed in seal script with the characters “Xia Wei” (Rosy Clouds Gather) and “Yun Zheng” (Clouds Steam).

The She School was originally an educational institution in rural areas. The victory of the Sanyuanli People's Anti-British Struggle in 1841 greatly inspired the confidence of villagers in the northern suburbs of Guangzhou in resisting aggression and defending their homeland. As a result, the She School was reorganized into a patriotic armed organization that united nearby villagers, trained militia volunteers, and resisted foreign aggression to protect the land. At that time, Li Fang, a successful candidate in the imperial examinations from Shijing, initiated the construction of Shengping She School, and people from all walks of life enthusiastically donated funds, enabling the smooth completion of the school. Initially, more than 80 villages from 13 societies participated in the militia forces of the She School. As the organization grew, Shengping She School gradually became the core institution connecting the people of the northern city in the anti-aggression struggle. It played a significant role in several struggles, including the Guangzhou People's Burning of Foreign Factories in 1842, opposition to Britain's forced lease of the Henan area of Guangzhou in 1844, the expulsion of Guangzhou Prefect Liu Xun in 1845, and the resistance against British and French invading forces occupying Guangzhou City from 1858 to 1861.

The old site of the She School is relatively well maintained and is currently used as the Shijing Street Cultural Station.

To the left of the former site of Shengping She School stands Yiyong Ancestral Hall. It faces west and is arranged along an east-west axis. It is one bay wide (6 meters) and two bays deep (18.2 meters), covering a construction area of 109.2 square meters. It has flush gable roofs, hipped gable walls, gray plastered decorative ridges, barrel tiles, and green glazed tile edges. The walls are made of blue bricks, with stone bases.

Yiyong Ancestral Hall was built to commemorate the volunteers who sacrificed their lives during the Sanyuanli People's Anti-British Struggle in the First Opium War. After the Battle of Niu Lan Gang, He Yucheng, a successful candidate in the imperial examinations from Panyu, proposed the construction of the ancestral hall, which was approved by the Viceroy of Liangguang Qi Gong and Governor Yi Liang. It was built in Niu Lan Gang in the 22nd year of the Daoguang reign (1842). In the 4th year of the Xianfeng reign (1854), the Red Turban Rebellion led by Li Wenmao in Guangzhou besieged the city for months, and the ancestral hall was destroyed in the war. In 1866, Shengping She School rebuilt the Yiyong Ancestral Hall to its left. The current stone lintel of the ancestral hall was relocated from the original site in Niu Lan Gang. The stone lintel is inscribed in regular script with the large characters “Yiyong Ancestral Hall,” with the upper inscription “Daoguang Xin Si Year (i.e., 1821) September” and “Tongzhi Fifth Year (i.e., 1866) September Relocated,” and the lower inscription “Qi Gong, Imperial Commissioner for Guangdong” and “Liang Ping Su Carved the Stone.”

The ancestral hall now serves as an exhibition hall for visitors.

In July 1962, it was designated as a Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Shijing Community: Shijing Community…… More information about Shijing Community++