The Gu Yi Study Hall

The Gu Yi Study Hall

The Gu Yi Study Hall is a cultural relic protection unit of Guangdong Province.

The Gu Yi Study Hall is located in the central section of Langtou Village and was built as a memorial shrine by Huang Guyi, a local official honored with the title of Fengzhi Dafu. Constructed in the sixth year of the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty (1826), it underwent restoration in 1999. Facing south, the hall has a three-bay, two-courtyard layout, with an overall width of 11.5 meters and a depth of 22 meters, covering a site area of 268 square meters. It features wok-handle-shaped gable walls, decorative plasterwork with antique ridge designs, gray brick barrel tiles, grey-brick walls, granite stone plinths, and floors paved with red clay bricks. The beams, purlins, and wooden columns throughout the hall are made of kwila wood, while the granite elements have been polished. The craftsmanship of the stone carvings, wood carvings, brick carvings, plaster reliefs, and murals is exquisite and well-preserved.

The front gate is three bays wide, spanning 11.5 meters, and three bays deep, totaling 6.3 meters across nine frames. It has a three-step front porch and a four-frame corridor at the rear. The front and rear stone eaves columns are mounted on multi-layered composite bases; there are two hardwood king posts. The beams under the front porch feature carved patterns underneath, including Ao fish-shaped supports, bracket sets, and carved dougong blocks displaying various opera characters, scrolling floral patterns, birds, insects, and fish. The rafter ends are all granite stone carvings depicting figures, including “Thunder God and Lightning Goddess” and “Harmony Children.” The shrimp beam is entirely decorated with intricately layered bas-relief carvings of peony scrolls; the lions and uniquely shaped bracket sets on the beam have clear carved textures; the spandrels beneath the beams feature openwork carvings of the Eight Immortals. The brick carvings on the stair risers include decorative bracket sets, opera characters, and patterns of flowers, fruits, and melons. On both sides are seal script inscriptions reading “Literature Enriches the Nation” and “Poetry and Rituals Passed Down Through Generations,” each eight characters long. The main gate is fitted with granite door frames, the stone lintel adorned with bas-relief carvings of scrolling floral motifs and a border design. The central part is inscribed in intaglio with “Gu Yi Study Hall,” with the upper inscription reading “Daoguang Bingxu Year (1826)” and the lower one “Respectfully written by Historian Zhongrong.” The side bays are enclosed with walls and rooms, also featuring granite door frames and plinths. The left room wall contains a brick carving niche for the Door God. The walls are painted with murals such as “Su Dongpo Holding a Zither” and “Five Nobles Writing Together.” The front porch side bays are fitted with one-meter-high granite railings carved with motifs like bats and flowers. The two door piers feature bas-reliefs of bats, deer, birds, lions, and qilins. The facade is constructed from polished grey bricks, inlaid with 1.7-meter-high granite stone plinths, atop a 0.6-meter-high platform base with five stone steps.

The rear hall is three bays wide, 11.5 meters in width, and three bays deep, 8.5 meters in depth, totaling thirteen frames. It is supported by four hardwood king posts resting on granite column bases. Between the rear king posts hangs a wooden plaque inscribed with “Baoben Hall” (Hall of Ancestral Gratitude). At the back of the central bay is an ancestral shrine, displaying a portrait of Huang Guyi. The rear hall is preceded by two side halls, each three bays wide, with six-frame coffered ceilings and two-frame front corridors, featuring decorative plasterwork with antique ridge designs. The side bays are fitted with 0.9-meter-high granite railings. The courtyard is 5.5 meters wide and 6.8 meters deep, paved with granite slabs.

Huang Guyi (1777–1857) was the twenty-second-generation ancestor of the Huang clan in the village. According to the clan genealogy, his original name was Huang Tingfu, with the courtesy name You and the alias Guyi, also known as Razor You. During the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty, he donated his family fortune to aid disaster victims and was conferred the title of Fengzhi Dafu, a fifth-rank official. He had seven sons, three of whom—Huang Yuzhang, Huang Xuanzhang, and Huang Yaozhang—became jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations).

In September 2005, the Guangzhou Municipal People’s Government listed it as a registered protected cultural relic unit.

Langtou Village: The Langtou Village Committee is located in the western part of Tanbu Town, covering an area of approximately 6.25 square kilometers. It administers three villager groups (Langzhong, Langdong, and Langxi), with a total population of over 2,330. Langtou Village was established in the late Southern Song Dynasty. It got its name because the village was built on a small hill near low-lying fields. In 2006, it was named Best Historic Ancient Village by the Huadu District People’s Government and is also among the first group of provincial-level ancient villages. The Langtou Village Committee is 15 kilometers from the downtown area of Xinhua and 2 kilometers from the center of Tanbu, connected via a road under the Pearl River Belt Corridor. The local agriculture mainly involves growing rice, vegetables, flowers, as well as fish farming in ponds… More details about Langtou Village++

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of Guangzhou Cultural Relic Protection Units