Wang's ancestral hall

Wang's ancestral hall

Wang's ancestral hall in Hengyang was built in 1061, the sixth year of Jiayou in the Northern Song Dynasty. It is a place for worshiping ancestors or sages in China. It is a Ming Dynasty style Chinese architecture with the largest scale, the most complete, the most typical and the most artistic value in South China. Wang's ancestral hall in Hengyang was overhauled in Yongle period of Ming Dynasty. During Yongzheng, Qianlong and Guangxu years of Qing Dynasty, it was overhauled many times and granted "the first one in southern Chu". On May 28, 2010, it was approved as Hengyang patriotic education demonstration base. On May 3, 2013, it was officially identified as a national key cultural relics protection unit.

Brief introduction of ancestral temple

Hengyang Wang's ancestral hall, also known as Yuxi Wang's ancestral hall, is located in Dayu village, Lijiang Town, Hengnan County, Hengyang City, the second largest city in Hunan Province (7km northeast of Lijiang town). It is a demonstration base for Hengyang patriotic education. It was built in 1061, the sixth year of Jiayu in the Northern Song Dynasty. Wang Wanzhuang bought a field to settle down here and built a ancestral hall, which was called Chongben hall at that time. This name has been used to this day. The Yuan Dynasty was destroyed in the chaos of war. It was rebuilt in 1414, the 12th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty and changed its name to Wang's ancestral hall. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, six times of maintenance and expansion were carried out, with a construction area of 1950 square meters. In the 29th year of the Republic of China (1940), it was built again and was renamed the Wang ancestral hall. In August 1988, it was announced as a county-level cultural relics protection unit. In January 1996, it was announced as a provincial cultural relics protection unit.

Hengyang Wang's ancestral hall is located in Dayu village, Lijiang Town, Hengnan County. It was built in 1061, the sixth year of Jiayou in Northern Song Dynasty. It is the largest, most complete, most typical and most artistic ancient architecture of Ming Dynasty in Hunan Province. Wang's ancestral hall in Hengyang was overhauled in Yongle period of Ming Dynasty. During Yongzheng, Qianlong and Guangxu periods of Qing Dynasty, it was repaired many times. It was granted "the first one in southern Chu" by the emperor. In 1414, it was changed to "the first one in Hengyang" in the history of Hengzhou magistrate. The pillar and beam structure of Wang's ancestral hall is well-designed and made of huge materials, and a large number of Dougong, painted Dougong and Ruyi Dougong are used. The high building specifications are very rare in the ancestral hall buildings in central and southern China. On May 3, 2013, it was officially identified as a national key cultural relics protection unit.

The origin of ancestral temple

Wang's ancestral hall was built in 1061, the sixth year of Jiayou in the Northern Song Dynasty. It was burned by soldiers in the Yuan Dynasty and rebuilt in 1414, the 12th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty. In 1724, it was repaired. It was expanded many times during the reign of Qianlong, Jiaqing and Guangxu. Wang Wanzhuang, the first ancestor, was a Jinshi in Song Dynasty. He once served as Shaoyang order in Baoqing. In his later years, he traveled with his family and made a fortune in Changping. This place is surrounded by mountains and water. At that time, in front of the temple, there was a large pond with a width of about 100 mu. There are good people to dig, and the more they dig, the longer they will be. A geomantic gentleman was afraid to destroy this geomantic treasure land. He killed a dog and drenched the dog's blood on Yinshan. From then on, Yinshan will never grow up again. Wanzhuanggong bought Tian An's house and built a small ancestral hall by the pond, called Chongben hall. Later, the ancestral hall was burned down, and the great ceremony of the fourteenth generation grandson of wanzhuanggong wrote to the history of Hengzhou magistrate, who approved the construction of the ancestral hall. At this time, there was a royal edict of the Ministry of industry in the Wang family. He presided over the temple building, which was completed 20 years later. In history, he changed "the first family in southern Chu" into "the first family in Hengyang". From then on, "Hengyang first" became famous.

Ancestral hall culture

Wang's ancestral hall not only retains the ancient Chinese architectural art of poor workmanship, but also has brilliant calligraphy. The five characters of "the first family in Hengyang" are written in the history of Hengzhou Prefecture magistrate. They are white with black characters. They are thick and majestic. With the couplet of "loyalty and filial piety in ancient and modern times, cultivating and reading people from generation to generation", it adds more luster. More than 20 pairs of couplets, such as "Zi Xingfan, Bai Likui Guangju; sleeping hall Yunjing, four suburbs wild color into", "Spring Grass Pond, a school of Yuxi new green water; painting hall swallow, Millennium Wang's bird recognition clothing", are all from the hands of Shangshu, Zhuangyuan, cabinet Zhongshu, Cishi, Zhifu and other celebrities since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Wang's ancestral hall not only preserves 93 volumes of Wang's genealogy with academic research value, records a large number of poems and local folk customs of the past dynasties, reflects the brilliant brilliance of Chinese culture, and is an extremely rich art treasure house in Hengyang and China.

Ancestral hall

Wang's ancestral hall faces south from the north, with a mixed structure of brick, stone and wood. There are 48 main columns, column bases and 13 door frames, all of which are made of stone. The temple is composed of five buildings, including the main hall and the left and right ancestral halls. The stone pillars, wooden beams, hard hilltops and small green tiles are built. The volcanic walls are built between the buildings, and the claw angles at both ends fly up. The temple is 12 meters high. On the central axis, from south to north, there are front and back halls, left and right wing rooms and front cloisters. The front hall is composed of the main hall, Zuo Xianda temple and you Jiexiao temple, each with three bays and one deep room; the middle of the front hall is the stage and the shibajiao caisson. The back hall is composed of Chongben hall, zuoxiandang hall and youjiexiao hall, with three bays each and two rooms deep. Between the front and back halls is the patio. The left wing room is peihuai Pavilion, and the right wing room is genmei Pavilion, with six rooms each. The main gate is made of white marble, with regular script "Hengyang first family" engraved on the forehead and high relief of two dragons playing with pearls by Zhou Shi.

Wang's ancestral hall retains the architectural features and styles of Ming and Qing Dynasties, and some of its components are the original objects of Ming Dynasty; the carving on stone components and the color painting on wood components are rich and exquisite; the main hall and the left and right ancestral halls are integrated into one, which retains the architectural features and styles of Ming and Qing Dynasties; the door couplets and column couplets retain the architectural features and styles of the Ming and Qing Dynasties calligraphic relics.

Wang's ancestral hall, which was granted by the emperor as "the first family in Hengyang", is located in Dayu village, Lijiang Town, Yunji District, Hengyang City. When you enter the village, the water from the mouth of the nine ridges flows straight into the crescent shaped pond in front of the temple, so there is a saying that "Jiulong holds the saint".

When you look up, the two into five buildings stand side by side, and the ancestral hall of "Hengyang first" is very eye-catching. The whole building is 62.5 meters long, 31.5 meters wide and 12 meters high, with a total area of 1950 square meters. The central axis is divided into front and back halls from south to north. The front hall is the main hall stage, and the back hall is Chongben hall. There are wing rooms in the East and West, with Xianda hall on the left and Jiexiao hall on the right. Peihuai Pavilion and genmei pavilion are distributed on both sides. 48 stone pillars support the top of the mountain, which is magnificent.

The most eye-catching is the Dougong. There are five or six kinds of Dougong. For example, the Ruyi arch, which is composed of four layers of lattices, is like a magician juggling. Looking up, it is prismatic, but looking down, it becomes square again. The variant Dougong, Yunfeng Dougong, Mengjing Dougong and screw Dougong are quite different in style. Experts believe that these Dougong are comparable to those of the Palace Museum, which makes it hard to imagine how they are constructed.

"Gorgeous flowers in Wang's ancestral hall" is a popular catchphrase. Displayed on the plaque of the main entrance temple, the white jade stone carving of Erlong Xizhu is lively with head held high and claws danced. A pair of ancient drums on the stone lions on both sides, the front of which is similar to Danfeng Chaoyang. On the other side, there are wild deer with flowers, magpies with plums, egrets with flowers, and white cranes with books. The two kirins below look at each other intimately, like whispering. The eaves are slightly upturned, like cornices. Flowers are carved under the eaves, and flowers are also carved and painted in the temple. Stone carvings are widely used in door frames, door forehead, stone pillars and column bases. There are various forms of relief, Yin carving, Yang carving, line carving and so on. Even tile eaves and tiles are carved with elegant patterns and skilled knife work. There are more than 100 colored paintings and sculptures on the wall, including the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, Magu's birthday, the peach garden and the ancient city fair. The paintings on the ceiling and beam rack are gorgeous and exquisite. The dragon and Phoenix are ready to fly, the tiger and leopard are still singing, and the flowers, birds, insects and fish are lifelike. There are more than 300 decorative woodcuts with exquisite craftsmanship. The octagonal floor of the stage is a colorful spot for Kuixing. "The first class of all dynasties; the civilization of all ages". The sun carved column couplets inscribed by Zhan Ruoshui, the book of the Ming Dynasty, are colorful with exotic flowers and plants between the characters. The patterns on both sides of the woodcut break the symmetrical pattern, showing a variety of artistic beauty. The wood decoration is full of carving, painted and realistic. Being in the temple is like entering an art palace of flowers. Wang's ancestral hall has been built for more than 900 years. The overall design runs through the whole process, which shows the ingenuity of the engineering designers. Its exquisite firing skills and immortal artistic value fully reflect the outstanding talents and artistic creativity of the ancient Chinese working people.

The origin of Wang family in Yuxi

The Wang family of Hengyang has many branches in Taiyuan, and the branch comes from Langya. The ancestor of wanzhuanggong, whose name is Jingzhai, was born in the early Song Dynasty. He was born in Lingshou County, Zhending Prefecture. He went to Hengyang with his brother Wanbin and Wantao. Wanbin lived in Shatang, Qinghua Township, Wantao lived in yeheping, Huaijie Township, and Wanzhuang lived in Yuxi, Changping township. Yongxian, the fourth ancestor of the Northern Song Dynasty, began to compile genealogy in 1061, the second in 1226, the third in 1316, the fourth in 1344, the fifth in 1446, the seventh in 1471, the seventh in 1606, the eighth in 1660, the ninth in 1728, and the tenth in 1794 In 1826, it was revised 11 times, in 1865, it was revised 12 times, in 1900, it was revised 13 times, in 1938, it was revised 14 times, and in 2002, it was revised 15 times.

There are two branches of Wang family in Hengyang, Yuxi and Hengyang. Wang Fuzhi belongs to the Wang family of Hengyang rather than the Wang family of Yuxi.

Chinese PinYin : Wang Shi Zong Ci