Chang's ancestral hall

Chang's ancestral hall

Chang's ancestral hall, also known as family temple, is a family ancestral hall building, which belongs to the place where the family worships ancestors and sages. It is an important form of traditional Chinese ancestor worship. The ancestral hall is the temple of the family, which records the glory and tradition of the family. As a symbol of the family's long history and traditional culture, it has unparalleled influence and historical value.

Introduction to ancestral hall

It is impossible to find out when the ancestral hall of Chang was first built, but in the Guangxu period of the late Qing Dynasty, the ancestral hall of Chang was built

One branch of Chang Wanqi (later called Nan Chang) and another branch of Chang Wanda (later called Bei Chang) established their own ancestral halls. As early as the Western Zhou Dynasty, the court established rites and music, and some aristocrats began to build ancestral temples. After more than 2000 years, this trend continued to flourish. Chang's family was born as a Confucian and paid more attention to the worship of their ancestors. In addition to offering sacrifices to ancestors or sages, ancestral hall is also an important place to deal with family affairs. Its purpose is to carry forward the idea of respecting ancestors, advocating filial piety as the first character, and maintaining and developing clan rule.

Due to historical reasons, the Nanchang part of the Changjia manor, including the South ancestral hall, has been completely destroyed and can not be restored, so what we see now is only the North ancestral hall of the Changjia manor. The existing BEICI hall was built in 1879, which is located in the northeast of Beichang Houjie. It took three years to build and consumed more than 20000 yuan of silver. Its courtyard is 25 meters wide, seven Bay, more than 100 meters deep and covers an area of 8 mu. The whole ancestral hall is divided into three gates and four entrances, including gate Pavilion, house, pavilion, corridor, main hall, side chamber, etc., forming a rigorous and orderly building complex with complete structure. It is one of the largest and best preserved ancestral halls in the existing dwellings.

Ancestral hall building

Eight character screen wall

In front of the ancestral hall of Chang's surname, you can see the large brick wall standing opposite the ancestral hall. As the saying goes, "a village without exposure is a village, and a home without exposure is a home". From the perspective of traditional Chinese geography, this "not exposure" refers to not exposing Fengshui. Only by keeping Fengshui can we keep and even develop a village

The "fortune" of the two families. There are generally three kinds of shadow walls. One is located inside the house door, which is in a straight shape to meet the door, also known as the screen wall; the second is located outside the house door and opposite to the house door, there are two kinds of common "one" shape and "eight" shape; the third is inclined in front of the house on both sides of the gable, also known as the "anti eight" shape screen wall.

We can see that the screen wall in front of the ancestral hall is in the shape of eight characters, which was made in 1900. In the middle of it, there are 240 seal characters "Shou" with different writing styles. According to the sixty flower Jiazi tradition in China, the homonym "Shou 240 Zhi" is used to pray for the well-being and longevity of the host. Because 240 is just four times of 60, it has the meaning of praying for the prosperity of the family, four generations together and long life from generation to generation. On both sides of the wall is a deer and a crane. In Chinese folklore, the crane is an immortal bird, and the deer is a auspicious animal; the crane is a symbol of longevity, and the deer is an auspicious omen of national peace and people's peace and political harmony. (in the painting of Ruiying, it is said that if the emperor is in charge of politics and there is no lack of a Dharma suitable for the sages, there will be a white deer.) the pattern made of deer, crane, Tung and pine also means "six contracts of spring". Because read from the homophony: six with deer, contract crane, Tongtong, spring near pine.

Double bucket flagpole

These two flagpoles are not used to raise the flag. They are a symbol of family honor. In the feudal society with strict hierarchy in ancient China, only those in the family who have obtained four or more official positions are qualified to erect such a flagpole and enjoy such glory. Otherwise, it is not allowed to let your family be rich. According to records, in the whole process of Chang family's rise and fall, there were 46 officials with more than four grades, including five titles with two grades. Therefore, it is natural that such a flagpole was erected in front of the ancestral hall of the Chang family. The flagpole is about 11 meters high and consists of five parts: stone foundation, pillar holding stone, pole inserting stone, flagpole and bucket.

Stone fence carving

On the left are the eight dark Immortals: fish bone, flute, flower blue, lotus, gourd, Yin Yang board, sword and Pu fan. On the right are the eight auspicious: Falun, Baosan, baigai, Lianhua, Baoping, goldfish, Panchang and Faluo.

The design on the Baogan stone is a fisherman and woodcutter, Fenghou and Fengjun, blessing and longevity, and auspicious dragon protection. Four stone lions are carved on the top of the stone, which not only expresses the owner's expectation for the prosperity of the family, but also implies the meaning of "four seasons, four generations, and the prosperity of the family".

Gate of ancestral hall

The magnificent seven Bay High terrace Xieshan gate. The plaque of "Chang's ancestral hall" hanging in the middle of the gate tower is written by Chang Lide, the 13th generation of Chang; the plaque on the left is the plaque of "Yizhou Yiji" given by Zeng Guoquan, governor of Shanxi in Qing Dynasty (meaning: praising Chang's benefits in promoting culture and spreading Confucian morality); the plaque on the right is presented to Chang by Zhao Erxun, governor of Shanxi in 1903 The "benevolence" plaques of Shide hall and Shihe hall recognize Chang's contribution to helping the imperial court in disaster relief. (according to historical records, around the 29th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu, there was no major disaster in Jinzhong, so it can be seen that the Chang family donated a lot of money to the victims from other places at that time.). Couplet: chengdeze, the son and grandson of Bodhi Wangchuan, and shaojiayou, the forefather of Yanyi.

It was written by Chang Lide of the 13th generation. The ancestors chose Chewang as an auspicious place to settle down, so that future generations can inherit the kindness of their ancestors, and their families will prosper and pass on from generation to generation;

Up the stairs, you can see the high threshold of the ancestral hall. As the saying goes, "build a high threshold, gather a wide range of wealth, and step in smoothly.". The high threshold not only has the moral of protecting Fengshui and preventing the outflow of financial resources, but also makes the descendants who enter the ancestral hall to respect and accept the teachings with awe.

Second entrance stage

Cross the threshold and enter the front courtyard of the ancestral hall. Now, please pay attention to what's different from the inside of the gate? By the way, it's the stage. It turns out that the inside of the towering gate is a reverse stage. This stage can be used as a passageway into the ancestral hall, so it is also called "corridor music Pavilion". There is no building in the front yard, leaving a spacious courtyard for the convenience of the people to gather here to watch the drama.

In history, Shanxi Merchants loved Jin opera, and Chang family was no exception. At the end of each year, when the shopkeepers all over the country came back to pay their accounts or when there was a happy event in the family, they would invite the class to sing a drama and have a good time. One is to comfort the ancestors' prosperity, the other is to reward the shopkeepers for their hard work in the past year. The two gates that you just went in and out of are the passageways for actors to go in and out of the stage when they are acting. They are called "make a general" and "enter the prime minister". On weekdays, the main gate of the ancestral hall is not open, and the children of the clan can only go through the two small gates nearby. Generals and prime ministers also wish their children prosperity. After you have passed the gate of general and prime minister, of course, I wish you prosperity and smooth sailing.

The Chang family's setting up the stage in the ancestral hall has another meaning: in addition to hoping to comfort their ancestors and make their family prosperous, they also want to sing opera for their ancestors and invite them to have fun with their descendants.

Robinia pseudoacacia and pines and cypresses

Sophora trees and pines and cypresses planted in the courtyard are taken from the meaning of "descendants of Sophora trees, evergreen for generations". Although the trunk of the Longhuai tree in the west is not strong, it was brought back from Russia by Chang Qi, the twelfth of Chang family, when the northern ancestral hall was completed in 1882. It has a history of more than 120 years.

Stage plaque: Yiguan Fengya

This plaque was presented to Chang's family by Zeng Guoquan, governor of Shanxi Province, for his family's economic and cultural contribution to Shanxi Province.

Elegance: national style; Elegance: big and small. All of them are famous articles in the book of songs. It generally refers to the ancient culture represented by the book of songs, and also refers to the elegant atmosphere. The main idea is: the Chang family's economic and cultural contributions to the local community of Shanxi are all due to their generations of Confucianism, morality and justice. Couplet: Double Fei diao'e cloud ambition, tired leaf ethereal Xiang Zhong Xiao Jing. It was written by Guo in Qing Dynasty. Fei, meaning to fly together; Diao, e, are good at flying birds. In ancient times, light blue and light yellow silk was used as bookcase. The main idea is: the descendants can have diao'e Lingyun's ambition because of the loyalty and filial piety classic books handed down from generation to generation.

Two door plaque: guangqianyuhou

Chang Liping wrote in Qing Dynasty. It means: we should always abide by Chang's tradition of advocating morality and being diligent in starting a business, so that our ancestors can feel comfort and glory under the nine springs, and set an example for future generations.

Couplet: the resort is near Tui, the source of water is long, the branch is long, and Huazong gathers in Wangchuan to feel spring and autumn with frost and dew.

It was written by Wen Jinchang and Chang Liping in Qing Dynasty. It is a place of great interest; it is an ancient appellation of tushui, which runs across the Xiaohe River in Yuci; it is a grand clan of Huazong.

The main idea is: Chang chose this scenic spot near gutushui. After hundreds of years, it has a long history and continuous development like tushui, and now it has become a local giant family.

Chinese PinYin : Chang Shi Ci Tang