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Jacquelyn Hannah 2024-12-06 11:51:32 +09:00
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Initially built in 1894 during the Qing dynasty, the ancestral hall was constructed by the 72 Chen clans for their juniors' accommodation and preparation for the imperial examinations. However, its purpose evolved over the years, and it became an educational institution for the Chen family. Eventually, the complex became a public space for local gatherings and functions. Covering 13,200 square meters, the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall consists of 19 buildings with nine halls and six courtyards. Buildings are separated with "Qingyun alleys" and connected with corridors.
The Chen Clan Academy, also known as the [Chen Clan Ancestral Hall](https://etravelwave.com/chen-clan-ancestral-hall/) or Chen Jia Ci in Chinese, is a significant cultural and historical attraction in Guangzhou, China. It is considered a masterpiece of Lingnan architecture, a style unique to the Pearl River Delta region in southern China. It served as a place for clan members to study for the imperial examinations, which were a crucial pathway to government positions in ancient China. The academy housed various classrooms, study halls, and ancestral shrines where students could honor their ancestors and seek guidance for their studies.Additionally, the Chen Clan Academy is a treasure trove of traditional Chinese art and culture. The complex features a vast collection of Cantonese folk art, including wood carvings, stone sculptures, pottery, and paintings, showcasing the rich cultural heritage of the region.
Furthermore, our travel expert will help you customize your own tour to visit more places in Guangzhou. The iron casting assimilates some features of western courtyard’s architectural art, and it is applied in the gazebo in front of the gathering hall. In 1988, it was added in the list of "Cultural Relics of National Importance under the Protection of the State".
It has 19 buildings with nine halls and six courtyards that are connected in a symmetric pattern. On the main axis are the Main Entrance (头门), the Assembly Hall, and the Rear Hall (后堂). The principal ridges of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall are decorated with 11 strips of pottery cresting, the amount and scale of which reflect the wealth of chen clans at that time. The cresting of the Gathering Hall is 27m long and 2.9m high, with a total of 224 figures on it, which is the largest scale of cresting in [Chen Clan Ancestral Hall](https://etravelwave.com/chen-clan-ancestral-hall/). These figures include the eight immortals, Li Jing and other characters from the Chinese legend. The outside wall on the right side of the hall is decorated with 6 big brick carvings made by black brick from Dongguan.
The complex is renowned for its intricate decorations, detailed carvings, and cultural significance. Since reopening, efforts to research and preserve the hall have continued, including lowering the front plaza to its historical level, restoring the stone lion bases at the main entrance, re-erecting flagpoles, and reconstructing ancestral hall components. In January of this year, the hall initiated its eighth maintenance project, covering an area of 1,285 square meters. The number of woodcarvings in Chen’s Academy is just magnificent and rich content can be found here. On the first door beam, wood carvings tell historical stories and folklore, such as ‘Wangmu's Birthday’, ‘Ancient Summit in Spring and Autumn’, and ‘The General’s Seal’. Among them, the most prominent one is the group of woodcarvings of Cao Cao offering feasts at Tongquetai Building in the ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’, in which Cao Cao’s generals are competing with their martial skills as Cao watches from the high place.