Editor's note: "The Chen Clan Ancestral Hall is a hundred years old, and the Lingnan treasures have a long rhyme. "The century-old Chen Clan Ancestral Hall is like a bright pearl, shining in the land of Lingnan. It is not only the pinnacle of architectural art, but also a perfect blend of history and craftsmanship. From the exquisite architectural structure to the rich folk crafts, all show the wisdom and creativity of the ancients. This ancestral hall carries the memories of the years and opens a window for us to understand Lingnan culture, which is worth in-depth exploration and cherishment.
"The reputation of the Yimen family is far away, and Yingchuan is long." The Chen family has been a famous family in the land of China since ancient times, and its family culture has a long history and has been inherited to this day.
In Guangzhou, there is a Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, after a hundred years of wind and rain, still shining, it is not only a glorious symbol of the Chen family, but also a bright pearl of Lingnan architectural art, carrying a rich history and exquisite craftsmanship, has become a rare cultural treasure.
Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, built in the 14th year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1888) and completed in the 19th year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1893), has attracted the attention of countless tourists during the Spring Festival, May Day, National Day and other golden tourism periods.
As the largest, oldest and most functional ancestral hall in the country, it is like an old man who has traveled through time and space, silently telling the world about the glory of the past.
Stepping into the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, the first thing that catches your eye is the magnificent architectural layout. It adopts a rigorous and symmetrical structure as a whole, highlighting the solemnity and majesty of traditional Chinese architecture.
"The courtyard is a little deeper", and between these courtyards, the corridors twist and turn, and the light and shadow are intertwined, creating a deep and mysterious atmosphere.
As the ancients said: "Five steps to the first floor, ten steps to a pavilion; The corridor waist is back, and the eaves teeth are high pecked. The architectural beauty of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall is a vivid interpretation of this classical artistic conception.
However, the charm of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall is much more than that. The architectural decoration is even more ingenious and breathtaking.
A variety of decorative arts such as wood carving, brick carving, stone carving, pottery sculpture, copper and iron casting, and painting are vividly displayed in the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall. Those exquisite wood carvings, the characters are lifelike, the flowers and birds are smart, as if telling a moving story;
The brick carving is delicate and nuanced, with smooth lines, showing superb skills; The stone carving is even more majestic, and the craftsmanship is exquisite, which makes people sigh at the craftsmanship of the craftsmen.
Take the double-sided carved mouse lychee grape beam of Chaoyang stone carving, which was created in the 1920s and is 110cm long, 11cm wide and 38cm high. The craftsman uses a combination of openwork and high relief to carve this hollow double-sided stone carving on a single piece of hard bluestone.
Its subtlety lies not only in the complexity and mastery of the craftsmanship, but also in the cultural meaning it contains. Mouse, lychee, grapes, these elements have rich symbolic meanings in traditional culture, representing abundant fertility and abundant harvest.
With such ingenious ideas and exquisite skills, it can really be described as "natural workers can be replaced, and artificial talents are not as good." Sure enough, to make the world is better than reading a book for ten years. ”
Look at the door of the academy again: "The dragon year sows spring and a hundred arts last for thousands of years, and the writer stays in Yayun for ten years." This couplet is not only neat and brilliant, but also profoundly expresses the cultural value carried by the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall.
Here, every handicraft is a witness to history, and every architectural detail contains a profound cultural connotation. Tourists come here to gain not only visual enjoyment, but also spiritual nourishment and cultural edification.
As a joint venture donation of the Chen clan, the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall embodies the strength and wisdom of the Chen family, and also reflects the unity and inheritance of the family.
In ancient times, the family was the basic unit of society, and the prosperity and prosperity of the family were related to the well-being of each member.
The construction of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall is the effort made by the Chen family to inherit the family culture, unite the clansmen, and highlight the glory of the family.
This kind of family concept still has important practical significance in today's society. It reminds us that no matter how times change, family cohesion and cultural heritage are indispensable.
However, the fate of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall was not all smooth sailing. In the long river of history, it has also experienced vicissitudes, suffered from wind and rain erosion and man-made damage. Fortunately, after years of conservation and restoration, it has been able to regain its former glory.
Especially after being announced as an "AAAA-level scenic spot" by the National Tourism Administration in 2008 and rated as a national first-class museum in 2017, the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall has received more attention and support, and its conservation work has been more perfect.
However, we cannot ignore some of the problems that exist in the process of protection. For example, in the process of tourism development, how to balance the relationship between the number of tourists and the protection of cultural relics, and how to avoid the erosion of the cultural connotation of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall by excessive commercialization, these are all problems that need to be solved urgently.
As the ancients said: "If you want to hurry, you can't reach it." "When promoting the development and protection of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, we must not rush for quick success, but should follow the law of historical and cultural protection, step by step, so that this cultural treasure can be passed on for a long time.
In addition, for the cultural connotation contained in the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, our excavation and publicity are not deep enough. Many visitors visit the museum with little knowledge of the history, family culture and craftsmanship. This requires us to strengthen cultural education, through a variety of forms, such as explanations, exhibitions, lectures, etc., so that more people can truly understand the value of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall.
The protection and inheritance of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall is a long-term and arduous task that requires the joint efforts of each and every one of us. It is up to the government, the community and every visitor to take their part to contribute to the preservation of this cultural treasure.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, in the name of "Ancient Ancestral Hall", has been selected as the "Eight Scenic Spots of Yangcheng in the New Century" twice, and is also known as the "Cultural Business Card of Guangzhou", becoming the most cultural and artistic museum and famous tourist attraction in Lingnan. This is a high recognition of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, and it is also a spur to our protection and inheritance work.
Let us look forward to the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, which will continue to exude charming charm in the years to come, and become a model for the inheritance and development of the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation. Let more people appreciate the style of this Lingnan architectural art master, and feel the infinite charm of the history and craftsmanship carried in it!
Conclusion: The Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, a century-old architectural treasure, is like a bright pearl, inlaid in the land of Lingnan. It is not only the pinnacle of architectural art, but also a perfect blend of history and craftsmanship.
The family culture and folk crafts it carries are an important sample for us to study social changes and cultural inheritance.
I hope that more people will walk into the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall and feel its charm, and I also look forward to netizens actively leaving messages, sharing your unique insights related to it, and exploring more mysteries of this cultural treasure house together. Let's work together to protect this precious legacy!