In Guangzhou, where people come and go, there is an ancient building that is quiet in the middle of nowhere, as if the old man of time has silently witnessed the city's more than 100 years of change and progress, this ancient building is the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, originally also called "Chen Family Academy", which was founded in 1888 and has been counted for 133 years.
Compared with the surrounding traffic and shops, the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall appears calm and dignified, not stained with flashiness, if you talk about its past and present life, but also from the Chen family, more than 100 years ago, the Chen family in Guangzhou is quite prominent, is the largest surname in Lingnan, the family is full of talents, there are scholars, famous courtiers, squire celebrities, such as Chen Changchao, Chen Zongqing, Chen Lanbin, Chen Botao, etc.
In the 14th year of Guangxu, that is, in the name of Chen Yingchuantang and Chen Shichangtang, the real estate of Lianyuan Street, Lychee Bay Fushuitang and Enlongli outside the west gate of Guangzhou was purchased to build chen's college, with a total area of 36,600 square meters, which lasted 6 years, and the chen clan from all over the country went to Guangzhou to prepare for the examination, handle lawsuits, pay taxes, etc., and can live here for free, which shows the prosperity of this Chen family.
Coincidentally, in the process of construction, one of the initiators was hand-picked as Tanhualang, and the entire clan could not help but be overjoyed, thinking: The construction of the ancestral hall really worked, so more funds were invested to build the scale of the ancestral hall more grandly, this clan member was Chen Botao, who later served in the Hanlin Academy.
The former Chen Clan Ancestral Hall was the family academy of a large family, and today's Chen Clan Ancestral Hall is a 4A-level scenic spot hidden in the city, a national first-class museum, eight views of Yangcheng, and a Guangdong Folk Craft Museum. According to research, it is also the largest preserved, best-preserved and most exquisitely decorated ancestral hall building in China.
The first sight of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall was shocked by the gray sculptures on its roof, which had been seen in an urban village in Huadu before, and felt very rich and colorful, while the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall was more refined, large, richer, and the colors were more distinct.
Gray sculpture is a classic feature of Lingnan architecture, the earliest appeared in the Song Dynasty Zengcheng Zhengguo Temple, at the beginning, its role is to ventilate and press the roof to avoid being blown away by the wind, and later with the improvement of people's living standards, the development of traditional handicrafts, rich and noble families gradually used in the roof decoration of their own houses, and more and more exquisite.
Most of these gray sculptures are characters, flowers, birds, fish and insects, etc., telling a classic folk story or allusion, character portrayal, whether it is a subtle expression, or a wrinkle in clothes, all of them are refined, ingenious, and after more than 100 years of wind and rain baptism, the color is still bright, very calm, these wonderful gray sculptures are all over the roof of every house.
In addition to the intricate gray sculptures, all the beams, doors and windows, corridors, but also full of wood carvings, stone carvings, brick carvings, ceramic sculptures, copper and iron sculptures, painted murals, etc., lingnan architecture "three sculptures, two plastics, one cast and one painting" are used to the fullest, they are from different textures, colors, art forms, highlighting the classical beauty of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, as well as the ancients' pursuit of art, but also reflect the prosperity of the family.
It is precisely because of these rich and colorful artistic characteristics that the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall is known as the museum of Lingnan architecture, and if you have a strong interest in classical architecture, then the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall will definitely be praised.
In addition to various sculptures and gray sculptures, the ancestral hall also displays more than 200,000 exquisite handicrafts, which are also a symbol of people's wisdom and exquisite craftsmanship.
The ancestral hall sits north to south, overlooking from a high altitude, the plane of the main building is square, which is the courtyard structure of "three into three roads, nine halls and two boxes", with a total of 9 halls, 6 courtyards, 10 boxes and horizontal and vertical corridor alleys, of which the hall is lofty, and the courtyard is spacious and elegant.
The entrance fee for the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall is 10 yuan, and it is recommended that when the weather is good, go at 4-5 o'clock, when the light is just right and quieter.