General situation of Fuqing ancestral hall

It is generally believed that Fuqing ancestral temple flourished in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Especially in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, ancestral temples, large and small, spread all over urban and rural areas with magnificent architecture and exquisite craftsmanship. Most of them integrate architecture, sculpture, painting, calligraphy and literature, with profound historical accumulation and long-standing traditional customs, which have been valued by Fuqing people for thousands of years. It can be said that Fuqing ancestral temple is the most prominent part of Fuqing's extensive and profound Han folk culture, and its strong vitality is enduring. We can find that Fuqing ancestral hall generally adopts axisymmetric layout. Most courtyards have three entrances, and occasionally there are single seats, two entrances, four entrances or five entrances. Lu Ban Jing in the Ming Dynasty recorded that every temple was built, including the front three doors (mountain gates), the back east-west corridor, two major places, and then the Ming building, the tea pavilion, the pavilion and the back bedroom. Therefore, Fuqing ancestral hall is generally composed of gate, instrument gate, corridor, Ming building, enjoyment hall and sleeping hall. Some ancestral halls have courtyards and gardens behind them, and many ancestral halls also have stages. Xiangtang is the main hall of the ancestral hall, also known as the sacrificial hall, and it is the place where sacrificial ceremonies or clan deliberations are held, so it has the largest space and the most exquisite materials. The bedroom is a place where ancestral shrines or commemorative items are placed, and there are shrines in it. These characteristics show that Fuqing ancestral hall has been strengthened as a public building.

Fuqing ancestral temple has the characteristics of wide distribution, large scale, traditional architectural form and rich historical and cultural connotation. Because ancestral halls (mainly ancestral halls) are sacred places for ancestor worship, they are often the most magnificent architectural groups in urban and rural areas. The ancestral temples that can be seen everywhere in Fuqing are not only magnificent, but also infused with the essence of local traditional culture, forming a unique cultural landscape that integrates the earth with ancient pagodas, ancient bridges and ancient temples.