Hubei Ming and Qing Dynasty Ancient Residential Architecture Museum is a characteristic ancient architectural complex full of humanistic atmosphere. It is mainly customized based on the tombs and mansions of Ming Dynasty princes and ancient buildings of the Qing Dynasty. Below is a detailed guide to the Hubei Ming and Qing Dynasty Ancient Residential Architecture Museum.
Historical records show that there were more than 220 princes in the Ming Dynasty, and Hubei was an important place for princes. Zhu Yuanzhang began to enfeoff princes, and Wuchang was the residence of the Prince of Chu. Afterwards, a total of 44 princes were enfeoffed, and the number of princes was second only to Henan.
In recent years, a lot of construction has been carried out, and many tombs of princes have been excavated. The Hubei provincial government plans to build the Ming Dynasty Prince Museum and the Hubei Ming and Qing Dynasty Ancient Residential Architecture Museum on the hillside by Mulan Lake.
Some ancient buildings from the Ming and Qing Dynasties on the ground will be measured, mapped, dismantled, and rebuilt in the museum according to the original design.
Relics excavated from the underground tombs of princes will be displayed in the planned prince’s palace. This is truly a “performance project” that is deeply popular with the people.
At present, the first batch of 13 ancient residences, ancestral halls, guild halls, etc. from Yangxin, Tongshan, Zaoyang, Chongyang, etc. have been presented on the shore of Mulan Lake for tourists to visit for free.
The ancient architecture museum covers a large area. There are both the residences of the half-generation family (descendants of Song Taizu’s collateral line), the Liao’s official hall that produced many talented people, and the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army of the National Revolutionary Army.
Half-generation family
The original site of the half-generation family is located in Baisha Town, Yangxin County, Hubei Province, and it is a Qing Dynasty building. According to the genealogy, the original owner of the house, Zhao Qihui, was a descendant of Emperor Zhao Kuangyin, the second emperor of the Song Dynasty. During the Mongol invasion, some of the royal family moved south through Hubei and stayed to multiply to this day.
A hundred years ago, when Zhao built his house, he sent several craftsmen to collect information from Wuchang and other places and drew a book of drawings. Now only part of the original building group remains. The plaque on the gate of the old house is inscribed with “Half-Generation Family,” which comes from the saying “Governance of the country with half of the Analects.”
Zhao’s old house. The plan is nearly square, with a width of three bays, a skylight in the middle, a symmetrical layout, and interlocking courtyards. From front to back, there is a front hall, side rooms (study), and back hall, and it is a hard-mountain gable structure.
There is a carved and hollowed gate tower in front of the gate hall, and a lattice screen in the gate hall. There are side rooms (studies) on both sides of the courtyard, and the building design is very ingenious.
The ancients said: “No carving is complete, carving is considered noble.” The carving craftsmanship of the old house of the half-generation family is too brilliant, showcasing high historical, artistic, and scientific value.
Bamboo Forest Old Residence
The Bamboo Forest Old Residence (also known as the Ruan Bantuo Old House) is located in Huangshapu Town, Tongshan County, Hubei Province, and is a building from the early Qing Dynasty.
According to the genealogy, Ruan Shizu Ruan Ji was one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove during the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Because he often gathered in the bamboo forest and criticized the times, he was honored as the “Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove.” The descendants of the Ruan family moved from Jiangxi to Tongshan, Hubei during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. To honor their ancestors, they built the Bamboo Forest Hall, hence the name Bamboo Forest Old Residence, which has a history of over three hundred years.
The old residence is divided into four parts: the front hall, the courtyard, the side rooms, and the back hall. The front door has exquisitely carved door lintel stones and threshold stones. The Ming-style space is separated by wood, the back hall has a through-beam frame, and the columns do not reach the ground but stand on the large eaves, which expands the indoor usable area.
Various auspicious creatures and floral patterns are painted on the outer wall. On the left is painted a bat and a “Pine and Crane Everlasting” picture symbolizing longevity and good fortune.
Shu Family Old House
The Shu Family Old House is located in Yangfang Township, Tongshan County, Hubei Province, and is a building from the mid-Qing Dynasty.
The door of the Shu Family Old House is placed diagonally to avoid the mountain peak, facing the mountain depression for smooth air circulation and an open view. Looking out from the room, it is refreshing. The “crooked ways” in traditional Chinese architecture are actually a kind of architectural art technique that uses the natural environment to build houses.
The Shu Family Old House is a two-story brick and wood structure, divided into four parts: the front hall, the skylight, the east and west side rooms, and the back hall. The column grid on both sides is symmetrical, but the wall distribution is asymmetrical. The east and west side rooms are also slightly different, and there are courtyards on both sides of the side rooms. There is a small courtyard in the right-hand space, and the local space is used for the kitchen and servants’ quarters.
Pang Family Old House
The Pang Family Old House is located in Baini Town, Chongyang County, Hubei Province, and is a Qing Dynasty building. The Pang Family Old House is square in plan, built along the central axis of the front hall, courtyard, and hall, with side rooms on both sides, symmetrical left and right, with a complete and rigorous layout. The large stone column bases and square stone columns of the main hall make the building majestic.
The human figures, flowers, birds, and animal wood carvings on the doors and windows around the courtyard are lifelike.
The Pang family genealogy records: In the first year of Longqing in the Ming Dynasty (1567), the Pang family “abandoned their studies to manage the household, inspected the mountains to select a site, and the clan repaired the ancestral hall. Thirteen generations have moved to Chongyang for several hundred years. The Pang family has established a complete set of family rules:
Filial piety, respect for elders, harmony within the clan, ancestor worship, family management, self-cultivation, family rules for women, integrity, moral cultivation, avoidance of evil, prudence in speech, careful action, suppression of anger, prohibition of gambling, and cessation of litigation.
Liao’s Official Hall
Liao’s Official Hall is located in Jintang Town, Chongyang, Hubei Province.
Liao’s Official Hall is the official hall of the Liao family, the Minister of the Household Department of the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing.
Shanxi and Shaanxi Guild Hall
The Shanxi and Shaanxi Guild Hall is located in Luotou Town, Zaoyang City, Hubei Province, and was built in the late Ming Dynasty.
In the early years, the Shanxi and Shaanxi Guild Hall was only a small temple dedicated to Guan Yu.
Because it was located in the center of the ancient post road, Zaoyang, Hubei, was economically prosperous, with merchants from Shaanxi and Shanxi gathering there, with many shops and flourishing business.
During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, in order to seek greater development, merchants from Shaanxi and Shanxi, taking Zaoyang, the hometown of Emperor Liu Xiu of Han Guangwu, as their base, revered Guan Yu, a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty from Shanxi, the Martial Sage and the God of Wealth, and after several years of preparation, they pooled money to build the guild hall. This was for the purpose of gathering for meetings, discussing business, socializing, and making friends while traveling.
The inner and outer walls of the Shanxi and Shaanxi Guild Hall are built of blue bricks, all of which are bare walls.
The two mountain walls on both sides of the central hall are in the shape of a cat’s arched back, with beautiful curves, symbolizing auspiciousness and good fortune.
There are eight auspicious bracket sets on the eaves of the back hall, and there are eaves ends at both ends of the ridgepole. The ridgepole is decorated with beautiful and grand chrysanthemums, while the hanging ridge uses a dragon design, making it grand and imposing.
Photography from a second visit to the Ming and Qing Dynasty Ancient Architecture Museum in June 2016.
Mingqing Garden, the full name of the “Hubei Provincial Ming and Qing Dynasty Ancient Architecture Museum,” is located about 700 to 800 meters away from the Mulan Lake cruise ship dock in Huangpi District, Wuhan, on the shore of Mulan Lake. The exhibition hall covers an area of 8,000 square meters.
Inner square of Mingqing Garden.
The Hubei Provincial Department of Culture drew on the experience of other provinces and the relocation and reconstruction of cultural relics during the resettlement of Three Gorges Project emigrants, and relocated to Mingqing Garden a concentration of ancient residential architectural relics and their components that were scattered among the people in Hubei Province, possessing significant historical, scientific, and artistic value, and lacking protection due to environmental damage in their surroundings.
The blueprint plan of Mingqing Garden integrates the art of viewing ancient houses, the landscape of the garden, and the practice of traditional skills, forming a tourist area that combines heritage protection and leisure experiences, relying on the protection of Hubei’s Ming and Qing Dynasty residential heritage and characterized by the inheritance of Hubei customs.
Mingqing Garden has relocated and rebuilt more than 10 ancient buildings, including the homes of famous people, wealthy merchants’ mansions, ordinary people’s residences, ancestral halls, and guild halls, and it is open to visitors for free.
Mingqing Garden and Mulan Lake are separated by a wooden fence. Along the fence is a row of willows swaying in the breeze. On the opposite side is the iconic building on the shore of Mulan Lake, the “Sister Red Towers,” reflected in the mirror-like lake water, shimmering with colorful lights amidst the gentle ripples.
Interior of the Lu Family Old Residence. The original site of the Lu Family Old Residence was located at No. 17, Zheng Street, Chenjiaxiang, Wuchang District, and was a famous bamboo and wood distribution center and commercial dock in Wuhan during the late Qing Dynasty.
Interior of the Lu Family Old Residence. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, bamboo and wood merchants built houses and residences on the bank of the Bai Shazhou River in Wuchang, forming a large-scale group of ancient buildings, which was once very prosperous.
Ruan Heping Old House. The original site is located in Huangshapu Town, Tongshan County, and is a building from the mid-Qing Dynasty.
Interior of the Ruan Heping Old Residence. Covering an area of 275 square meters, it is a two-story structure, consisting of a front hall, courtyard, side rooms, and back hall.
Ancient architecture route signs in Mingqing Garden.
Ruan Shibao Old House.
The stilt houses of western Hubei, built in 2015, were built by 18 Tujia craftsmen from Enshi Prefecture, led by a master craftsman, in strict accordance with Tujia architectural customs, and were completed and opened to visitors in 2016.
Liao’s Official Hall and Western Hubei Stilt Houses.
Liao’s Official Hall.
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