Extension Project of Ancient Villages in South Anhui Province: Tangyue, Likeng and Wangkou village

Tangyue Village, Shexian County, Anhui Province N 29 30 29-30 9 10, E 118 4 40-118 53 50

Likeng Village, Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province N 29 31 39, E 117 49 26

Wangkou Village, Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province N 29 21 33, E 117 59 13.

1.  Tangyue Village

Tangyue Village is located in Zhengcun Village, Shexian County, 7.5 km north of the county town. The village goes from east to west, and the central part of it covers about 13 hectares. In recent years, its population has reached 900. The village sits against Longshan Mountain, a branch of Lingjinshan, part of the Huangshan Mountains in the north while Futing Mountain is located in the south of it. The Damujie River flows from Lingjin Mountain into the village, improving the water supply condition. By the river in the east of the village are seven tall stone archways bearing the characters of "loyalty, filial piety, fidelity and righteousness", which were erected in Ming and Qing dynasties. This ancient village has been well-known for these archways.

As early as in Southern Song Dynasty, villagers lived in Tangyue. During the years of Jianyan (1127-1130), Bao Rong, an official in charge of the education of "Five Classics", built the "Reading Garden" in the village. His great grandchildren later settled here after returning from the United States. The Bao family has been living here since the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Villagers have always been valuing filial piety. Besides the two family halls for men and women ancestors, there is a hall of filial piety called Shixiaoci. Of the seven archways are three Jingxiaofang archways and two Jiexiaofang archways. In late Song Dynasty, Bao Zongyan was caught by the burglars. His son Bao Shousun offered to die for his father. This story was recorded in the "Filial Piety Stories - History of Song Dynasty", and an archway Cixiaolifang was built at the entrance of the village. Emperor Yongle of Ming Dynasty wrote poems on the archway. In Ming Dynasty, Bao Xiangxian served as a senior official of the Defense Minister and minister of works before he died. Bao was recorded in the "History of Ming Dynasty". His grandfather Bao Can had an archway built for his good deeds in filial piety. In Qing Dynasty, Bao Zhidao, a chief salt business leader was righteous and generous. His son Bao Shufang and grandson Bao Jun had an archway built under the title of "righteousness". Bao Zhidao's brother Bao Qiyun built a hall for the women (Qingyi Tang) where the altars of women ancestors were worshipped.

The front and rear streets run through the village from east to west while several lanes go from south to north. The two streets meet at the east end of the village to form a square, where family halls, archways and seven-star piers Qixingdun Fengshui forest create a grand riverside landscape. The village has a complete water system. Under the front street is a ditch and on the rear street is an open ditch. Quite a few wells and ponds were dug to ensure the water supply. The village has a large number of ancient buildings under state and provincial-level protection, such as stone archways, ancient residential buildings, including house of Bi Dexiu, House of He Zhenbao, House of Cheng Linsui and Bi Shunsheng in Ming Dynasty and Baoai Hall, Hall of Five Generations Under One Roof, Cunyang House and Xinsuoyu Studio, Congxin Hall, Jinxiu Hall, Big House and Shende Hall in Qing Dynasty, academy, studio and village hall. One can also find the tomb of the ancestor of Bao family in Song Dynasty, ancient water conservancy facility and transport facility. Many steles, couplets and inscribed tablets can also be seen in the halls and residential buildings. Among them, the Stele of Rules of Two Families, Stele of Filial Piety Deeds and Three Decrees of Emperor Jiaqing are very valuable. Tangyue Village presents the three kinds of precious buildings of Huizhou-style architecture of China - archways, ancestral halls and residential buildings.

2.  Likeng Village

Likeng village was founded in 1150 with a history of 850 years and a population of more than 1130 surnamed Yu. The declared area of world cultural historical heritage is 28.5 hectares, with a extended area of 187 hectares. The village is situated adjacent to a mountain and facing a river, the residences are characterized as Hui type beside streets along a river with white colored walls and black tiles and flying brims and outstanding ridges, forming a beautiful view of the river and streets at the river bay. There exists 130 ancient buildings mainly of mansions and commercial houses with a total construction area of 68 km², among which 24 buildings were constructed in Ming Dynasty, and 106 constructed in Qing Dynasty. The roads in Likeng extend in all directions with more than 40 streets and alleys constructed with flagstones, 9 bridges constructed with stone arcades and flagstones. There exists above ground channels, underdrains, ponds and other drainages and fire fighting facilities with 2 sets of ancient fire-fighting Shuirong well-kept in 2 temples. Jingjia well, with a history of more than 800 years, still supplies clean and sanitary, potable water for all the village. The folk-custom activities of dragon lantern dancing, wedding ceremonies, and so on are still popular nowadays. In history, there were 16 people who were successful candidates in the highest imperial examination, 36 people who were officials above seventh level and 333 pieces of books authored by some of the villagers. So the village was praised as "Famous Scholars Village". In 2005, it was named as one of the Chinese Historical and Cultural Renowned Villages. In 2006, it was proclaimed by the State Council as one of the important national historical sites to be given special protection.

3.  Wangkou Village

Wangkou village was founded in 1110, more than 890 years ago. The declared area of world cultural historical heritage is 37.5 hectares, with an extended area of 137.3 hectares. The village leans against Hourong mountain on the north face, with two rivers flowing together and circling through the village, and Xiang mountain on the opposite side of the rivers, covered by old and green forests. The ancient Wangkou village, as the imperative land conjunction between Hui prefecture and Rao prefecture as well as the end port for the water road from Wuyuan to Poyang lake, with 18 river ports and 18 streets and alleys made with flagstones joined together, forming the whole village shape of "mountain- water- town- residence". Wangkou village, with a population of 1655 surnamed Yu, 70% of them engaged in commerce and trade, was worthy of the name "Renowned Business Town". Under the influence of Hui businessmen's custom "Being Scholar and Businessman", Wangkou village boasted 14 persons who were the successful candidates in the highest imperial examination, 74 persons who were officials above seventh level, and 27 pieces of books authored by some of the villagers. The folk-custom activities of the Fragrant Lantern dance had been popular untill now. Wangkou village has preserved more than 200 ancient buildings of ancestral halls, academies, residences, stone weirs, stone bridges, shops and so on. Among them, there are 11 constructed in Ming Dynasty, and 180 in Qing Dynasty with a total construction area of 86.5 km². The Yu's ancestral hall in the village is praised by architecture experts as a "Woodcarving Art Treasury", and is one of the important national historical sites to be given special protection. Wangkou village was apprised as one of the renowned historical and cultural villages in Jiangxi Province, and was declared a Chinese historical and cultural renowned village.

Justification of Outstanding Universal Value

As for the criterion (ii):

 The building of Tangyue Village had been deeply influenced by Confucianism, and each large building was constructed under the guideline of filial piety. In this period, the Huizhou merchants provided strong economic support to the village planning, landscape design and architectural techniques. There were professional designers in the ancient Tangyue Village specialized in the building of the Bao Family Ancestral Hall, archways and public facilities of the village. Thus the current layout of Tangyue Village has been formed.Likeng village and Wangkou village are the typical samples for getting to know and study the development and transformation of the clan systems, the history of Hui businessmen, idealist philosophy, and the science notions of layout of villages, architecture, sight designing, and environmental protection.

As for the criterion (iii):

Huizhou culture is one of the four regional cultures in China. The ancient Huizhou-style architectures, an important part of Huizhou culture, have become an indispensable part of the Chinese architectural history. The ancient architectures in Tangyue, either the clusters or single buildings, perfectly represent the essence of Huizhou-style architectures and provide unique evidence.Some traditional Chinese cultures such as Zhu Xi's idealist philosophy, ancient clan autonomous systems, the history and culture of Hui businessmen, the theory and practice of geomantic omen die out gradually. Likeng village and Wangkou village are the living fossil for these Chinese traditional cultures.

As for the criterion (iv):

There are numerous Huizhou-style architectures preserved in Tangyue Village, among which the archway, the ancestral hall and the residential building are called "Three Unique Architectures". In particular, the stone archways demonstrate the evolution of architectural style from the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. The Tangyue stone archway cluster, constituted by seven stone archways, is an outstanding example among the riverside landscapes at the entrance to the village in Huizhou.The residences of Likeng village and Wangkou village are characterized as Hui type with flying brims, outstanding ridges, horsehead walls, thick girders, thin pillars and a courtyard inside the house. They are typical examples of the style, the technique, the living conditions and sight designing of Hui School Architecture.

As for the criterion (v):

Tangyue Village is at the foot of the mountain surrounded by flat and fertile fields. According to the plan, water will be diverted into the village to change the disadvantageous natural conditions. Other construction activities have been affected by diversified cultures such as Confucianism. The development of Tangyue Village was almost synchronous with the emergence and evolution of the Huizhou culture. Tangyue Village is an epitome of the ancient society in Huizhou, and is an outstanding example of the traditional residence and land usage mode of the mankind.

Besides the high level civilian residences, Likang village and Wangkou village are in possession of some sacrificial and cultural buildings and perfect living & producing facilities, which are typical examples of human traditional residences and the mode of land utilization.

Satements of authenticity and/or integrity

1.  Tangyue Village

As early as four to five thousand years ago, human beings started to live in the area of Huizhou. In Xinzhou, Neolithic sites were found 6 km to the east of Tangyue and nearby Fengtang and Taizishan. In the period of early Qin, a group of people called Shanyue lived here. Qing Dynasty emperor set up the counties of Yi and She around 216 BC. The first administrative organ had been set up since then. During the Three Kingdoms period, Sun Quan of the Kingdom of Wu conquered Shanyue and sped up the process of unification. Due to its relatively reclusive condition and nice natural environment, Huizhou became a place for noble families in Central Plains to escape wars and enjoy mountains and rivers. Three major waves of migrations occurred to the place. The first one happened during the Eastern and Western Jin, nine clans migrated to Huizhou, and Bao family was one of them. Bao Hong, governor of Xin'an settled here because of the beautiful sceneries. He was the ancestor of Bao family in Xin'an. In the late Sui Dynasty, Qianzhou was governed by She. Later, Shexian County had been the site of the government of prefecture, county and township, becoming the regional political, economic and cultural center. In the late Northern Song Dynasty, Shezhou was changed to Huizhou. In early Southern Song Dynasty, the descendant of Bao Hong migrated to Tangyue, becoming the ancestor of the Bao family there.

Before the Bao family moved into the village, people had lived in the village, but it could not be confirmed by the remains. The buildings of Song Dynasty, the tomb of the Bao family's ancestor (Ruren Tomb), still exists. The Hall of Cixiao in the Longshan Hill built in the Yuan Dynasty is the oldest ritual building in the village. The Zhuangyuan Archway with Mongolian Inscription of Bao Tongren and Xichou Academy of Classical Learning were also built at that time. The village's water supply system was constructed, too. In the Ming Dynasty, The Neo-Confucius Thought was developed into its booming period as the patriarch system were turning complete and the businessmen of Anhui became the strongest commercial forces. Bao Xiangxian, Minister of Works in the Ming Dynasty did a great job in pushing for the village construction. He built Xuangzhong Hall and Wansigongzhi Hall. At that time, there had already been three archways in the front of the village. In the Qing Dynasty, Bao Zhidao and his son and grandson were also rich salt businessmen, who also worshipped Confucianism and valued filial piety. They were also willing to contribute to public welfare and spent a lot of money in the home village building. In light of the idea of "three halls of great man", Bao rebuilt three halls and four new stone archways under the name of "loyalty, filial piety, integrity and righteousness". After then, a unique group stone archway complex appeared.

The layout of the village is very clear. Two parallel main ways go along and form a riverside square. The water network surrounding the village defines the area of the community. Quite a few ancient halls and residential buildings join to preserve the historical look of the Ming and Qing dynasties. This is one of the most typical samples of such kind of villages in Huizhou.

2.  Likeng and Wangkou Villages

Statements of authenticity:

The cultural value characteristics of the legacy in Likeng and Wangkou match with the architecture craftworks and technics of Hui prefecture in Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). The ancient villages maintained well the original and authentic style and features of Ming and Qing dynasties in the fields of whole layout, environment, architecture style, building materials, decorative craftworks, construction techniques and so on.There are physical materials and written literatures for the authenticity of the legacy. Likeng and Wangkou kept well many inscription monuments of Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). "Song History", "Ming History", "Manuscript of Qing History", "County Annals of Wuyuan", "Clan Chart" and "Native Architectures of Wuyuan" compiled by Professor Chen Zhihua with Tsinhua University.

Statements of integrity:

Likeng and Wangkou (during the long history with no big natural disasters happening) kept well the natural environment: the whole layout of ancient buildings, streets and alleys, bridges, weirs and dams, wells, drainage systems, and fire-fighting facilities, with more than 95% of the whole buildings preserved. The integrity of the scenery of Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911), still exists today.

Comparison with other similar properties

1.  Tangyue Village

Tangyue Village follows a strict plan, into which Bao Zhidao, who was in charge of salt transport north and south of the Huaihe River in the reigns of Jiaqing and Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty, invested a tremendous amount of money and efforts. A man who believed in Confucianism, he made friends with many men of letters and scholars, who composed all the couplets and all the inscriptions on the plaques and steles in the ancestral halls, and who often gave advice on construction in the village. Bao Zhidao's cousin Bao Cong and his junior Bao Wenbin, both being talented designers, were tasked with the construction of the Baos' ancestral halls, archways and public facilities, which constitute the village's extant scheme.

The construction of the village was deeply influenced by Confucianism. The establishment and layout of various types of structures embody principles on loyalty and filial piety, and there remain many that are related to filial piety. Since Confucianism rejected the fengshui theory popular in construction, few devices to improve fengshui that are common in other villages in Huizhou, such as the ‘diagonal door', the screen wall for warding off evil spirits, and the Taishan rock in the middle of the road, are visible in Tangyue, where various types of houses are arranged in a strictly hierarchical order. This is a major difference between Tangyue and other Huizhou villages due to ideological influence.

Tangyue differs from Hongcun and Xidi in Yi County, which are also in the region of Huizhou, in the following aspects:

1) Built in a relatively flat area on the edge of the Huizhou Basin, Tangyue has a spacious layout of streets that form perpendicular crossings, whereas the mountain villages of Xidi and Hongcun have winding and rolling streets and alleys.

2) Tangyue has a visually impressive riverside landscape that consists of a number of archways and ancestral halls in a distinctive style standing on an open field.

3) Tangyue has a rich variety of ancient structures. There is the tomb of the first ancestor built in the Song Dynasty, when the village was formed by devoted descendants living nearby their parents' tombs. In the west of the village is a dam across a river built in the Yuan Dynasty, which diverts water into the village's water supply system. There are seven Ming and Qing stone archways, four Ming buildings, and more Qing buildings; there is a variety of large ancestral halls.

2. Likeng and Wangkou Villages

1) Comparison with Lijiang and ancient Pingyao town

Lijiang, adopted into World Cultural Legacy, is a town which was made from Dongba culture of Naxi minority; Pingyao is a special town developed from Shanxi Jing Businessmen. Likeng and Wangkou in Wuyuan are ancient villages gestated from Hui culture centering on a clan system, idealistic philosophy and a Hui developped economy. The common point is that all of them stemmed from obviously local cultures. The difference is that Likeng and Wangkou are countrysides and villages while Lijiang and Pingyao are more civilized towns. Different geographical environments, natural conditions, economy, population, culture and history made Likang and Wangkou with its own particular traits:

A. Families with the same surname or of the same clan assembled together connected by kin relationship, forming a community of consanguinity, zone community and social folk-customs of particular clans.

B. Regulated the mentality, behaviour, and morality of villagers with Chengzhu's idealism, nurtured batches of government officials, literators and scholars, set up lots of cultural and educational facilities.

C. "Hui trading" economy, was the most direct and important factor of the prosperity and development of south Wuan and Wuyuan ancient villages, and the substance prerequisite of construction and development of Likeng and Wangkou villages.

D. Under the guidance of the theory of geomantic omen, the village's layout integrated homesteads with the surrounding mountains and rivers, constructing an excellent resident environment of "integrity of human and nature" in the ancient villages.

E. Under the management of clans, the uniform development layout of the villages had been implemented effectively, providing all kinds of facilities for production, living and functional buildings.

F. Ancient buildings were excellent, integrated into south China's geographical and climatic conditions, forming unique "Hui School Architecture".

2) Comparison with Xidi and Hongcun

Likeng and Wangkou grew under the background of Hui culture, possessing lots of common points with Xidi and Hongcun; however, showing their own special features due to the influence of geographical environment, cultural elements, and economical factors.

Wuyuan county, as the native place of Zhuzi, was obviously outstanding in emphasizing cultural education and official career and imperial examinations in the "one prefecture and six counties" of the ancient Hui state. The obvious features of emphasizing education, officials coming forth in great number, and batches of mansions in Likang were quite different from Xidi and Hongcun.

Wangkou was a "renowned trade village" because of convenient traffic of water and land, which was quite different from Xidi and Hongcun.