The Chen Family Shrine in Wenjiang(western outskirt of Chengdu city) was first built during the Qianlong emperor period of the Qing Dynasty and enlarged it in the third year of the Tongzhi emperor period. It is a residence, ancestral shrine, as well as a beautiful traditional garden, with brick carvings, stone sculptures, calligraphy arts, wooden crafts, pavilions, water pavilions, artificial mountains and fish ponds. It is a culmination of traditional residential and ancestral memorial architecture, and is known as the “No.1 Ancestral shrine in Western Sichuan”.
It is also commonly known as the “Chen Family Mast”(Chenjiaweigan) due to the two towering double bucket masts on both sides of the gate. Which is also full of stories.
The entire Chen family Shrine , including masts, cypress studying room, loyalty & filial piety shrine, imperial stele, atrium, bedrooms, sacrificial alter, screen wall, front hall and back hall, showcases the clan culture of the Ming and Qing dynasties in western Sichuan. Especially the 81 mysterious text symbols on the eaves of the back hall have yet to be deciphered by anyone.
There are various of tales about Chen family shrine.
The first one, it is said to have been built by descendants of Wu Sangui and Chen Yuanyuan (a legendary general and his beloved concubine in the late Ming Dynasty and beginning of Qing Dynasty), but they changed their surname to Chen because they dared not take the Wu surname;
The second one, when Chen Zongdian and his son Chen Dengjun, the first owner of the residence returned this place from Beijing, where both of them had high position in the imperial court, they dug out a big box of silver coins with use instructions: Only for construction. So the Chen family use the silvers to build this residence with shrine.
There is also a saying that at that time, a Taoist visited the Chen family for begging alms, the owner Chen Zongdian had a great talk with the Taoist, 3 days later before the Taoist was leaving, Chen Zongdian gave him some silver coins as gift, and the Taoist gave Chen Zongdian his bowl as gift too. Later, a servant used the bowl to hold food and fed the dog, and found the bowl was always full. So, Chen Zongdian put the bowl in his cabinet with a silver coin inside, the next day, he found a cabinet of silver coins, and the Chen family used this treasure to build the residence.
The last half century, as other culture relics in China, the Chen Family shrine experienced a tortuous period.
After 1949, it was confiscated as public property. In 1950, it was used as a nursing home for elders without families, later as a public canteen, and later as a warehouse. In 1975, it was used as a temporary residence for workers constructing Yangliu River. Later, it was changed to be Heping(means peace) Elementary School and ceased operation in 1991. After 1991, the large courtyard was used as a living place for poor villagers. In 1998, the government built new houses for those villagers, so they can moved out. In 1999, 2001, 2008, and 2014, the government organized four times of repairs to restore its appearance.
In this residence, once happened a romantic love story.
Just before the liberation of communist party, the then owner of this residence was named Chen Guzheng. His daughter was 12, age to live separately in a special space named lady’s attic (at that time, it was customary for daughters to go to live in the lady’s attic when they reached the age of 12, and only after getting married did they get down, normally the space they lived was above second floor). A chef cooked to her taste very much, and the lady asked a maid to identify who cooked for her. From then she observed the chef from a distance upstairs. As time went by, the two of them fell in love. Due to the very different position backgrounds, there’s no chance that her father Chen Guzheng would agree to their marriage. Miss Chen later took advantage of the darkness in the evenning from upstairs, tied rope and climbed down to elope with the bold chef.
The two of them fled, causing chaos in the Chen family. Chen Guzheng urgently sent his servants to chase after them, all the way to Jiang’an River. Seeing that the two had already swam to the opposite side, ran away wildly wet, the father had no choice but to let go. The couple rushed all the way to Xi’an and settled down. The legend lady passed away in 2000.
The Chen family Shrine is adorned with Taoism.
For example, Huang Yunhu, a descendant of the famous Literary and Calligrapher of Song Dynasty Huang Tingjian and also a famous honest and righteous official in the Qing Dynasty, wrote a poem on a wall: “Do not say oldness, the universe is boundless, turn back early and don’t forget, the old way is as far as to heaven, and return to the beginning with your joy.
The owner , pseudonym as Hermit For One, also wrote a poem:
Spring flowers bloom early, summer cicadas make great noise on their branches.
Yellow leaves fluttering autumn has arrived, and soon white snowflakes fall with winter.
Sighing that life is easy to grow old, it’s better to be free early, enjoy idleness
Although cannot become an immortal, my life would not be as vulgar as mud and water.
Only 40 munites drive from Chengdu downtown, for more information and service, please contact us pandawego@foxmail.com
In our one day outskirt of Chengdu package , only need 1200RMB or 166$/group, at most 4 persons, you can enjoy a more deep touch of this legendary Chen Family Shrine with Sissi, as well as poetic landscape with endless gardens and bonsais and plant sculptures. We’d like to introduce you about local plants by the way too.
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