Attraction features of Xinye Ancient Village
According to research, Xinye Village is also the largest village inhabited by the Ye family in China. Over the past hundreds of years, the Yuhua Ye family has built large residences here. Xinye Village still retains 16 ancient ancestral halls, ancient halls, ancient pagodas, ancient temples and more than 200 ancient residential buildings. Due to its long history and rich architectural types, it is praised by ancient architecture experts at home and abroad as the "Open-air Museum of Chinese Ming and Qing Architecture".
The entire community of buildings in Xinye Village is laid out in the form of five elements and nine palaces, embodying our country’s traditional philosophy of the unity of nature and man. Walking into Xinye Village is like walking into a maze. There are hundreds of streets and alleys in the village. These densely packed streets are nearly 3 meters wide and only 80 centimeters narrow. The houses on both sides are tall and closed, and the alley is narrow and deep. Tall, closed whitewashed walls surround each household in a narrow courtyard. The criss-crossing streets and alleys connect households, houses and houses into an organic and orderly whole, forming a picture that embodies the mystery of the East. A three-dimensional image of culture. The development of ancestral halls in Xinye Village is also very typical. It has a large number of ancestral halls with distinct hierarchies and complete specifications, thus recording a large amount of historical folk information. Youxu Hall is the main ancestral hall of the Yuhua Ye family, located at the north end of the village. It is also the structural center of Xinye Village. The earliest residences in Xinye Village were built on both sides of it. By the eighth generation of the Ye family in Yuhua, the Fenfang sect began to build branch temples. These ancestral halls are located on the left, right and rear of Youxu Hall. Xishan Ancestral Hall is the earliest ancestral hall in Xinye Village and the rented temple of the Yuhua Ye family. It was built in the Yuan Dynasty and has now become part of Xinye Primary School.
Chongrentang is the tallest, most spacious and most gorgeous ancestral hall in Xinye Village. Its scale not only exceeds the ancestral temple, but also exceeds the main ancestral hall. The general ancestral hall has only two or three entrances, while Chongrentang has four entrances, with a total depth of 26 meters. The mystery of the deep space is very strong, which is rare in Chinese architecture, which fully shows that Chongrentang has a great influence on Yuhua Ye's family. status and importance in the family.
In addition to worshiping ancestors, the ancestral hall in Xinye also has many functions. Its meeting hall is the place where the clan enforces its private rights and is the place where important ceremonial activities are held. Therefore, in order to show the wealth of the family, they do not hesitate to carve out beautiful decorations. In Xinye Village, there is a group of buildings that are particularly eye-catching, namely the Tuanyun Tower, Wenchang Pavilion and Tutu Temple standing at the entrance of the village. The Tuanyun Tower built in the Ming Dynasty has no carvings on the top and bottom of the tower and is beautiful and dignified in shape. This is a Feng Shui tower. More importantly, the people of Xinye Village also call it the Wen Feng Tower to pray for literary luck. More than 300 years after the Wenfeng Tower was built, a Wenchang Pavilion was built at its feet during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty. Wenchang Pavilion is a supporting building of Wenfeng Tower, also for praying for literary luck. Later, a land temple was built on the north side, close to Wenchang Pavilion. The Land Temple prays for a good harvest, the Wenfeng Pagoda and the Wenchang Pavilion pray for literary fortune. Together, the three completely reflect the Ye family's ideals and pursuits of farming, reading and passing down the family in the agricultural era.
Walking into Xinye Village is like entering a time tunnel. Time has gone back hundreds of years, and we have returned to the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty. The ancient residential buildings in Xinye Village, from the smooth and simple Ming Dynasty to the rich and beautiful algae in the Qing Dynasty, to the return to simplicity in modern times, have drawn a complete trajectory for us in the history of thought, aesthetics and society. Xinye Village began to decline from the end of the Yuan Dynasty to the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. The entire historical process is clearly reflected in the houses built in different periods and the planning of the settlement. The architectural styles and carving patterns of different periods are all deeply imprinted with the times. In the secluded alleys and first-grade bluestone slabs, we read about the changes and sighs of the years, but we also understand the pursuit and happiness of New Leaf people. Not only are there ancient buildings full of history and vicissitudes of life, but it is also a pure land where people can linger.