A Visit to the Qionglin Ancestral Halls in Kinmen

April 2, 2011 — Visiting the Qionglin Ancestral Halls in Kinmen

Qionglin produced a remarkable number of talented people during the Ming and Qing dynasties. From this single village came six jinshi degree holders, seven juren, fifteen tribute scholars, and six military officers. Its civil officials and military commanders were also remembered for their loyalty, filial devotion, integrity, and moral character. Cai Tinglan, Penghu’s first jinshi, traced his ancestry to Qionglin as well.

Qionglin has several ancestral halls, but the Tenth-Generation Ancestral Hall preserves the richest collection of honorary plaques. The moment we stepped inside, the plaques suspended among the beams drew our eyes upward.

Historic plaques hanging inside Qionglin’s Tenth-Generation Ancestral Hall — Plaques in the Tenth-Generation Ancestral Hall preserve the achievements of Qionglin’s ancestors.

Plaques suspended above the beams and pillars of the ancestral hall — The plaques among the hall’s beams reflect Qionglin’s long tradition of scholarship and public service.

Wooden plaque inside the ancestral hall commemorating Qionglin’s bestowed name — A wooden plaque commemorates the imperial bestowal of the village name “Qionglin.”

Qionglin was originally called Pinglin. In 1625, the fifth year of the Tianqi Emperor’s reign, Fujian governor Zou Weilian regarded local scholar Cai Xianchen as a man of exemplary learning and petitioned the imperial court to grant the village a new name. The emperor bestowed the name “Qionglin,” and the wooden plaque commemorating that history still hangs inside the ancestral hall.

An individual historic honorary plaque inside the Qionglin ancestral hall — Each honorary plaque carries a story from the clan’s past.

Every plaque has a glorious story behind it. Looking up inside the hall was almost dizzying—there was so much to take in, and it was genuinely breathtaking!!

Interior of the Qionglin ancestral hall with rows of hanging plaques — Looking up, the hall’s dense display of plaques is almost overwhelming.

Cai Xianchen earned the juren degree in 1588, during the reign of the Wanli Emperor, and passed the jinshi examination the following year. He later served as Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Huguang and as an education commissioner in Zhejiang. After his death, he was posthumously appointed Right Vice Minister of Justice and was remembered as an upright and principled official.

An inscribed plaque associated with the achievements of Qionglin’s Cai clan — The inscribed plaques preserve memories of the Cai clan’s generations in public office.

Historic plaques and timber structure inside the Qionglin ancestral hall — Old plaques and timberwork preserve Qionglin’s scholarly heritage together.

Ancestral-hall plaque recording the Cai clan’s scholarly and official tradition — The success of the “Three Cais of Qionglin” helped earn the village its distinguished reputation.

Qionglin also became known as a village of “Distinguished Officials and Worthy Scholars.” From the Longqing era through the twentieth year of the Wanli era, the “Three Cais of Qionglin”—Cai Guiyi, Cai Shouyu, and Cai Xianchen—each attained the jinshi degree. Cai Guiyi served in educational posts in Zhejiang and Guizhou, while Cai Shouyu rose to become Provincial Administration Commissioner of Yunnan. Cai Guiyi and his son Cai Xianchen were further celebrated as “Father and Son Masters of Letters.” During the Qianlong era of the Qing dynasty, the prefect of Quanzhou inscribed the plaque “Distinguished Officials and Worthy Scholars.” (Source: Ancestral Hall Culture: A Distinctive Feature of Kinmen)