Brief introduction to the scenic spots of Zhai ancestral hall:
Zhai's ancestral hall is located in the northeast of Taohuatan, the first ancestral hall in China. It was built in the Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty, facing south, with five towers and three entrances. It is built in imitation of the royal ancestral temple, with a large scale and a construction area of about 3,524 square meters (including the wing, with a total construction area of 6,700 square meters). There are stone pillars, drum-hugging stones and stone lions in front of the temple, and there are vestibules, patios, pleasure halls and sleeping buildings in the temple. The foundation is paved with granite, and the building is made of precious wood such as ginkgo, mahogany and barrel wood. Upper and lower wood and stone structure, beautifully carved. There are plaques 108 given by emperors, generals and local officials in the ancestral hall, and there are more than 10 rooms around the ancestral hall for deliberation and custody. There is a horizontal plaque of "Famous Families in the South of the Yangtze River" at the gate, and a wooden plaque with the words "Zhongxiao Hall" on a red background is hung in the hall. During the Chinese New Year, a banquet of 108 can be arranged in the temple fair, which is very impressive.
Legend has it that 1607, Zhai Guoru, the champion of civil and military arts, walked out of Zhai's house and was made a general by Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty. General Zhai was ordered to put down the rebellion in Yunnan, and when he returned home in triumph, he was killed by traitors. In recognition of his loyalty and contribution to the country, Emperor Wanli specially gave a plaque "Xiao Zhongtang", which caused a sensation in Jiangnan. After that, many places have imitated Zhai's ancestral hall, but no ancestral hall can compare with Zhai's ancestral hall in scale.
There are many touching stories during the construction of Zhai's ancestral hall. Legend has it that the beams of the ancestral temple could not be erected somehow during the construction process. At this time, an old beggar came and begged from the craftsmen. If he didn't give it, everyone drove him away. A small craftsman looked at the old man's pity and secretly gave him something to eat.
The old man saw that the young craftsman was kind-hearted and would make great achievements in the future, so he gave him an axe and told the young craftsman that if he encountered difficulties in the future, he would definitely solve them. The girder couldn't be erected, so the young craftsman was anxious and wanted to try, but his master said, "Are you ok if I can't erect it?" The little craftsman insisted on trying, so the master had to let him.
The little craftsman aimed the tenon at one end and knocked three times in the east according to the beggar's old man's words This side is right, then he aimed the tenon at the other side and knocked three times in the west. The other side was also right, so the girder was finally put on the frame. Who do you think that beggar old man is? It turned out to be Lu Ban's reappearance.
During the period of 1997, when Deputy Director National Cultural Heritage Administration Luo visited Jingxian County, he praised Zhai's ancestral hall as "the first ancestral hall in China" and happily wrote a plaque. Zhai's Ancestral Hall has been broadcasted by central and provincial TV stations for many times, and was announced as a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit by Anhui Provincial People's Government on May 1998.