The Story of Chen Clan Academy
Chen Clan Academy appears small next to its high-rise apartment building neighbors on either side of it in this busy part of Liede district, one of the older sections of Guangzhou. The nearby bus stop and road are filled with modern day traffic flashing past its quiet gray brick 1800's facade. The art begins with the exterior walls covered in the brick carving techniques popular in Southern China during the Qing period. The roof is topped with a myriad of decorations and two large red lanterns that invite you and others to step away from the bustle of the modern city of Guangzhou and take a moment to appreciate art of the past and present. In 1959, the Guangdong Folk Arts museum was established to encourage study, practice, and the displaying of local art traditions throughout the country, but especially from within the region. Many of the pieces are offered for sale to encourage local artists to continue the traditional practices. Some of these artists are inside, waiting to sell you some of their work or make you a custom piece. Chen Clan features a number of tiny shops each with a slightly different focus and siren song for your eyes and wallet. After buying a ticket, enter as the members of the Chen family used to do, before they presented this house to the Guangdong government for use as a museum. The front door is between two Foo lion statues that protect the house and stone arches which announce the entrance to a house of style. The arches are carved with depictions of people talking and studying, here learning rules. The roof decorations smile down from their perches above and encourage all the generations to study hard. A heavy-set Chinese woman in a t-shirt and jeans urges an older couple to get closer to the Foo dogs so she can take their picture before they enter the hall. She is not the only person in the area with her camera out, everyone seems to have one in their hands ready to snap at the next interesting thing they see. There two smaller side doors which aren't as grand as the front entrance yet even they get decoration. One serves as the handicapped ramp entrance to the house. The two great wooden doors of the main entrance stand two and a half meters tall with lion head knockers too tall and heavy to be of any value but as decoration. Don't worry about your safety, the two bodhisattva war guardians you pass will protect you. Each of the gods has been painted onto each of the two door panels in brilliant pinks and greens and brandishes a fierce weapon to scare away evil. A series of arms raise mobile phone cameras to capture their faces. They are a prime example of the artistry to be found throughout the building. These two figures were traditional for wealthy families and the doors themselves are solid wood pieces hand carved. |
Time needed : 1 - 2 hours
Ticket price : 10RMB (free one day each month) Opening times : 8:30AM - 5:30PM (tickets are not sold after 5PM) Everyday. How to get there : Take Metro line 1 and stop at Chen Clan Academy Station. Exit D. Turn right. |
Chen Clan Academy originally called the Chen Family Calligraphy School, was built betwen1888-1893 during the Guangxu Reign of the Qing Dynasty. The Second Opium war had been over since 1860 and Guangzhou (Canton) had stabilized. This building was to be the temporary residence for any Chen family member, a family that made most of its wealth overseas, that had to travel to the southern provincial capital, Guangzhou. It also served as a home for the young men of the family as they prepared for the governmental examinations. These exams were essential for achieving good positions within the government and bringing honor to the family. The examinations were held each year in Guangzhou and throughout the country and could be compared to final university exams. Every three years an even more prestigious exam equivalent to a doctoral candidacy would also occur. Of the many students that would attempt this doctoral exam only one hundred would be selected, some would try for years without success. The governmental exams were abolished in 1905 after 1,500 years of use, but the academy continued to be used as a school for several more years.
Seventy-two Chen lineages provided the financial backing for the construction of this house and local Chen people still think of it as a part of their family history. It is not the only family home in the region used for this purpose, but it is considered the best example of the traditional art and the best preserved of its kind. It also houses some unique art pieces in the iron boards made using Western techniques but featuring Chinese mythical creatures. When the home was turned over to the Guangzhou government to become a museum teams of art restorers set to work with traditional artists. Some of these craftsmen and artists are members of the families that created the original art that decorates the building.
Seventy-two Chen lineages provided the financial backing for the construction of this house and local Chen people still think of it as a part of their family history. It is not the only family home in the region used for this purpose, but it is considered the best example of the traditional art and the best preserved of its kind. It also houses some unique art pieces in the iron boards made using Western techniques but featuring Chinese mythical creatures. When the home was turned over to the Guangzhou government to become a museum teams of art restorers set to work with traditional artists. Some of these craftsmen and artists are members of the families that created the original art that decorates the building.
Stepping over the raised threshold of the front door you'll be facing four floor-to-ceiling carved wood panels depicting scenes of famous stories and natural settings, like a chicken taking care of her chicks. This practice was common for buildings of this time as the panels provide some privacy for those living in the house. They make it more difficult to see directly into the home from the road. They are also part of the Feng shui of the building, disrupting incoming energy and dispersing it throughout the home. Feng shui is "how the placement of things and objects within it affect the energy flow in your living environment, and how these objects interact with and influence your personal energy flow. Your personal energy flow affects how you think and act, which in turn affects how well you perform and succeed in your personal and professional life," says David Kennedy writer of "Feng Shui for Dummies". They also darken the interior space and help keep it cool in the hot, humid summer months. Don't be surprised to see a young couple, the boyfriend dangling a pink camera by its cord while his girlfriend moves to look at some woodwork more closely.
The complex is 15,000 square meters
with a floor space of 6,400 square meters. Built using the principles of
symmetry and courtyards, the 19 small rooms form a large square divided in half
by wing-rooms. Throughout the building and courtyards are ceramic tables
with elephant-shaped or drum-shaped chairs placed to allow visitors to sit and
enjoy the beauty of the building and surprising quietness to be found in the
center of a city with more than fifteen million people. A slender man in his
sixties with close-cropped white hair may take a moment to sit on a dark wooden
chair to watch the German tourist group discuss the rain that has just started
in this sub-tropical zone. The covered walkways protect the visitors from the
sudden shower, but the light dims the colors of the decorations and the age of
the building becomes suddenly more real.
Each roof and covered walkway is
topped by colorful ceramic sculptures of people and animals in a variety of
scenes. When the sun shines the colors are vibrant and tiny details
reveal themselves even in the top most roof designs. Flute music occasionally fills the courtyard
as the seller in one of the many shops plays for a potential customer. A woman in the green work outfit of the work staff
drags a heavy water hose towards the potted plants and trees that create shade
and slight whisper in the wind. The thickness of the walls makes this one of
the few spaces in the city where you can hear bird song, despite the city being
dedicated to planting in every available space including the pedestrian
overpasses. The walkways here carry visitors towards the central rooms and
towards the back of the home.
The central room of the Academy is
where Chen of the past would gather to discuss the problems of the day or their
most recent studies and is now the home of the changing pottery display. Guangdong
province provided much of the famed ceramic and pottery goods sent out into the
world during the 1700 and 1800's. Groups
of young girls from the university on the other side of the city gather around
the glass displays and discuss the pieces. The works here are usually of modern
origin carrying forward the tradition that made this region one of the most
famous in the world. Outside on the stair platform, a middle-aged man with
silver at his temples crouches to get a picture with his iPad of a stone Foo
dog topping a railing.
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The largest room, the Ancestral
Hall, which fills the back section of the house, is considered to be the best
preserved and most beautifully decorated of its kind in Guangdong and possibly
the entire Southern region. The name
tablets have now been removed from the five tall red bays that held them in
positions of honour. The families of the
Chen would pay differing rates to determine where in the structure their most
direct ancestor's name plate would go. Copies of the receipts for this practice are
displayed on the left of the room along with pictures of the building at
various times in its history. The large
gilt box and palanquin used for ceremonial purposes by the family on days of
religious or familial importance are also displayed at either end of the
hall. Each thick wooden post boasts a
long carved wooden plaque bearing a message for the family. One urges the Chen
to remember that even though they don't have the same fathers and mothers, they
are all Chen and should come together as a family. These room-high plaque are written in the old
Chinese style and even modern Chinese can find them difficult to
understand. The bays are surrounded by
heavily carved wood displaying animals and people. You may see a cleaning
woman, two dust rags in hand, wiping at each nook and polishing them back into
brightness. Above her reach the dust
clings in a thick layer to a carved squirrel clinging to a post and looking
down at her.
To the right of the hall is the much
smaller embroidery display room. These
handmade, modern artworks are slowly rotated so that the entire collection is
eventually available if you're willing to return year after year to see each
different piece. Their artists tool a
lot of effort to create works of incredible detail in the old style of hand
stitching. Their skill allows the works
to appear like a great painting or alive.
While Western embroidery, from the Bayeux Tapestry to modern day works,
generally uses cotton or wool floss, the Chinese have been working with dyed
silk for hundreds of years. The light
strikes the silk and shifts the colors with it as the viewer changes position.
The small hall does little to diminish the excited voices of people as they
point towards their favorite piece and call others to look. A group of motherly
looking Chinese women and their frumpy husbands stand in front of a crane with
its wings spread wide. They sway
slightly side to side and the light moves the wings making it seem that the crane is about to launch itself into the air from its frame.
To
the left of the Ancestor's Hall is the ivory and bone carving display room and
shop. The shop is a licensed seller of
ivory, but to leave the country with it you must have permission from the
Chinese government. The delicate bone
carvings are less paperwork intensive and just as beautiful in their
execution. Carved from cow and camel
bone using traditional techniques which can be learned about in a video in
constant loop. These three dimensional white sculptures of boats filled with
tiny people or moons with scenes from famous stories are part of the ephemeral
lure of Chinese art. This is reflected
in their prices and is possibly a reason that many of the Chinese tourists
spend little time in the gift shop cum art gallery.
The architectural decorations including the wood carvings, stone carvings, ceramic sculpture, lime sculptures, iron casting and paintings are all highlights of the folk art traditions of the region. This museum houses some of the best persevered and restored examples of these arts and explores how some of these art styles are created. Other galleries offer glimpses into the Qing dynastic past, while the sound of airplanes overhead reminds you of the modern world just outside the heavenly protected doors..
- GZTraveler
- GZTraveler
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