Xinye () is a historic village in Daciyan Town (), Jiande City,

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

, in the west of

Zhejiang Province ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

. Founded in the

Southern Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, endin ...

, Xinye is noted for its well-preserved Ming and

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

era architecture and ancient residential buildings. Xinye is also known for holding ancestor worship ceremonies on the annual

Shangsi Festival The Double Third Festival () sometimes also called the Washing Festival is a traditional holiday originating from China, and is celebrated in multiple East Asian countries, including China and Korea. China The Double Third Festival () or Sha ...

, an ancient tradition that is only practiced by a few communities in China today, including Xinye. In 2010 it was designated as a National Historic and Cultural Village of China.

Location

Xinye is located in western

, in the southern part of Jiande bordering Lanxi. The village is governed by Daciyan town of Jiande city, which is in turn within the administrative boundary of the provincial capital

. Xinye is overlooked on the northwest by Mount Yuhua () and Mount Daofeng (). The main access road is National Highway 330, 6 kilometers from the village.

History

Xinye was founded in 1219 during the reign of Emperor Ningzong of the

, when founder Ye Kun () moved to the area. Ye Kun's grandson Ye Kecheng (, 1250–1323) expanded the village, building Xishan Ancestral Hall () on the western hills, and Youxu Ancestral Hall () at the center of the village. Most of the 3,900 villagers today are surnamed Ye and trace their lineage from Ye Kun through 29 generations. They are collectively called the Yuhua Ye Clan () after the mountain overlooking the village. During the eighth generation the village was further divided into subclans (), each building its own ancestral hall. There are now five subclans: Chongren (), Chongzhi (), Chongde (), Chongyi (), and Yuqing (), with the Chongren subclan being the most prosperous.

Architecture

With 16 ancestral halls and 230 white-washed ancient residences that are well preserved, Xinye is acclaimed as the largest open-air museum of ancient residences in China. Its architectural style is similar to that of the nearby historical

Huizhou Huizhou ( zh, c= ) is a city in east-central Guangdong Province, China, forty-three miles north of Hong Kong. Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shenzhen and Dongguan to the southwest, Shaoguan to the north, Hey ...

region which includes World Heritage Sites Hongcun and

Xidi Xidi () is a village in Xidi Town (), Yi County, Anhui, Yi County, Huangshan City of the historical Huizhou (region), Huizhou region of Anhui province, China. Xidi and the nearby town of Hongcun are known for their exceptional preservation of ru ...

. Xishan is the oldest among Xinye's ancestral halls, and is now part of the Xinye Elementary School. Youxu remains the village's main ancestral hall where the most important ceremonies are held, though it is exceeded in size by Chongren Ancestral Hall of the eponymous subclan. Other major landmarks include the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

Tuanyun Pagoda () and Wenchang Pavilion (). Also near the village is Daci Rock (), a Buddhist temple built on a sheer mountain cliff dating from the Mongol

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

. The village's remote mountainous location and strong sense of clanship are the major reasons for its excellent state of preservation. Even during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

when much of China's cultural heritage was systematically destroyed, the villagers protected the ancient buildings by plastering lime and posting papers with quotes of

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

on their sculptures and carvings.

Culture

The main religious practice of the village is traditional

ancestor worship The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...

; most temples in Xinye are dedicated to ancestors of the village or the subclans. To that end, the village has maintained a detailed genealogy book through the centuries, which is officially updated once every

sexagenary cycle The sexagenary cycle, also known as the gānzhī (干支) or stems-and-branches, is a cycle of sixty terms, each corresponding to one year, thus amounting to a total of sixty years every cycle, historically used for recording time in China and t ...

(60 years), accompanied by a major ceremony. While most regions of China celebrates the

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival (see also #Names, § Names), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holi ...

as the main annual festival, in Xinye the most important festival is the Shangsi or Double Third, which falls on the third day of the third month of the

Chinese calendar The traditional Chinese calendar, dating back to the Han dynasty, is a lunisolar calendar that blends solar, lunar, and other cycles for social and agricultural purposes. While modern China primarily uses the Gregorian calendar for officia ...

. Shangsi Festival is an ancient tradition that is only practiced by a few local communities in China today. The celebration includes a 3-kilometer ritual procession to Yuquan Temple () and back, and ancestor worship ceremonies and performances are held in many temples. In 2010 Xinye was designated as a National Historic and Cultural Village of China, and it plans to eventually apply for

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

status together with nearby Zhuge and Yuyuan villages.

Gallery

References