The Shanshan Guild Hall of Sheqi was built in the last climax of the perfection of ancient architectural art in China. Coupled with the rich mentality of businessmen living in Sheji and Shaanxi provinces, with their abundant financial resources, they invested in the building of the guild hall, so that when it was completed, the Sheji Shanshan Guild Hall was able to "transport great materials to the north and visit famous craftsmen all over the world". Its excellent materials and the employment of many craftsmen make it the first in the history of architecture. Skillful craftsmen from all over the world gathered here to show their magical powers, which made the architectural decoration art of the Shanshan Club of Sheqi reach its peak at that time. At the same time, the credit shop is located at the intersection of cultural exchanges and influences between the North and the South. Its construction technology combines the advantages of the North and South architectural cultures, and integrates the grandeur of the northern ancient buildings with the rigorous feminine style of the southern ancient buildings, making it a model of ancient buildings with unique weather vanes. To sum up, the architectural decoration art of Shanshan Guild Hall in Sheqi has ten characteristics in the existing guild hall buildings in China and even in the ancient folk buildings except palaces, which can be called "Ten Unique":

First, the club with the most national characteristics.

According to relevant data, among more than 80 existing ancient buildings in China, Sheqi Shanshan Guild Hall was first announced by the State Council as the third batch of national key cultural relics protection units in 1988 1 month because of its largest building scale, best preservation, most exquisite architectural decoration technology and richest commercial and cultural connotation. Xiqin Guild Hall in Zigong, Sichuan and Shanshan Guild Hall in Liaocheng, Shandong, which were later approved as national protection units, both occupied an area of over 3,000 square meters, while Shanshan Guild Hall in Sheqi occupied an area of13,000 square meters, with a construction area of over 6,000 square meters, which was many times higher than the above two pavilions. Many authoritative experts on ancient architecture in China have highly praised the Shanshan Guild Hall of Sheqi. Lu, the former director of National Cultural Heritage Administration, wrote the inscription "The essence of art is unique", and Shan Shiyuan, the former vice president of the Palace Museum, wrote the inscription "Brilliant and magnificent, the best in the world". As a result, the Shanshan Guild Hall of Sheqi was established as the most representative and second to none among the existing guilds in China, and was unanimously recognized as the "No.1 Guild Hall in China" by many famous domestic experts.

Second, glass is the best.

"The best glazed wall" does not mean that it is the largest, but that its decoration technology is the most unique. As a unique form of ancient architecture in China, Zhaobi has two main decorative styles: one is "sea-flooded", that is, the whole wall forms a complete pattern, mostly dragon patterns and sea patterns, such as Jiulong Wall in Beihai, Beijing and Jiulong Wall in Datong, Shanxi. The second type is "box type", which is only decorated with brick or stone carvings in the center of the wall, or diamond or oval, and is called a box. Most of the existing hall buildings or other ancient folk buildings in China are of this form. On the other hand, the glazed wall of Shanshan Guild Hall in Sheqi perfectly combines the two styles of "filling the sea" and "filling the box", and combines various auspicious plants, auspicious animals, plaques and couplets, deformed "blessing" and "longevity" into a complete picture with rich content and profound meaning, which not only has relatively independent "box" decoration, but also has the effect of filling the sea. Clear priority, natural connection; Grand and harmonious; It not only gives people intuitive aesthetic enjoyment, but also has heavy cultural connotation. Because of this, it can be called the most decorative hall architectural art in China.

Third, the most iron flagpole

Iron flagpole is a unique decoration of "Wu Temple", namely Guandi Temple. The two iron flagpoles of Sheqi Shanshan Guild Hall stood in the 22nd year of Jiaqing in Qing Dynasty, weighing more than 50,000 kilograms and more than 20 meters high. According to the inscription "Iron flagpole of Shanshan Guild Hall in Sheqi Town, Nanyang", when the Guild Hall was completed, it won more than 3,000 yuan. The splendor of the temple cannot be added up, and it is not allowed to fold empty money into private affairs. Because two cast iron flagpoles weigh more than 50 thousand Jin, the trees are around the gate. ..... Shanshan Guild Hall is spread all over the world with great momentum. There is a hardcore in Zhuxian Town. See you today in Qiqi town. "It can be seen that among the many hall buildings in the country, only Zhuxian Town and Sheqi Town Shanshan Hall had such iron flagpoles. Today, the iron flagpole in Zhuxian Town has been lost, and only the iron flagpole in Shanshan Club of Sheqi exists alone. According to experts in ancient architecture, its weight, height, complete shape, rich content, exquisite craftsmanship and perfect modeling are unparalleled in the country. It can be seen that the iron flagpole of Shanshan Guild Hall in Sheqi is the most complete iron flagpole of ancient buildings in China.

Fourth, the most dramatic stage.

There are many ancient theaters in China, each with its own characteristics. But as far as its magnificent architecture and exquisite decoration are concerned, it is second to none to push the Shanshan Guild Hall of Sheqi to hang a building. Xuanjian Building was built in Jiaqing period of Qing Dynasty, with a height of 24 meters. It is a building with three eaves resting on the top of the mountain, with a gate in the south and a spacious eaves gallery and stage in the north. This chain structure is unique and unique. There is also a cornice on the hanging plaque above the stage, forming an octagonal tall and fluttering trend. The upper and lower floors of the building are beautifully decorated, with exquisite wood and stone carving and unique color painting art, and the left and right sides are supplemented by open bells and drums on the second floor. Contrary to the conventional practice of placing closed bells and drums on both sides of the temple in other ancient buildings, a group of music buildings with unique styles have been formed. The wings of the third floor are staggered, seemingly separated and connected, which set each other off and form a perfect artistic whole. The late President of China Ancient Architecture Society and President of Nanjing University (one of the two world-renowned academic masters in the field of ancient architecture in China, known as "South Yang and North Liang", Liang was the son of Liang Qichao and Professor Liang Sicheng of Peking University) had a special liking for this building, and personally took graduate students to conduct detailed mapping and taking photos of it, praising Lou as "a model of ancient drama in China". Therefore, the Shanshan Guild Hall of Sheqi is well-deserved to be called "the oldest theater in China".

Fifth, the most stone carving art.

The stone carving art of Shanshan Guild Hall in Sheqi, represented by the stone archway and the pillars of each Guild Hall, combines the stone carving techniques of all ancient buildings in China. Its techniques such as round carving, through carving, relief carving, flat carving, line carving, flat relief, flat down, stable ground and out of the ground have been properly used and fully demonstrated again and again. Its carving forms and contents include the carving of animals and beasts such as lions, tigers, unicorns and Zhao Ying, the carving of melons and fruits such as pomegranate and Xiantao, and the relief and plane carving of various flowers, birds, plants and auspicious decorative patterns. In particular, its character story carving has won the charm of China painting and calligraphy carving art in past dynasties, giving full play to the symbolic, hypothetical and typological characteristics of painting and calligraphy carving art, with both form and spirit, blending scenes and giving people the enjoyment of artistic beauty, and being praised by many domestic ancient architecture experts as "the best stone carving art" in China.

Sixth, the most woodcarving art.

The woodcarving decoration art of Shanshan Guild Hall in Sheqi is comparable to the stone carving decoration art, also known as "double wonder". The forehead, sparrows, drooping gatehouses, windows and sills decorated by the eaves of the main hall buildings, and even the beams and boards interspersed with archways under the eaves are decorated with wood carvings, almost reaching the point where there is no wood and no carving. Moreover, the deep penetration carving, which is the most artistic expression of wood carving, is the main carving method. Xuanjianlou, Dabai Hall, Dazuo Hall, Wangyao Hall, Mawang Hall and other main buildings are all carved with a depth of 0.15m. Its composition space layout is uniform, the lines are beautiful and smooth, and the shape is washed and practiced; A large number of characters' stories are vivid, vivid, exaggerated and vivid, and their eyebrows and landscapes are finely carved. Therefore, the woodcarving art of Shanshan Guild Hall enjoys a high reputation in the domestic ancient architecture industry for its exquisite carving art. Luo He Zheng, a consultant of the Ministry of Construction and a famous ancient architecture expert, once wrote an inscription praising: "The tall building is a grand view building, with exquisite workmanship and exquisite decoration, and it is a public craftsman and a grand view building." Compared with the craft of Luban, the founder of the construction industry, his carving and decoration art is exquisite, which shows that his evaluation is high. Therefore, it is well-deserved to be called "the best woodcarving in China".

Seven, the word "dragon" and "tiger" in the imperial script of Empress Dowager Cixi can be called the "best" in the national guild hall.

The "Dragon" and "Tiger" cards of Empress Dowager Cixi are embedded in the front eaves of the main hall of Shanshan Guild Hall in Sheqi. The monument is 0.42 meters wide and 0.80 meters high. On the lower part of the upper ring, a seal is engraved, and the words "the treasure of Empress Dowager Cixi's imperial pen" are written. The left forehead is also titled "The Treasure of Empress Dowager Cixi", which is engraved in cursive script.

The word "dragon" and "tiger" is a stroke of a pen, and the font is unique and powerful. Dazuo Hall was built in Tongzhi period of Qing Dynasty, and completed in the 18th year of Guangxu of Qing Dynasty. At that time, Cixi's power was in full swing. How dare anyone pretend to put her imperial treasure in this eye-catching place? This shows that the word "dragon" and "tiger" is indeed the original of Cixi's imperial pen. As a private chamber of commerce building, it can be said that the treasure of the town hall of Empress Dowager Cixi is unique among the hall buildings in the country, and of course it has become the only honor of the national hall.

Eight, the national Qing Dynasty folk embroidery treasures.

There are more than 40 pieces of embroidery treasures in Sheqi Shanshan Guild Hall in Qing Dynasty, of which 5 pieces were identified as first-class national protected cultural relics in National Cultural Heritage Administration, and 2 pieces were transferred to Switzerland, Denmark and other countries for exhibition as national protected cultural relics. Therefore, it is well-deserved to call it "the most popular embroidery in Qing Dynasty".

Nine, the affiliated building of the guild hall, Daofang Courtyard, is also the largest in the national guild hall.

Daofang Courtyard is an affiliated building of Shanshan Guild Hall of Sheqi, also known as Yeyuan Palace and Guanguan Hall. Its architectural style is a combination of quadrangle architecture in the north and residential and garden architecture in the south. It is the usual residence of Taoist priests who manage the guild hall, and it is also the place to receive and contact government officials. It is a physical witness of the mediation function of the guild hall as a private chamber of commerce and the government. With important research value, it is the only existing guild hall building in China, and it can be called "the best in China".

Ten, the monument of business ethics rules is the highest in the country.

There are 9 steles in Shanshan Guild Hall of Sheqi, among which 7 steles describe the rules of business ethics and the building activities of the Guild Hall, which are: the stele of "Rules for Weighing Trades" first engraved in the second year of Yongzheng in Qing Dynasty (1725) and reprinted in the first year of Tongzhi; The tablet of "General Rules for General Provisions of Grocery" established in the fifty years of Qing Qianlong, the tablet of "Overloading Running errands" established in the twenty-third year of Qing Daoguang, the iron flagpole tablet of Shanshan Guild Hall in Sheqi Town of Nanyang, the tablet of reviving Shanshan Guild Hall and the tablet of rebuilding Shanshan Guild Hall. The first three stone tablets provide valuable evidence for studying the general situation of commercial development and commercial behavior norms of credit shops in Qing Dynasty. Among them, the monument "Rules for Measuring and Measuring of Peer Merchants" has made strict provisions on standardizing weights and measures; On the other hand, the "Rules of Deliberating the Grocery Store" takes advocating the spirit of honesty as the core, and makes as many as 18 strict provisions on various commercial behaviors; "Overload Travel Agency Monument" shows the number of seats supporting the government. These three stone tablets are also the earliest and most comprehensive stone tablets of business ethics rules in the existing hall buildings in China, which is the highest in the country.

Sheqi County is a famous historical and cultural town, located 45 kilometers northeast of Nanyang. It is connected to Biyang County in Zhumadian City in the east, Wancheng District in Nanyang County in the west, Fangcheng County in the north and tanghe county in the south. Sheqi County was founded in 1965. Sheqi Town is the seat of the county party committee and government and the political, economic and cultural center of the county.

Sheqi Town, formerly known as Sheqi Store, is a well-known commercial ancient town. According to relevant records, this town was founded in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and it was the most prosperous in the Kanggan period in the Qing Dynasty. It is one of the four famous towns in Henan. The folks are known as "the number of credit shops in the world". At that time, the town was a flood and drought wharf with boats in the south and horses in the north. At that time, it was a comprehensive department store, especially Qin Jin Salt Tea, which was the traffic artery of the nine northern and southern provinces. There are 13 businessmen doing business here all over the country, and there are more than 10 fellow townsmen's associations established by businessmen from all provinces alone: Shanshan Guild Hall, Hubei Guild Hall, Jiangxi Guild Hall, Guangdong Guild Hall and Fujian Guild Hall. The population of the town is 1.3 million, and there are 72 streets in the town, and there are more than ten relatively complete ancient streets. 1989 was announced by the people's government of Henan province in July as the first batch of famous historical and cultural towns in our province.

Shanshan Guild Hall is located in the center of the town, formerly known as Shanshan Friendship Guild Hall, also known as Mingshan Temple and Guangong Temple, and was once called Dingyuan Society. It is a magnificent palace-style ancient building complex. It was a place where wealthy businessmen who lived in Sheqi Town of Shanxi and Shaanxi in Qing Dynasty received guests, got together and burned incense. Because of the supervision of monks and Taoist priests, it is also called Shanshan Temple. The main hall is dedicated to the statue of Guan Yu, so most of the couplets, doormats and plaques in the hall celebrate Guan Yu's merits, so it is also called Guan Gong Hall, which was called Dingyuan Society in Daoguang period and renamed Shanshan Guild Hall in 12.

The guild hall was built in the 21st year of Qing Qianlong (AD 1756). It was completed in the eighteenth year of Jiaqing, Daoguang, Xianfeng and Tongzhi, and in the sixteenth year of Guangxu. Covering an area of 10885.29 m2, with a building area of 6235.438+096 m2. The main building is from south to north, and there are glazed walls, hanging towers, big worship halls and spring and autumn buildings along the central axis. The left and right foil buildings are symmetrical to each other. From south to north, it is the east-west iron gate, the east-west stable, the second floor of the bell and drum, the east-west corridor, and the two escort halls of Yaowang and Mawang on both sides of the Dabaitang. The architectural layout forms three courtyards: front, middle and back. The layout is rigorous and reasonable, the halls and pavilions are densely spaced, high in the north and low in the south, row upon row, magnificent and shining. All kinds of buildings *** 152 are paved with blue-white marble indoors and outdoors, and the buildings are decorated with exquisite patterns such as stone carving, wood carving, fire casting or ceramic plastics. The inscription reads, "bei chu transports aniseed and visits famous craftsmen all over the world". It's worth millions of taels of silver. In short, the overall design of the hall pursues poetry and painting, and the furnishings and decorations are extremely rich and gorgeous. 1963 was announced by the Henan provincial people's government as a provincial key cultural relics protection unit, and 1988 1.03 was announced by the State Council as a national key cultural relics protection unit.

The glazed wall is modeled after the Nine Dragon Wall of the Forbidden City in Beijing. Height10.4m, width13m and thickness1.70m.. It has a single roof and a hard mountain peak. It is made of more than 65,438+0,000 colored glazed square bricks. The two sides of the wall are decorated with exquisite and transparent Dragon Play beads, Long Hudou, Feng Dan facing the sun, carp yue longmen, phoenix wearing peony, five dragons embracing the virtuous, and nine dragons with different postures, such as Fu, Lu and Shou. In the middle of the wall, there is the book "Guan Yi in ancient and modern times". Two couplets are written vertically on both sides: "Qi Hao swallowed Wu Wei, Ma Guang has been in Jin and Qin", "The back wall shines, comparable to wealth, and the soup wall pays tribute to the spirit". Expressed the admiration of Shanxi and Shaanxi people for Guan Yu, a fellow countryman. The handwriting is written in golden yellow ancient characters, solemn and shiny.

There are symmetrical East Yuanmen, West Yuanmen, East Stables and West Stables around the building, forming the front yard of the clubhouse. We are visiting the front yard now. There is a white jade carving lion in the yard. The iron flagpole stands in front of the lion. The iron flagpole is15m high and weighs more than 50,000 kilograms. Made of bluestone, the waist is carved with patterns such as Tianma, Kirin, lion and animal. The iron lion stands on Mount Sumeru, and the flagpole passes through the lion. There are three cloud barrels on the flagpole. There are four windmills on each cloud barrel. The dragon winds among the clouds and the phoenix flies on the top. During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression period, a bird in the east was blown up by a Japanese plane. The iron flagpole was cast in the 22nd year of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty (A.D. 18 17), and it is said that it was cast by holding the soil in sections. Yuanmen, facing east and west, is built on a tall brick arch and rests on the top of the mountain with a single eaves. There are brick guardrails around, with a height of 12.37 meters, and stone tablets of "climbing up the ladder" and "reading their shoes" are embedded in the middle.

The hanging tower, also known as the "Eight Diagrams Tower", is the theater of the guild hall. It was founded in the first year of Jiaqing (1786) and completed in the first year of Daoguang (182 1), which lasted for 25 years. The building is18.36m high, 20m long and18m wide. It is divided into upper, middle and lower floors, and is a three-eaves, hilltop-resting building. The two sides of the main ridge are decorated with dragon peony patterns, and there is a glass building in the middle, engraved with the words "the sky is five feet high". The couplets on both sides of the building gate are "This place is Putuo Mountain, so why travel to the South China Sea". There are 20 folding columns in the building, and there are three columns below. The upper layer is mostly drum-shaped, and the lower layer is a square drum seat, with patterns such as unicorn, lion, cow and horse carved on all sides. To the north of the building is a stage, on which hangs the plaque of "Hanging Building" set up by Haosheng Society in the 24th year of Qing Daoguang (1844). The word "Xuanyi" was written by Fu Qingzhu, a Shanxi calligrapher in the late Ming Dynasty. The word "Lou" came from the hand of Xu Jing, a juren in Ye County in the late Qing Dynasty. On the stone pillars on both sides, there are couplets engraved with the words "Re-enactment of Japanese events, talking about making the best of the past". "Fantasy is the real world, and human feelings are vividly described. Today it is still as old news." There is a plaque of "He Xianping" on the stage screen. The stage is covered with wood carvings and stone carvings, most of which are related to ancient traditional operas.

This is the bell tower and drum tower, which are symmetrically located on both sides of the tower. There is a bell hanging on the bell tower. The clock is 5 feet high and weighs more than 2000 kilograms. It is called the gathering bell, also known as the "golden bell announcing the dawn". The drum tower is in the west, and the drum side hangs inside.

Go through the theater and enter the compound of ten thousand people, which is the central compound of the hall. All courtyards are paved with a foot square of bluestone, with a stone on each side in the middle. Scaffolding has column holes. The left and right courtyards and hatchbacks of the courtyard face male and female audiences respectively, and the courtyard can accommodate 10,000 people, so it is also called the courtyard of 10,000 people. Now we are visiting the stone archway, which is located on the platform 3 meters high in front of the main hall and divided into three blocks: left, middle and right.

The middle room is a square school, with three rooms and four columns, and there are drum-hugging stones on both sides of the columns. On the drums on both sides of the column are inscribed: Yu Boya loves the piano, Meng Haoran loves the plum, Lin Hejing loves the crane, Zhou Dunyi loves the lotus, Mi Yuanzhang loves the stone, Ji Kang loves the bamboo, and Wang Xizhi loves the goose and pottery. In the workshop, there are three stars: Fu, Lu and Shou. The inscription "Meng family can't say this is awesome" is said to have been written by the social flag. On the top left of the archway, Du Fu recites poems, and on the top right, Li Bai rides a whale. On the back of Zhong Fang, there is a portrait of Five Blessingg with the inscription "Dancing into the Holy City".

Dabai Hall is the main building of the guild hall, which consists of two parts: the main hall and the worship hall. 40 meters long, 22 meters wide and 23.8+04 meters high. On both sides of the front of the temple stand two stone carvings, 2 meters high and 1 meter wide, with a single eaves and a hard roof. On the left side, there is the inscription: "Eighteen bachelors boarded Yingzhou". Du Ruhui, Fang, Yu Zhiyu, etc. Ride along the rugged path to Yingzhou, which everyone envies.

This story is based on the biography of Zhu Liang, a new Tang Dynasty man. Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong, opened a "Literature Museum" to recruit talents. Eighteen people, including Du Ruhui, were bachelors. They stayed with six people every day for three times to discuss classics, and the 18th bachelor. On the right side, there is a picture of "fishing and ploughing" and a river engraved. An old man bent down to fish in the boat. If one person is walking on the hillside with firewood, another person is plowing, and one person is reading on the other side of the river, then it is fishing, firewood, plowing and looking at pictures. The landscapes, trees, birds, animals and houses in the painting are all carved by various stone carving methods such as Wang's shallow relief, deep relief, through carving and line carving. The eighteen bachelors and the fishing firewood are different in shape and lifelike.

Dabaitang was built in the eighth year of Tongzhi (1869) and completed in the twentieth year of Guangxu (1892). It is the main building of the guild hall. Together with the Shipai Building, the East-West Medicine Building, the East-West Corridor, the second-floor drum, the East-West Yuanmen and the glazed wall, it took 25 years and cost 87,788 taels of silver. At that time, 9.5 million Jin of rice could be purchased, which was about 58,000 farmers' annual rations.

Mawangdian and Wangyaodian are set off on both sides of Dabai Hall, with Wangyaodian in the east and Mawangdian in the west.

It's about 50 meters north of Dabaiguan. The first spring and autumn building was built. There is a clay statue of Guan Yu reading Spring and Autumn Annals at night in the building, hence the name. In the seventh year of Xianfeng (1857), when the Nian army arrived at Sheqi Town, the Spring and Autumn Building was burned down by the Nian army because of the resistance of wealthy businessmen and gentry, and now only the platform site is left.

The Shanshan Guild Hall of Sheqi has been built for more than 200 years and has gone through many vicissitudes. During this period, it was wantonly destroyed by the Nian army, bandits and Kuomintang troops, and the planes of the Japanese aggressors were bombarded indiscriminately. Therefore, the guild hall has largely lost its original characteristics. After liberation, the party and the government attached great importance to the protection of this cultural and artistic treasure house. 1963, the guild hall was listed as a provincial key cultural relics protection unit. On June 1988+ 10/3, it was promoted to a national key cultural relics protection unit, and it was completely renovated many times. There are five exhibition halls, namely Sheqi County Historical Relics Exhibition Room, Central Plains Embroidery Exhibition, Palace Lantern Exhibition, Twenty-four Filial Piety Exhibition and Sheqi County Famous Products Exhibition.

With the development of the cause and the improvement of the popularity of Shanshan Guild Hall, the number of visitors is also increasing year by year. National famous ancient architecture experts Luo and Zheng, vice presidents of the Palace Museum Shan Tuyuan and Lu all praised the architectural art of the guild hall. After the visit, the president of Shantu Academy wrote an inscription: "Brilliant and magnificent, the best in the world". Lu's inscription is: "Excellent art, unique", and the old experts Luo and Zheng wrote: "The pavilion is ingenious, exquisitely crafted, beautifully decorated, and it will lose its ingenuity and make the pavilion strong", which spoke highly of the architectural art of the guild hall.