The Lin Residence is located in Zijin Lane, Zhenming Road, Haishu District, Ningbo City, and was the residence of the brothers Lin Zhongqiao and Lin Zhonghua, who were juren during the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty. The entire residence comprises a front gate, a screen wall, a second gate, another screen wall, a sedan chair hall, a front building, a middle building, a back building, and wing rooms on both sides.
The gate towers, screen walls, and shadow walls all feature exquisite carvings, with more than 170 brick carvings and over 50 stone and wood carvings still existing. A small garden called ‘Lanting’ is situated in the southwest of the residence, which houses two stone inscriptions of the ‘Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion’ written by the Ming Dynasty calligrapher Dong Qichang and inscribed by Chen Jiru. The front gate, located on the east side of the building and facing south, is a towering arched brick gate tower. In the center, it is inscribed with ‘Qingyun Chongyue’ on the front and ‘Chunfeng Jidi’ on the back, with high relief figures and stories on both sides. Upon entering, the wall features brick carvings such as ‘Eight Phoenix Steed Chart’, ‘Grand Master and Junior Master Chart’, ‘Two Lions Playing with a Ball’, and ‘Phoenix Facing the Sun’, with a rich variety of subjects and superb craftsmanship. The ceremonial gate, facing east, is a wooden structure with eaves, brackets, and upturned ends, exquisitely crafted, with dragons, lotuses, ruyi, bats, and ‘Yuquan Fish Leap’ carved on the pillars, creating dynamic and unique shapes. Upon entering the ceremonial gate, one is greeted by a tall and magnificent screen wall, the upper half of which is carved with ‘Eight Immortals’, ‘Fu Lu Shou’, ‘Harmony Deities’, ‘Nine Elders Chart’, and ‘Twenty-Four Filial Sons’ using techniques such as high relief, deep carving, and through carving. Surrounded by mythical plants like lingzhi mushrooms, orchids, and daffodils, along with pavilions, towers, pavilions, mountains, rivers, and bridges, the rich and colorful content is all gathered on a picture of about half a square meter, blending scenes and cleverly arranged. Opposite the ceremonial gate, in the small garden, there are a pavilion, artificial mountains, a pond, and a garden, built in the poetic spirit of ‘Here there are towering mountains, dense forests, and tall bamboos, and there are also clear streams and rapids, reflecting on both sides’ from the ‘Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion’ by the great calligrapher of the Jin Dynasty, Wang Xizhi. Although small in area, it has the feeling of mountains and rapids, and winding paths. The wall is embedded with the ‘Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion’ written by the famous Ming Dynasty calligrapher and painter Dong Qichang, and inscribed by the literary figure and painter Chen Jiru. The sedan chair hall is a three-room hard mountain top building, with carvings on the inside and outside of the middle door, as well as on the beams, mainly featuring dragons and bats. The brick walls under the eaves of the eastern and western secondary rooms are carved with ‘Pasture Chart’ and ‘Weaving Chart’. The door lintel, eaves, window decorations, and horse head walls all feature themes and decorations such as ‘Ladies Burying Flowers’, ‘Squirrels Stealing Peaches’, ‘Cloud Bats Playing’, and ‘Auspicious Wealth’. The brick-made flower windows in the secondary and minor rooms have regular patterns, unified and generous. The wooden components of the main building and the back building have the same decorative patterns as the carvings on the roof. The two facing screen walls between the main building and the back building have the opera story of ‘Tang Bohu Points Qiuxiang’ carved under the eaves. The plot is rich and vivid. The full text is open to the specific business status of the day.Lin Residence
The Lin Residence is located in Zijin Lane, Zhenming Road, Haishu District, Ningbo City, and was the residence of the […]
