introduce
The Zhou Family Courtyard was first built in the late Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty (1787). After ten years, it was completed in the early Jiaqing period (1797).
The Zhou family originally housed seventeen courtyards, the courtyards were connected, and the households were connected. At that time, a huge group of ancient buildings was formed in Mengdian Village, Luqiao, known as: "Mengdian Zhou". During the Tongzhi period (1874), the sixteenth courtyard was burned down due to the war, and now only this one remains. This compound is a five-entry compound, covering an area of 3,306 square meters and a construction area of 883 square meters. The architectural style adopts the architectural characteristics of combining the north and the south. There are gates separating each phase. If you open all the middle gates, you can see the back building at a glance, giving people a sense of mystery of "how deep is the courtyard".
When you enter the gate, you can see that there is a horizontal plaque above the second gate, "Kexiang Internal Affairs", which is a congratulatory gift from Zhou Meicun, the owner of the house, from his friend Han Zhenou when he established Mrs. Hu as his wife. "Ke" in the four characters means capable, "Xiang" means help, and "internal affairs" refers to all family affairs. These four characters mean: Mrs. Hu is smart and capable, and can help her husband manage Take care of all the housekeeping. This is a compliment to Mrs. Hu. There are four wives in Zhoumei Village: Hu, Cao, Zhang, and Wu. Hu is the main wife. The ancients were very particular about building houses. From front to back, from top to bottom, the Zhou family symbolized the owner’s pursuit and blessings for a better life, thus forming the carving art that every house must have a picture, every picture must be intentional, and every intention must be auspicious. . The hollow carving on the pillar base stone under the door is "Four Seasons Blessings Come". The four small pillars represent the four seasons, and four upside-down bats are exquisitely carved on the small pillars, taking the homonym as the meaning of blessing coming and blessing coming. This is a typical three-dimensional relief stone carving, and it is a very rare art treasure.
Looking at the east and west sides, the walls are both symmetrical and related. The engravings on it are the legendary "Tang Yao Fang Xiang" and "Da Yu Herding Cattle". Outstanding tribal leader. Next to it is engraved the mascot - Kirin, with the four characters "Fu, Lu, Shou and Xi" written in seal script on it. Needless to say, everyone knows that these four characters represent auspiciousness. Both sides of the story are engraved with flower-and-bird paintings of the four seasons, including the phoenix show peony in spring, which symbolizes "wealth and strength"; the single pigeon picking lotus in summer, which symbolizes "clean governance"; It symbolizes the meaning of "the whole family celebrates"; in winter, magpies and plum blossoms symbolize "happy eyebrows, Gong Xi Fa Cai"!
opening hours
Year round (autumn and winter) 09:00-17:00; year round (spring and summer) 09:00-17:30
