A Family Above and Beyond Beishan Village

2 min read

the old times, Qianshan River was the shared”mother river”of today’s Zhuhai and Macao, on the southern shore of which lies a quiet settlement called Beishan Most of the dwellings in the old village area face north, which is reputedly a testament to the patriotism and unflinching loyalty of a legendary military family whose unmatched gallantry and sacrifice comprised a saga of heroism t is widely believed that today s residents of beishan are the progeny of the yang family generals, known for their unflinching loyalty and remarkable bravery as they sacrificed themselves to defend the country from foreign military powers. It is believed that a score of survivors of the Yang lineage wound up in this “end of the earth” either in the Yuanfeng years of the Northern Song period or later during the Jiaxi reign of the Southern Song. The Yang clan reached its zenith in the Qing Dynasty, leaving its spectral and haunting allure in the village’s many elaborately built ancestral temples and running through a long list of local legends.

Representing the architectural style of the prosperous, middle-class of “Lingnan” (southern China) and itself the largest in the Zhuhai territory, the Yang Clan Ancestral Hall is the sweet home of the famous “harbinger of spring”-four, hundred-year-old magnolia trees. When in bloom, the message of springtime is sent to every corner of Zhuhai. Rumor has it that the trees were purchased from the Jiangnan region(to the north, but south of the Yangtze River) by the Yang family in 1828, more for the comforting memory of their roots in the Central China Plain than as a badge of their family glory. First built in 1868, the lavish building is decked out in two parts, dividedby pair of stone lions, covered with artful flourishes and numerous exquisite details that show the military bearing of the family. The most striking features of the complex are authentic, Lingnan-style- carvings, matching perfectly with the overall design.

When the sun blasts down on the secluded courtyard, the porcelain window lattices glisten with mesmerizing cobalt blue that rivals the luster of a sapphire. It is easy to imagine what a fine place this would have been to live in back in those days.