Shanxi Changzi Hanfang Yao King Temple Main Hall

Hanfang Yao King Temple Main Hall is located on a terrace by the west road of Hanfang Village, Dabao Tou Town, Changzi County, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province. It is an ancient architectural relic from the Jin Dynasty. The temple faces south with its main entrance to the north, and the exact date of its original construction is unknown. The existing structures include the inverted crossbeam gate tower and the main hall. The gate tower is a Qing Dynasty structure; the Hanfang Yao King Temple Main Hall dates back to the Jin Dynasty, while the auxiliary buildings have all collapsed, leaving only the foundations. The main hall is three bays wide and six purlins deep, with a single-eave Xieshan roof. The beam frame is of the hall type, with four purlins and front rafter beams supported by three columns extending along the eaves. The front eaves’ crossbeams are placed flat and supported by Shu-style columns bearing the tie beams; the rear eaves’ crossbeams are placed obliquely on the four purlins and supported by camel hump brackets bearing the tie beams. The eave and corridor columns are made of sandstone, and the column capitals feature five-layered heavy double-bracket sets with heart-shaped designs. The supplementary bracket sets are intricately carved. Bracket sets are installed all around the hall. The purlin beams extend beyond the corner columns, while the balustrade panels do not protrude. The central bay has wooden panel doors, and the side bays have straight lattice windows. The existing bracket sets and beam frames in the Hanfang Village Yao King Temple Main Hall are relics from the Jin Dynasty and hold significant historical value. The main wooden structural form of the hall exhibits typical characteristics of mid-to-late Jin Dynasty architecture in southeastern Shanxi. It reveals the inheritance and evolution of architectural forms in this region during the Song, Jin, and Yuan periods, providing tangible materials for studying the development, evolution, and technical artistic features of ancient Chinese architecture. It is a nationally protected key cultural relic.