Liou Clan Ancestral Hall of Wugou Village Introduction
During the Qing Dynasty, many Hakka immigrants gradually settled and cultivated in the Wandan area of Pingtung. With the increasing population of immigrants, the scope of reclamation expanded, leading to the formation of Wugou Village. Wugou Village is a Hakka village that still retains many historical sites over a hundred years old, such as the Liu Clan Ancestral Hall, Jinshidi, Wu Family Quarters, Half-Moon Pond, Guanhai Mountain House, Zhongyong Shrine, Zhong Family Old House, Yingquan Zen Temple, and Nanzai Boge, which together form the cultural heritage landscape of the Wugou settlement, with the Liu Clan Ancestral Hall being the most famous. The Liu Clan Ancestral Hall is the most well-preserved Hakka quadrangular building in southern Taiwan. Inside the ancestral hall, there are many admonitions encouraging descendants to be virtuous and to study diligently, such as "With humility and courtesy in dealing with others, be filial and respectful at home," "Endurance is the door to virtue, kindness is the family treasure," and "The first class of people are loyal ministers and filial sons, and the two main tasks are studying and farming," all of which reflect the Liu clan's emphasis on knowledge and cultivation, and lay the foundation for a prominent family. The ancestors of the Liu clan came from the Hakka people of Zhaofeng Township, Zhenping County, Jiaying Prefecture, Guangdong Province, and have been verified as direct descendants of Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty. In 1780 (the 45th year of Qianlong), the descendants of the Liu clan began to cross the water to Wugou Shui for reclamation, and in 1864 (the 3rd year of Tongzhi), they established the Liu Clan Ancestral Hall. When the ancestral hall was first built, it only had two horizontal halls on the left and right, and later added two external horizontal halls, "Chongguang Tower" and "Ranli Pavilion," a garden, Baroque-style walls, and a mandarin duck pavilion. The structure, materials, and scale of the building all reflect the power and status of the Liu clan at the time. The beams, door panels, stone columns, incense burners, and jiao-zhi pottery in the ancestral hall came from the Minnan area of the mainland, while the gates and eaves on both sides are designed in a swallow-tail style. The lines of the swallow-tail at the front gate elegantly curl upward, with the ridge decorated with floral carvings, while the swallow-tail shape of the main hall is more modest, featuring hollowed floral bricks on the ridge. The swallow-tail architecture symbolizes the clan members' success in the imperial examination and holding high official positions. The orientation of the ancestral hall is west-facing, with dense flowering trees surrounding the gatehouse, outer courtyard, and mandarin duck pavilion. A pair of stone lions sits at the entrance, and a gently flowing small river runs in front of the walls, symbolizing the Liu family's descendants' vitality and abundant wealth. The overall environment is elegant and tranquil. From the architectural layout of the Liu Clan Ancestral Hall, one can see the deep-rooted concept of Hakka people honoring their ancestors and the importance they place on geographical feng shui.
