Chan She Shu Yuen Clan Ancestral Hall, Kuala Lumpur吉隆坡陈氏书院

Type: Overseas Daoist Temples
Location: Malaysia · Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory · Kuala Lumpur · 172 Jalan Petaling (southern end of Petaling Street)
Coordinates: 3.1416, 101.6975 Map ↗
First built: 1896 · Proposed for construction in 1896, completed in 1906.

Overview

The Chan She Shu Yuen Clan Ancestral Hall is the ancestral hall of the Cantonese Chan (Chan, Tan and Chen — a union of three related surnames) clan of Kuala Lumpur, proposed for construction in 1896 and completed in 1906, located at the southern end of Petaling Street. The building follows the form of the Chen Clan Academy in Guangzhou, built by Cantonese craftsmen with much of the material shipped in from Guangdong: its roof ridges bear large Shiwan ceramic figure sculptures, complemented by gable plaster reliefs, carved wooden screens and painted decoration, making it the most completely preserved Cantonese ancestral-hall building in Malaysia. Ancestral tablets of successive generations of the Chan clan are enshrined within the hall. The term "academy" (shuyuan) in its name derives from the Qing-dynasty practice by which a Guangdong multi-lineage ancestral hall also served as lodging and educational support for clan youths sitting for the imperial examinations, rather than being a school in the pure sense. It should be noted that this is a hall of blood kinship, its principal functions being ancestor worship and clan fellowship, not a Daoist temple, and it has no principal deity of worship. Restoration was completed in the 2000s.

Highlights

Proposed in 1896, completed in 1906, following the form of the Chen Clan Academy in Guangzhou
Built by Cantonese craftsmen, with Shiwan ceramic ridge sculptures and plaster and wood carving
The most completely preserved Cantonese ancestral-hall building in Malaysia
In nature a blood-kinship ancestral hall, not a Daoist temple

References