中国山西晋中常家庄园 The Chang Estate in Jinzhong, Shanxi, China

WS 96：中国山西晋中常家庄园 The Chang Estate in Jinzhong, Shanxi, China

山西省有很多望族大院，多是明末清初开建的建筑群。我们2013年的山西之旅，参观了其中四个：乔家大院、王家大院、皇城相府和常家庄园。这里要介绍的是常家庄园 

常家庄园位于晋中市的车辋村。常家第一代明朝中期来山西定居，到第七代经营茶叶生意，逐渐成为晋中望族。此后二百多年多次修建，终于修出一座占地六十万平方米的庄园，大院套着小院，有楼五十余座，房四千多间，园林十三处。常家庄园目前开放的仅是遗存的半条街，十二万平方米，不及原面积的四份一。

第一张照片所示的是大门“东保门”。第二张是北祠堂， 建于1879年，院宽二十五米，深百余米，分三门四进，是中国现存规模最大、保存最完好的家族祠堂。第三、四张是静园，庄园的主要林园，占地八万余平方米，亭台楼阁，砖雕影壁。第五张是是石芸轩书院，常家也是书香世家，数百年内出了百名的秀才举人进士。第六张是观稼阁。庄园内触目可见的砖雕、木雕、石雕，艺术价值非常高，尤其是砖雕艺术，大副照壁、花墙护栏。如最后两张照片所示。

In Shanxi Province, there are many residential estate for prominent families, most of which were built in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasty. During our trip to Shanxi in 2013, we visited four of them. Covered here is the Chang Estate for the Chang clan. 

The Changjia complex is located in Jinzhong City. The first generation of Chang's family came to settle in Shanxi in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. By the seventh generation, they started operating tea business and gradually became a prominent family in Jinzhong. After more than 200 years of construction, an estate covering an area of 600,000 sq m was established, with more than 50 buildings comprising more than 4,000 rooms, and 13 gardens. The part of the Chang Estate currently open to the public is less than a quarter of the original area.

Shown views of the structures and gardens. Of particular interest is the family ancestor hall shown in the 2nd photo. It is the largest and best-preserved family ancestral hall in China. The Chang clan was also famous as a scholar family, so the estate has several study halls and accompanying gardens. The brick carvings, wood carvings, and stone carvings are of high artistic standard.