In my childhood, I frequently heard from my grandfather stories about our ancestral home in Meixian, China. It was my dream that one day I will pay a visit to Meixian. Finally this trip was materialized. Together with my sisters and brother we spent few days traveling throughout Hakka regions, Meizhou and Meixian in Guangdong province and Longyan and Yongding in Fujian province. To Mr. Ye Hua Nen and Ye (Yap) family and all the staff at Yearning (Yen Nan Fei) Resorts, thank you very much for your hospitality during our stay. Special thanks also to our 5th and 6th uncles and their famalies for organizing this unforgettable journey for us.

A little background about HAKKA people as described in Wikipedia:

The Hakka (客家) are a subgroup of the Han Chinese people who live predominantly in the provinces of Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Fujian in China. Their ancestors were originated from what's today's central China, around the Yellow River. In a series of migrations, the Hakkas who moved, settled in their present locations in southern China, and then migrated overseas to various nations throughout the world. The Hakka have had a significant influence on the course of Chinese and overseas Chinese history: In particular, they have been a source of revolutionary, political and military leaders, not surprising as Hakkas as a people are well travelled inside and outside of China.

From gdmxta.com (please view in simplified Chinese):
桥溪村是一个保留得很好的客家小山村，极少外人打扰的痕迹。村子四面环山，高高的香炉峰在村子北面的远处勾出淡淡的痕迹，为它阻挡住北来的朔风；东面是客家神山阴那山的五指峰，从田间偶尔抬起头来，总会看到遗世独立的五指峰峦，把山外面的困苦、烦恼、不平一掌隔绝。源于阴那山五指峰中的山涧溪水，自东向西从村中流过，这脉脉流水、清澈山泉，滋养着在这里生活了400多年的桥溪客家人。

从村口至村中，有特色的客家民居建筑有不少。其中村中朱氏始建于清光绪二十八年，历时１２年才竣工的“继善楼”，就是其中的翘楚。继善楼是一座典型的二层夯筑的杠式围楼，不但规模比较大，有七杠之多，而且内部装饰甚为精致，在这么一个偏远的小山村里，存在这样一座华丽的大屋，确实让人有些意外。

继善楼占据了村中的中心位置，可见当时朱家在村里的财富和地位。堂门之前是用围墙围起来的方正的禾坪，围墙连着屋门，找准了堂门无法面向的南面，依足了风水师的规矩。两层楼的高度使堂门门厅显得高挑而气派，两根石柱撑起了一排精雕细刻的木雕屋檐，斑驳然而神气的“继善楼”牌匾和铁划银钩的“继志述事，善邻亲仁”的门联，依稀向我们透露着房屋主人曾经的辉煌。
走进继善楼，堂屋里摆放着朱氏先祖的图像，因为早已不住人的缘故，显得有些空荡荡的。七间大屋相连，厢房一间接着一间，可以想像当初家族的兴旺景象，只是如今人去楼空。继善楼只有两堂，中间是天井，不过因为是两层的楼房，所以楼上的一间也布置成了堂屋的样子，比较特别的是楼上的堂屋，向外的四个小窗子，是用彩色玻璃做成的，在这个相当传统的客家民居里，突然出现这种南洋化的玻璃窗，让人一下子明白了主人的华侨身份。
继善楼的内饰不但精致，而且相当地有文化气息，在二楼的堂屋两侧，悬挂着两幅镏金的木刻家训，字是中正楷体，文秉儒家古训，倚栏细看，周围是精巧的镂空木雕、精湛的彩塑壁画、精奇的飞兽檐刻，于是不禁羡慕起那个儒雅的主人起来，在这样秀气的山谷，住这样精致的屋子，不正合了“山中日月长，筑庐读诗书”的意境么？


Copyright ?Richard Chu

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