Yueyang Tower () is an ancient Chinese tower in

Yueyang Yueyang, formerly known as Yuezhou or Yochow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern shores of Dongting Lake and Yangtze in the northeastern corner of Hunan Province in the People's Republic of China. Yueyang has an administrative area of ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangx ...

Province, on the shore of Lake Dongting. Alongside the

Pavilion of Prince Teng The Pavilion of Prince Teng () is a building in the North West of the city of Nanchang, in Jiangxi province, China, on the east bank of the Gan River and is one of the Three Great Towers of southern China. The other two are the Yueyang Tower an ...

and Yellow Crane Tower, it is one of the Three Great Towers of

Jiangnan Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...

. Yueyang Tower became famous for ''Memorial to Yueyang Tower'' () written by Fan Zhongyan, an eminent minister of the

Northern Song dynasty Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

(960–1127) in China. Located on the city wall of the west gate of the ancient city in Yueyang city, Hunan province, China, Yueyang Tower faces Junshan Island and overlooks

Dongting Lake Dongting Lake () is a large, shallow lake in northeastern Hunan Province, China. It is a flood basin of the Yangtze River, so its volume depends on the season. The provinces of Hubei and Hunan are named after their location relative to the l ...

, being exquisite and imposing. Since ancient times, it has enjoyed the good reputation that Dongting Lake is the best among lakes, and Yueyang Tower is incomparable among towers. Yueyang Tower with yellow tiles and overhanging eaves set the green forest off (). Its roof covered with yellow glazed tiles () has a smooth curve, precipitous yet warped, just like a general's helmet in ancient China. It is the only ancient building with a helmet roof structure in China.

History

Legend has it that this helmet roof was specially designed to commemorate a general of the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

period (220–280):

Lu Su Lu Su (172–217), courtesy name Zijing, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty. In the year 200, when Sun Quan had just taken over the reins of power, his adviser Zh ...

, the famous general of

Eastern Wu Wu (Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' <

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in hi ...

(222–280). In the 13th year of the Jian'an period of the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220), namely AD 208, in the famous Battle of Red Cliffs, Lu Su, the senior general of the Eastern Wu, joined the alliance of

Sun Quan Sun Quan (, Chinese: 孫權) (183 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of the Eastern Wu dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime ...

and

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the ...

. The allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei launched fire attacks on 800,000 soldiers of the troops of Cao Cao, in the red cliff (today's

Chibi Chibi most often refers to: * Chibi (style), a super-deformed style of Japanese-influenced caricature *Chibi, Hubei (赤壁 lit. Red Cliff), a county-level city in southeastern Hubei, China. Chibi may also refer to: Places * Chibi Subdistrict, ...

city,

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The p ...

province), thus forming the tripartite confrontation of

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' < Shu Han (221–263), and

Eastern Wu Wu (Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' <

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in hi ...

(222–280) from then on. Later, Sun Quan of Eastern Wu dispatched Lu Su to lead troops to defend Baqiu (; today's Yueyang), so as to scramble for Jingzhou with Liu Bei. Lu Su built Yuejun Tower () on the top of the city wall by Dongting Lake, to train and review the navy. Yuejun Tower was the former Yueyang Tower. Under the Yueyang Gate, and by Dongting Lake, was the site of the Call-officers-roll Platform (), where Lu Su reviewed the navy of Eastern Wu at that time. Before the Tang dynasty (618–907), Yueyang Tower was mainly used for the military. After the Tang dynasty, it gradually became a famous scenic spot where men of letters chanted poetry and composed fu. Li Bai, a poet of the Tang dynasty, drank against the wind and wrote: "The water and the sky merge in one color, and the wonders of natural beauty and boundless" (). Du Fu, another poet of the Tang dynasty, ascended Yueyang Tower while ill and wrote the verse, famous through the ages, that "I heard of Dongting Lake before, and now I ascend Yueyang Tower" (). The verses "the waters around Dongting Lake are covered by steam, and the rolling waves shock Yueyang city" () by

Meng Haoran Meng Haoran (; 689/691–740) was a major Tang dynasty poet, and a somewhat older contemporary of Wang Wei, Li Bai and Du Fu. Despite his brief pursuit of an official career, Meng Haoran mainly lived in and wrote about the area in which he wa ...

and "the vast waters cover an area of , and layer upon layer of mountains are as tall as 100 floors" () by Du Fu in the Tang dynasty, describe this place. However, it was Fan Zhongyan, an eminent minister of the

(960–1127), that really made Yueyang Tower world-famous. In the fifth year of the Qingli period, namely 1045, Fan Zhongyan was dismissed from his post of assistant administrator () and demoted to Deng Prefecture (today's Deng county),

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is a ...

, because the reform viewpoint he proposed influenced the interests of the conservative party of the court. In the next year, Fan Zhongyan suddenly heard from his good friend Teng Zijing (). In the letter, Teng Zijing said he was demoted to Yueyang and served as magistrate. He planned to have Yueyang Tower rebuilt. So he invited Fan Zhongyan to write a memorial article. ''Painting Autumn Night by Dongting Lake'' () was also attached. After hearing from Teng Zijing, Fan Zhongyan had complex feelings. Unexpectedly, his good friend Teng Zijing also suffered the same hardship. He expressed his emotion with landscapes to console his good friend. At the same time, he also expressed his ideal wish: To be the first to worry and to be the last to enjoy pleasure in the world is our credo. On September 15 that year, Fan Zhongyan wrote down the eternally famous article ''Memorial to Yueyang Tower''. Yueyang Tower is famous for ''Memorial to Yueyang Tower'' () written by Fan Zhongyan. Many calligraphers have reproduced ''Memorial to Yueyang Tower''. Works by Su Shunqin, the ci poet and calligrapher of the Northern Song dynasty, are the most famous. The famed engraver Shao Song (), engraved the work on a wooden screen, but it was lost. During the Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Huang Ningdao (), magistrate of Yueyang, decided to have a wooden screen of ''Memorial to Yueyang Tower'' engraved again. Just when Huang Ningdao tried hard to find a proper person to reproduce ''Memorial to Yueyang Tower'', the calligrapher Zhang Zhao (), minister of the Ministry of Justice, was escorting army provisions in transportation via Yueyang. Huang Ningdao invited Zhang Zhao to re-engrave it. In the beginning, Zhang Zhao introduced Teng Zijing's recent situation and Yueyang Tower in formal regular script (); he wrote in

semi-cursive script Semi-cursive script (), also known as running hand script, is a style of calligraphy which emerged in China during the Han dynasty (3rd century BC – 3rd century AD). The style is used to write Chinese characters and is abbreviated slightly ...

() to describe landscape in the middle part; and he wrote in the style between semi-cursive script and regular script () in the last part. Later, Huang Ningdao selected 12 pieces of best-quality rosewood for the screen and asked a carpenter to engrave ''Memorial to Yueyang Tower'' written by Zhang Zhao on the screen. Now, the engraved screen is inlaid in the hall of the second floor of Yueyang Tower.

Architecture

According to the record in ''Baling County Annals'' (), its name is Yueyang, and it was first built in the Han and Jin dynasties (). Since Yueyang Tower was built, it has enjoyed a history of over 1,700 years so far. It was destroyed and rebuilt amid wind and rain. The existing Yueyang Tower was built in the sixth year of the

Guangxu period The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign lasted from 1875 to 1908, but in practice he ruled, wi ...

in the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

(1644–1911), namely 1880. In 1983, according to the principle of remaining old as before (), it was pulled down for overhaul, and the original artistic style and architectural features of the Qing dynasty were kept. The current Yueyang Tower is of pure wood structure. The main tower is with three layers of overhanging eaves (). Four nanmu

hypostyle In architecture, a hypostyle () hall has a roof which is supported by columns. Etymology The term ''hypostyle'' comes from the ancient Greek ὑπόστυλος ''hypóstȳlos'' meaning "under columns" (where ὑπό ''hypó'' means below or un ...

columns in the tower go straight to the roof of the tower. To commemorate

, the famous general of Eastern Wu, the roof of Yueyang Tower is designed into a helmet roof held by a ruyi bracket system (). The ruyi bracket system under a helmet roof is in the shape of a honeycomb, being dainty and exquisite. Three layers of overhanging eaves set off the helmet roof, looking like a roc spreading its wings, and flying up. This roof structure in the shape of the general's helmet in ancient times is unique in ancient Chinese architectural history. The helmet roof adds a heroic spirit to the elegant and graceful Yueyang Tower, and manifests the majestic and exquisite Yueyang Tower.

Literature

Like the other two great towers of Jiangnan, Yueyang Tower is famous partly due to its literary associations. These include the piece Yueyang Lou Ji (, loosely translated as "Memorial to Yueyang Tower"), which was written by the renowned

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

and poet Fan Zhongyan () at the invitation of his friend Teng Zijing (, who in 1044 became local governor and rebuilt the tower) as well as the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...

era play ''Yueyang Tower'' by Ma Zhiyuan, one of China's most eminent dramatists.

Gallery

File:Yueyanng Lookout.jpg, The Yueyang Tower by Li Sheng (fl. 908–925),

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen concu ...

File:XiaYong-YueYangLou.jpg, The Yueyang tower during the

File:Lu dongbing passing Yueyang Tower.jpg,

Lü Dongbin Lü Dongbin (796 CE – 1016 CE) is a legendary Chinese scholar and poet said to have lived during the Tang Dynasty. Whether he actually lived the two hundred and twenty years cannot be determined. Elevated to the status of an immortal in the ...

passing the Yueyang Tower by Xia Yong,

File:An Zhengwen-Yueyang Tower.jpg, The Yueyang tower during the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

File:Chinese landscape screen.jpg, Japanese depiction of the Yueyang tower in the 18th century File:Yueyang Tower in 1804.jpg, The Yueyang tower in 1804

References

Bibliography

* * {{cite book , language=zh, author=Du Guichi , script-title=zh:《湖湘文库：巴陵县志》, trans-title=Baling County Annals , year=2008 , publisher=Yüeh-lu shu-she , location=

Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, and ...

, Hunan , isbn=9787807610434 Towers in China Yueyang Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Hunan