The Pavilion of Prince Teng () is a building in the North West of the city of

Nanchang Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi, China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east by Poyang Lake. Because of its strate ...

, in

Jiangxi ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

province,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, on the east bank of the

Gan River The Gan River (, Gan: Kōm-kong) runs north through the western part of Jiangxi before flowing into Lake Poyang and thus the Yangtze River. The Xiang-Gan uplands separate it from the Xiang River of neighboring eastern Hunan. Two similarly siz ...

and is one of the Three Great Towers of southern China. The other two are the Yueyang Tower and the Yellow Crane Pavilion. It has been destroyed and rebuilt many times over its history. The present building was rebuilt in 1989 on the original site. The rebuilding plan was devised by the architect

Liang Sicheng Liang Sicheng ( zh, c=梁思成; 20 April 1901 – 9 January 1972) was a Chinese architect and architectural historian, known as the father of modern Chinese architecture. His father, Liang Qichao, was one of the most prominent Chinese scholar ...

, and now the Pavilion of Prince Teng is the landmark of Nanchang. There are nine floors in total. The main architectural structure is in

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

wooden style, showing the magnificence of the Pavilion.

History

The Pavilion of Prince Teng was first built in 653 AD, by Li Yuanying, the younger brother of

Emperor Taizong of Tang Emperor Taizong of Tang (28January 59810July 649), previously Prince of Qin, personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty fo ...

and uncle of

Emperor Gaozong of Tang Emperor Gaozong of Tang (21 July 628 – 27 December 683), personal name Li Zhi, was the third Emperor of China, emperor of the Chinese Tang dynasty, ruling from 649 to 683; after January 665, he handed power over the empire to his second wife ...

. Li Yuanying was enfeoffed as Prince Teng in 639 and spent his early years in

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

. In 652 he was assigned the governorship of Nanchang where the pavilion served as his townhouse. Twenty years later, the building was rebuilt by the new governor. Upon its completion, a group of local intelligentsia gathered to compose prose and poetry about the building. The most famous of these is the '' Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng'' by Wang Bo. This piece made the Pavilion of Prince Teng a household name in China down to the present day. The Pavilion was subsequently destroyed and rebuilt a total of 29 times over the next centuries.Wang: 1. The building itself changed shape and function many times. The penultimate construction was during the Tongzhi era of the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. That building was destroyed in October 1926 during the chaotic

Warlord Era The Warlord Era was the period in the history of the Republic of China between 1916 and 1928, when control of the country was divided between rival Warlord, military cliques of the Beiyang Army and other regional factions. It began after the de ...

.Wang: 31.

Recent

The present Pavilion of Prince Teng was built according to the design of architect

, and was completed on 8 October 1989; now a landmark of Nanchang. The building is of

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

, but decorated in

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

style. It is tall and has nine stories. The building has a total floor area of . The building sits atop a tall concrete platform, which symbolizes the now-destroyed ancient

city wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or Earthworks (military), earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as ...

. A stainless steel tablet at the entrance is engraved with a calligraphy work of

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

: 「」 ("Falling sunset and lone goose flying together; a single hue, autumn water and the long stretch of sky."), a quotation from '' Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng''. The garden was also built in 1989. The building mainly serves as a tourist attraction. Apart from internal decoration, attractions include a theater that stages performances of period music and displays of reconstructed ancient instruments. There are some restaurants and souvenir shops. The streets around the pavilion have been designed to conform with its style. This area has become the epicenter of Nanchang's antiques trade.

Influences

The Pavilion of Prince Teng achieved national fame through the ''Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng''. As a result, it was endowed by later generations with almost legendary status as an example of magnificent architecture. When the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is the Chinese Empire, imperial Chinese palace, palace complex in the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City in Beijing, China. It was the residence of 24 Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasty L ...

was built, its corner towers were built to imitate the Pavilion of Prince Teng and the Yellow Crane Pavilion as depicted in Song Dynasty paintings. (Strangely, both pavilions are depicted identically in surviving paintings). These uniquely structured corner towers remain some of the most valued architectural treasures of the Forbidden City. The Pavilion of Prince Teng was very highly regarded in several dynasties during the history of China. It also served as an ancient library, storing a large number of precious scriptures and poems.

Construction timeline

According to Wang:Wang: 236-246.

Gallery

File:Yong Xia Tengwangge.jpg, Prince Teng Pavilion by Xia Yong,

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

File:The Prince Teng Pavilion - Yuan dynasty.jpg, Prince Teng Pavilion by anonymous,

File:Wang Zhenpeng - Pavilion of Prince Teng.jpg, Pavilion of Prince Teng by Wang Zhenpeng,

File:Prince Teng Pavilion Yuan.jpg, Prince Teng Pavilion by anonymous,

File:Model of Tang Dynasty Tengwangge (Prince of Teng Pavilion) (31571538765).jpg, Model of

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

Prince of Teng Pavilion. File:Model of Song Dynasty Tengwangge (Prince of Teng Pavilion) (31533465346).jpg, Model of

Prince of Teng Pavilion. File:Model of Yuan Dynasty Tengwangge (Prince of Teng Pavilion) (31455461711).jpg, Model of

Yuan Dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

Prince of Teng Pavilion. File:Model of Ming Dynasty Tengwangge (Prince of Teng Pavilion) (30761652043).jpg, Model of

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

Prince of Teng Pavilion. File:Model of Qing Dynasty Tengwangge (Prince of Teng Pavilion) (31455346281).jpg, Model of

Prince of Teng Pavilion.

Notes

References

*Wang, Qiaolin () et al. 1996. ''Jiangnan Famous Site: The Pavilion of Prince Teng'' (). Baihuazhou Literary Press (). 247 pages. . {{coord, 28, 41, 2.76, N, 115, 52, 32.88, E, region:CN_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Jiangxi Pagodas in China Song dynasty architecture Towers in China Wooden buildings and structures in China 653 establishments Towers completed in the 7th century Rebuilt buildings and structures in China Tourist attractions in Jiangxi Traditional Chinese architecture