Shaoyang North Tower

Shaoyang North Tower

Shaoyang North Tower, built in the first year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1573 AD), is 26 meters high, seven octagonal, brick and stone structure, iron top, located in the North Tower District of Shaoyang City, Hunan Province, China. It is the only ancient pagoda "national treasure" in our province

geographical position

Shaoyang North Tower is located in Beita District, Shaoyang City, Hunan Province, China. It is on the North Bank of the confluence of Zijiang River and Shaoshui river. It is opposite to the East Tower and faces the pavilion on the pillar rock across the river.

Transportation: taxi, starting at 7 yuan.

Layout structure: Tower 26 meters high, seven octagonal, masonry structure. The tower is spacious, with brick spiral ladder, which can climb the top of the tower. The stone foundation can accommodate 100 people.

historical origin

The only ancient pagoda "national protection" (national key cultural relics protection unit) in our province. In October 1997, Beita District, a county-level administrative region under the jurisdiction of the city, was established with the approval of the State Council.

In the fourth year of Longqing (1570) of the Ming Dynasty, Wu DUI and Gao Gangfeng were preparing for construction. In the first year of Wanli (1573) of the Ming Dynasty, construction began, and in the tenth year of Wanli (1582) of the Ming Dynasty, construction was completed under the direction of Hu Geng, the magistrate. Tower 26 meters high, seven octagonal, masonry structure. The tower is spacious, with brick spiral ladder, which can climb the top of the tower. The stone foundation can accommodate 100 people. The eaves and arches of the first and third floors of the pagoda are inlaid with finely ground rubble, with exquisite workmanship. The top of the tower is composed of three stacked iron vases. Between the walls on the second floor, there is a stone tablet wedged with iron pieces, bearing the name of the craftsman. The inside of the tower is empty, and there is a brick spiral ladder on the top of the tower. In 1944, during the Japanese air raid, an iron vase was knocked down, weighing 500 kg, and a corner of the tower was damaged by the vase. Each corner of the original layer with a copper bell, the wind blowing bell ring, pleasant to hear.

architectural style

The tower was built in the kingdom of India. However, the construction of Chinese style tower is not limited to the meaning of religion, it has become a symbol to decorate the landscape and urban culture. According to the North Tower written by Che Daren of Shaoyang, the Minister of rites of Nanjing in Wanli period of Ming Dynasty, the reason for the construction of the North Tower is that "two miles to the northeast of Baoqing City, two rivers of Shaoshui of Zijiang River confluence, one turns to the north, and the terrain is low and open. According to the experts, it is appropriate to build a tower town, so as to cultivate geomantic omen and inspire humanity".

Cultural scenery

After the completion of the North Tower, the North Tower Temple and wunian Pavilion were built near the tower. It is said that Qian Bangqi, the great monk of Zhenjiang in the Ming Dynasty, once had a rest here. Therefore, it was a place for Buddhist activities in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Now it stands on the North Bank of the Zijiang River, which is a famous ancient city of Baoqing.

The North Tower is located at the downstream of the confluence of the two rivers of zishao. It not only confronts the East Tower, but also faces the other ancient buildings such as Jishang Pavilion, waiting Pavilion and Guansheng hall across the river, forming a wonderful picture, known as "Tiankai painting".

In the Qing Dynasty, Wu Dexiang, a native of the Qing Dynasty, linked the pavilion with the clouds: the clouds went through the trees with the sound of bells; the moon moved the tower and the shadow came across the river, which vividly depicted this picturesque beauty. There is a vast expanse of clear water in the north of the tower, which sets off the majestic posture of the North Tower.

The river flows through the ages and the tower shadows through the ages. After more than 400 years of wind and rain, the North Tower is still majestic.

Primary protection

Now, the people's Government of Shaoyang City has planned to build the North Tower Park with the North Tower as the center. The municipal Party committee and the municipal government have designated more than 400 mu of land around the North Tower as the land for the North Tower Park, allocated more than 30 mu of land for the protection of the North Tower cultural relics, and listed the North Tower and its protection area as the first level protection area. The construction of supporting facilities in Beita Park and Beita cultural relic reserve is stepping up. The North Tower nature reserve with elegant environment will become a good place for people's leisure.

Beautiful scenery of ancient pagoda

The North Tower and the east tower are facing each other, and they are looking across the river from the pavilion on the pillar rock. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Xu Xiaosong once wrote a famous couplet for the pavilion outside the pavilion: "the cloud goes through the tree with the bell, and the moon moves over the river." When you climb the tower, you can see the ancient blue water pagoda. The capital water is like a belt, the Dragon Mountain is like a picture, and the moon is bright and the wind is light. The shadow of the pagoda reflects the capital water. There is a state of meeting with Shuangqing Pavilion on the South bank, which is very poetic.

The North Tower is a pavilion style brick tower, with eight sides and seven stories in appearance, and its height is 37 meters. On the south side of the tower bottom, there is a semicircular gate with a top. On both sides of the gate are built with semicircular green bricks, with four links leaning against columns. On the top of the gate are built eaves. The double eaves are tilted, and the eaves are decorated with bricks to grind Ruyi brackets.

From the gate into the tower, it can be rotated counterclockwise along the folding corridor inside the tower to reach the top Pavilion and the South and north gates; on the outer wall of the bottom floor is inlaid with the stone tablet of the North Tower, on which are printed the words of "the first year of Wanli, the believers built bricks" and so on. Up to now, the handwriting is clear and readable, which provides a reliable basis for the dating of brick towers in the Ming Dynasty. Climbing to the top of the tower, you can see the octagonal peak. The original corners are decorated with copper bells. The breeze blows gently and the sound is pleasant. Three iron cast gourd bottles on the top of the spire stop. During the Anti Japanese period, Japanese planes dropped bombs and knocked down a treasure bottle.

Today, there is a 5-meter-high black pepper tree at the top of the tower, which is evergreen all the year round. In midsummer and late autumn, I invited two or three confidants to climb the tower to have a panoramic view, but I saw the vast Zijiang River, the history of the city, the scenery of the four directions, and had a panoramic view. Zou Hanji, a native of the city, had a poem about the North tower, which said: Zhenyi made a trip to the forest together, and the tower was facing Shaozhou in the cold. The bird path lingers, the people turn to the back, the clouds and the woods are flat, and the air rises and falls. The river and the sky are indifferent, the Pisces are strong, and the wind and the day are slow. The origin of the world is like a greyhound.

Historical data

In the architectural history of ancient Chinese pagodas, there are two kinds of pagodas: pagoda and landscape pagoda. In fact, the building of the landscape tower also has the implication of guarding one side. The North Tower is a Zhenjiang tower built on the Bank of Zishui river. It is the sustenance of the boatmen who live on the river to pray for peace. "Saving one's life is better than building a seven level pagoda." this Buddhist saying means that the pagoda must be a seven level building. Of course, the North pagoda is to "save" the boatman in the swift Zijiang River Bend, so it stands on the North Bank of the bend of Zijiang River according to the seven level structure of the pagoda

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Since then, the north tower has become the patron saint and spiritual pillar of the people on the shore of the Zijiang River and the boatman on the water in Shaoyang. There are 22 navigable rivers in baoqingfu, with a total length of 1420 km. The agricultural products, local paper, coal and large strip steel in each state and county are carried by wooden sailboats. Through the main stream of Zijiang, it is transported and sold inside and outside the province. Bamboo and wood rafts were built in Zishui and Wushui, and then transported to Hankou and other places through Hongjiang, Changde and Yiyang. Especially after the coal was transported to Yiyang and Hankou by board ship, the owner of the ship sold the coal first, and then sold the empty ship to the plate dismantling plant.

The main reason for this unique way of water transportation, in which ships and goods are sold together, has lasted for a hundred years. The main reason is that Baoqing Prefecture is rich in bamboo and wood. The second reason is that the cost of returning upstream is too high, and the boatman is too tired. However, the materials needed in Baoqing Prefecture, such as Huai salt, grain and handicrafts, had to be transported back to water. At that time when the inland transportation was inconvenient and the means of transportation were backward, the capital and water almost became the artery of the logistics and people flow in Baoqing Prefecture.

Address: Beita village, Jiangbei Township, Beita District, Shaoyang City, Hunan Province

Longitude: 111.47159014793

Latitude: 27.2459772466667

Tel: 0739-5081258

Chinese PinYin : Shao Yang Bei Ta