Wenchang Pavilion in Qingcheng

Qingcheng Wenchang Pavilion, also known as Kuixing tower, is located in Qingcheng Town, Gaoqing County, Zibo City, Shandong Province. It used to be a place for worshiping Wenchang emperor in ancient times. In the first year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1736 AD), 64 literati and military students raised funds to build "Wentai" in Shizi street of Qingcheng; Wenchang Pavilion was built in the 20th year of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1756 AD); and it was rebuilt in the 21st year of Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty (1841 AD). It is a national key cultural relic protection unit and the most famous ancient architectural remains of Gaoqing.

Wenchang Pavilion in Qingcheng

Qingcheng Wenchang Pavilion, also known as Kuixing tower, is located in Qingcheng Town, Gaoqing County, Zibo City, Shandong Province. It used to be a place for worshiping Wenchang emperor in ancient times. According to the 1991 edition of Gaoqing County annals, in the first year of Qianlong (1736 AD), 64 literati and military students raised funds to build "Wentai" in Shizi street of Qingcheng; Wenchang Pavilion was built in the 20th year of Qianlong (1756 AD); in the 21st year of Daoguang (1841 AD), Zhang Weiyuan, the magistrate of Qingcheng, donated funds and cooperated with local squires to rebuild it.

Historical evolution

Wenchang Pavilion belongs to Chinese Taoist architecture. The emperor Wenchang, also known as "Wenqu star" and "Wenxing", was the God in ancient Chinese mythology, who was later inherited by Taoism. In the old days, they were worshipped by intellectuals, thinking that they could protect their reputation. In the third year of Yanyou reign of emperor Renzong of Yuan Dynasty (A.D. 1316), Emperor Zitong was granted the title of "emperor luhongren, the Secretary of Wenchang of Fuyuan Kaihua". Because of these reasons, the feudal literati worshiped him. In traditional Chinese culture, Wenchang and Guandi are known as the "two saints of culture and military". The ritual of offering sacrifices to Wenchang emperor is like offering sacrifices to Guansheng emperor. There are grand ceremonies in spring and autumn every year. At that time, the county officials led their staff, township officials and students to wear court clothes and set up ceremonial guards to perform nine worship ceremonies, and offered five sacrificial offerings, including "silk one, cattle one, sheep one, pig one, fruit five and Beans each ten".

Qingcheng town has a long history. It was called Qingping town in Tang Dynasty. Qingping county was established in 1233 A.D. and then changed to Qingcheng county. In the first year of Yuantong in Yuan Dynasty (1333 AD), a circular Qingcheng city was built with a circumference of 3 li, a height of more than 2 Zhang and a moat depth of more than 1 Zhang. The city has four gates: Wanghai gate in the East, Tongji gate in the west, yangdai gate in the South and Gongchen gate in the north. Later, a small north gate was built in the northeast corner of the city wall, known as "Yingen gate", and a small South Gate was built in the southeast corner, known as "Zhaowen gate". In the 23rd year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1595 AD), an urn was added. After many renovations in the yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Qingcheng gradually became an ancient city with perfect functions and uniformity. In the spring of 1896, a flood control dike with a width of 5 meters and a perimeter of 3411 meters was built outside the city. Peach and apricot trees were planted on the dike. Every spring, the flowers around the city are fragrant and beautiful. Later, because of the war and disrepair, the city walls gradually broke down. In March 1939, the Japanese invaders occupied Qingcheng, built turrets on the city wall, pulled wire mesh, and the county suffered serious damage. After the founding of the people's Republic of China, Qingcheng was once the residence of Gaoqing County Party committee and county government, and then the residence of Qingcheng District, commune and town government. Qing (Yun) Zi (Chuan) road runs through the north and south, is the end of Guang (North Farm) Qing (city) road.

Architectural style

Wenchang Pavilion is a cross street building built in the center of ancient Qingcheng county. The base is square, 2.1 Zhang high and 3.25 Zhang long, built with big green bricks. Under the base, there is a 1.2-foot-wide and 1.6-foot-high cross shaped arch hole connecting the four main streets leading to the East, West, North and south city gates. In the south, there are steps on both sides of the arch, turning upward. On the base is a three-story wooden pavilion, the first floor is supported by columns, the second floor is a dark floor, and the middle is built with brick walls to the third floor. Each layer has four corners and a top, decorated with a bucket arch, covered with glazed tiles, and four ridges with lifelike stone animals. There is a copper bell hanging under the eaves. The breeze blows, and it gives out a clear and pleasant bell. The top is crowned with a large round wooden crown of lead gray. The whole pavilion is about 4.7 Zhang high, with tight and exquisite structure and magnificent shape. For the students who dream of winning the gold medal, Wenchang king in the pavilion is the God of their destiny. It is said that a student, changong, returned to his hometown in rich clothes after winning the laurel. On the way to ancestor worship, he passed Wenchang Pavilion and renamed it Kuixing Pavilion. From then on, Wenchang Pavilion in Qingcheng got a nice name.

Wenchang Pavilion is one of the "eight sceneries" in ancient Qingcheng County, which is called "Gaoge Qingxia". It is located in the middle of the city surrounded by the city walls, above the buildings set off by the green trees. Looking up, the high Pavilion is even more tall and magnificent, with extraordinary momentum under the brilliant clouds. Visitors boarded the high Pavilion and looked at it from a distance. The beauty of the "High Pavilion sunny haze" is all in silence. In late spring, smoke curls up from the village houses, and the fertile fields are full of vitality. In mid autumn, the farmers harvest the Yellow crops and have a panoramic view of the beautiful harvest. When the wind is clear and the sun is beautiful, you can see Huangshan and Qinglongshan in Zouping County from the south, and you can count the sails in the vast Yellow River from the north.

After a long period of wind and rain erosion, earthquake shaking and war damage, the Wenchang Pavilion in Qingcheng city had become a place with cracked walls, broken tiles and mottled lacquer paintings by the mid-1940s. After the victory of the Anti Japanese War, with the approval of the Shandong provincial government, the democratic government of Qingcheng County appropriated 120000 yuan Beihai coin to rebuild Wenchang Pavilion into a Martyrs Memorial temple, which was completed in 1946. The plaque of "martyr's temple" is hung in the middle of the third floor, and the plaque of "sacrifice for the country", "magnificent mountains and rivers", "blue blood for thousands of years" and "protect the country and the people" are respectively hung in the northwest and southeast of the first floor, all of which are wood carvings. The martyrs' shrine is inlaid with a stone tablet engraved with the names of 250 martyrs and the inscriptions of Qingcheng county Party committee, county government, county brigade, all circles of the founding Union and all the people. In the "Cultural Revolution", Wenchang Pavilion was destroyed again. Since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, with the development of rural economy, Wenchang Pavilion has also gained a new life. In 1979, Gaoqing County announced eight key cultural relics protection units at the county level, including Wenchang Pavilion in Qingcheng. In August 1981, the provincial government allocated 10000 yuan to repair Wenchang Pavilion in Qingcheng. In 1992, the people's Government of Gaocheng town organized the renovation again. The project attracted the attention of overseas Chinese and they donated money and materials to support it. In the eyes of overseas tourists, Wenchang Pavilion is not only a symbol of Qingcheng, but also a symbol of the motherland. No matter how far they go, no matter how many years they have been away from home, their roots remain in this land forever.

Today, Wenchang Pavilion, which has become a key cultural relic protection unit in Shandong Province, has been renovated and shining, and has become a beautiful scenery on the South Bank of the Yellow River and the North Plain of Shandong Province. When you visit Wenchang Pavilion in Qingcheng, you will have a brand-new feeling when you look up at the spectacular skyrocketing Pavilion and overlook the beautiful scenery of northern Shandong plain.

Address: Wenchang Road, Qingcheng Town, Gaoqing County

Longitude: 117.696175

Latitude: 37.179128

Tour time: 30 minutes

Traffic information: take bus from Gaoqing bus station to Qingcheng town. Or you can drive to Qingcheng Town, Gaoqing County.

Ticket information: Free

Opening hours: all day

Chinese PinYin : Qing Cheng Wen Chang Ge