Zhengqi Pavilion

Zhengqi Pavilion

Zhengqi Pavilion is located on the eastern shore of Zixia Lake, in front of Zixia Cave, between the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum. The pavilion is square-shaped with double eaves and upturned corners, covered with blue glazed tiles, built on a foundation of Suzhou granite, with bright red pillars and colorfully painted beams, presenting a magnificent and resplendent appearance. At the center of the granite retaining wall behind the pavilion is inlaid a stone stele inscribed with "The Record of Zhengqi Pavilion," written by Sun Ke. It turns out that the three characters "Zhengqi Pavilion" were personally inscribed by Chiang Kai-shek, who also composed a couplet: the upper line reads "The noble spirit connects afar with the Martyrs' Tower" (the Martyrs' Tower refers to the Monument to Fallen Soldiers), and the lower line reads "The purple haze envelops Baoshu Peak" (referring to the imperial tomb mound of the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, known as the Unique Dragon Hill Playing with Pearl Peak). The inscription is dated "September, the 36th Year of the Republic of China" on the upper margin and signed "Chiang Kai-shek" on the lower margin.