Zhongshan Mausoleum Yangzhi Pavilion

Zhongshan Mausoleum Yangzhi Pavilion

Zhongshan Mausoleum Yangzhi Pavilion is a cultural tourism attraction.

Zhongshan Mausoleum Yangzhi Pavilion

Nanjing’s Yangzhi Pavilion is located on Meiling, north of the second gully to the east of the Zhongshan Mausoleum. It neighbors Guanghua Pavilion to the east and faces Liuhui Pavilion to the south. It is the only commemorative structure within the Zhongshan Mausoleum complex funded by an individual donation.

The Yangzhi Pavilion was built in 1931 and completed in the autumn of 1932. Designed by the celebrated architect Liu Dunzhen and funded by Ye Gongchuo, the pavilion is square-shaped with a hip-and-gable roof, standing 6.7 meters tall and measuring 5 meters on each side. It has a reinforced concrete structure. The roof is covered with blue glazed tiles, and the columns are painted vermilion. The beams, crossbeams, architraves, spandrels, eaves rafters, and caisson ceiling are all adorned with colored paintings. The surrounding steps are constructed from Suzhou granite. On the southern architrave of the pavilion are the three characters “Yang Zhi Ting” (仰止亭), personally inscribed by Ye Gongchuo. The term “Yang Zhi” is taken from the line “Look up to a lofty mountain, follow a shining example” (“高山仰止，景行行止”) in the Classic of Poetry (Book of Songs), expressing Ye Gongchuo’s deep reverence and lasting remembrance for Dr. Sun Yat-sen.

Ye Gongchuo (1881–1968), courtesy name Yuhu and pseudonym Xiahuan, was a native of Panyu, Guangdong (now Guangzhou). He served as Vice Minister and later Minister of Communications in the Beiyang Government. In 1922, Dr. Sun Yat-sen appointed him as Finance Minister and Construction Minister of the Guangdong Government. In 1927, after the Nationalist Government established its capital in Nanjing, he became Minister of Railways and Director of the Beijing National Studies Academy. After 1949, Ye Gongchuo held positions such as Standing Committee Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Deputy Director of the Central Research Institute of Culture and History, and President of the China National Academy of Painting. He passed away on August 14, 1968. During his final illness, he asked someone to convey his wish to the Vice President of the country to be buried next to the Yangzhi Pavilion as a sign of his devotion to Dr. Sun Yat-sen. His request was submitted to the State Council and approved by Premier [name omitted], and in April 1970, he was laid to rest west of the Yangzhi Pavilion. His rectangular tombstone bears the inscription: “Tomb of Mr. Ye Gongchuo, Donor of the Yangzhi Pavilion, 1881–1968.”

Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925), also known as Wen, with the courtesy name Zaizhi, literary names Xinsheng and Yixian, childhood name Dixiang, alias Zhongshan Qiao, and commonly referred to as Zhongshan. He was born into a farming family in Cuiheng Village, Xiangshan County (now Zhongshan City), Guangdong Province. In his youth, influenced by the revolutionary traditions of the people of Guangdong, he admired the cause of the Taiping Rebellion. He was a pioneer of China’s modern nationalist and democratic revolution, a great forerunner of China’s democratic revolution, the founder of the Republic of China and the Kuomintang, an advocate of the [ideology omitted], and the creator of the Five-Power Constitution. He was the first to raise the banner of complete opposition to feudalism... More information on Sun Yat-sen ++