Linji Pavilion

Linji Pavilion

Linji Pavilion is a cultural heritage site protected by the Suzhou Municipal Government.

Linji Pavilion stands on the mountainside of the central southern part of Yufeng Mountain in Kunshan City. It is a hip-and-gable–roofed square pavilion with four sides. Constructed in the 14th year of the Daoguang reign during the Qing Dynasty (1834) by Tao Shu, then Viceroy of Liangjiang, it was originally named “The Pavilion of Boundless Vistas.” The pavilion has an eave height of 2.7 meters, and measures 4 meters in both width and length. The couplet inscribed on the pavilion was created by Lin Zexu, a national hero from the Opium War period. While serving as Governor of Jiangsu and overseeing water conservancy projects, he passed through Kunshan and, at the invitation of the local magistrate, ascended the pavilion to enjoy the scenery. On the spot, he composed a couplet by combining lines from poems by Fan Chengda and Lu You: “Loving hills in emerald hue wrap all around; A lone pavilion in mist seems floating in the air.” The upper inscription reads: “In the Year of Jia Wu of the Daoguang reign (1834), I chanced upon Kunshan and climbed this pavilion. Thus, I drew phrases from the poetry of Shi Hu and Fang Weng to compose this inscription.” The lower inscription reads: “By Lin Zexu of San Shan.” In the first year of the Xianfeng reign (1851), the pavilion collapsed but was rebuilt by a local resident named Wu Zaixi, who had the couplet engraved on stone pillars and renamed the structure “Linji Pavilion” in honor of Lin Zexu. During the Cultural Revolution, the four pillars and their couplets were preserved when locals covered them with mud to prevent destruction. In 1984, relevant authorities carried out further renovations. In 1991, it was designated as one of the first batch of cultural heritage sites protected by Kunshan City.