Chishang Tower

Chishang Tower

Chishang Tower is a cultural relic protection unit of Wenzhou City.

Chishang Tower in Xiechi Lane is located on Xiechi Lane in Lucheng District and was built to commemorate Xie Lingyun, a poet of the Liu Song Dynasty during the Southern Dynasties. Xie Lingyun (385–433), the grandson of Xie Xuan, a renowned general of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, inherited the title of Duke of Kangle. He was exceptionally talented and pioneered landscape poetry in China. In the third year of the Yongchu era (422), he served as Prefect of Yongjia, brought his family to the region, and built “Chishang Tower”. The 18th volume of the Wenzhou Prefecture Annals from the Ming Dynasty’s Wanli era mentions several historical sites related to the Xie family, including Chishang Tower, Xie Gong Tower (located atop Gongchen Gate, a place where Xie Lingyun enjoyed leisure), the Reading Hall (at the old prefectural office, where Xie Lingyun studied), and the Dream Grass Hall (the western hall of the Jin residence, where Xie Lingyun dreamed of Hui Lian). The original Chishang Tower in Xiechi Lane was situated “north of Fengxiatang (now Donggongxie)”, and it derived its name from the famous line “Pond grasses sprout in spring; garden willows change their singing birds.” It was later destroyed. The current Chishang Pool at the foot of Jigu Mountain was once the “Xie Village” during the Liu Song period and also a residence of the Xie family. Later generations built a tower here in commemoration. In the early years of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty, a local man named Zhang Ruibo returned from Hunan, purchased this site, and added structures such as the “Spring Grass Pavilion,” “Huaisai Pavilion,” and “Crane Boat,” naming the estate “Ruyuan.” The current tower is a wooden structure in the style of a Qing Dynasty residential building, featuring a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof, three bays in width, surrounded by corridors on all sides, with an east-facing view over the Spring Grass Pool and equipped with a leaning railing. In 1981, it was listed as one of the first batch of cultural relic protection units in Wenzhou City.

Protection Level: County (City/District)-level Cultural Relic Protection Unit

Era: Qing Dynasty

Date of Designation: June 11, 1981

Category: Ancient Architecture

Protected Area: The entire Chishang Tower, including the Spring Grass Pool, Crane Boat, Spring Grass Pavilion, and hall buildings.

Building Control Zone: East bounded by the small road east of the Spring Grass Pool, south bounded by the edge of Xiechi Lane, west bounded by the junction between the former Ruyuan architectural complex and the Health School, north bounded by the edge of Fuxue Lane.