Ruiguang Tower Ruins

Ruiguang Tower Ruins

The Ruiguang Tower Ruins are a cultural tourism attraction.

The ruins of Ruiguang Tower are located in Xingguang Village, Shiqi Town, Haishu District, Ningbo. The tower had collapsed before the Republican era, and during the 1970s river dredging and widening project, part of its foundation became part of the waterway, while another section was turned into a street.

Ruiguang Tower was the former residence of Gao Zecheng, a Ming Dynasty playwright who wrote *The Story of the Pipa*. Historical records indicate that Gao Ming (1350–1359), courtesy name Zecheng, was a native of Rui’an, Zhejiang. He passed the imperial examination in the fifth year of the Zhizheng era (1345–1355) under Emperor Taiding of Yuan and held minor official positions in Hangzhou and Chuzhou for several years. To escape the chaos of the late Yuan Dynasty, he stayed in Shenjia, Shiqi, Yinzhou District for over a decade. It was during this period that he wrote his famous opera *The Story of the Pipa*.

Originally called the Shen Family Tower and commonly known as "Eight-Room Tower," legend has it that on the night Gao Zecheng completed *The Story of the Pipa*, he was so overjoyed that, in the deep autumn season, as he sat alone chanting the opera’s musical scores at his desk, he noticed the flames of two candles placed side by side curving toward each other and merging into one, forming a beautiful flame rainbow. This rare phenomenon was seen by Gao as an auspicious omen. Overcome with emotion, he exclaimed “Ruiguang (Auspicious Light)! Ruiguang!” From then on, the Shen Family Tower came to be known as Ruiguang Tower. Historical gazetteers from past eras listed this tower among the renowned buildings of eastern Zhejiang. Over time, Ruiguang Tower no longer exists, and only its ruins remain. During a cultural relics survey in 1983, a small hall was discovered in a nearby lane, containing a black plaque with golden characters reading “Ruiguang Hall.” Whether this hall is related to Ruiguang Tower remains to be verified. A commemorative stone marker has been erected at the original site of Ruiguang Tower, preserving the memory for future generations. In May 2005, it was designated as a cultural relics protection site at the Yinzhou District level, and following the 2016 administrative division adjustment of Ningbo, it was placed under Haishu District.

Source: Haishu District Cultural Relics Management Office