Zhougong Tower

Zhougong Tower

Zhougong Tower is a cultural relic protection unit of Shanghang County.

Zhougong Tower, also known as Sanyuan Tower, is located on Sanyuan Ridge in Shangdu Village, Zhongdu Town, Shanghang County. The tower was built in 1627 (the seventh year of the Tianqi era of the Ming Dynasty) when Zhu Dadian, an inspector from Tingzhou, passed through the area and donated funds to initiate its construction. The tower is built with a brick-and-wood structure, has seven stories and an octagonal shape, stands over 20 meters tall, and features a wooden staircase connecting its levels. Each level has windows, a design referred to as an “empty-tube structure.” Climbing to the top offers a view of the landscapes of Tingzhou and Hangcheng. The larger tower was built at the head of the centipede-shaped ridge, and the smaller one at its tail. As the large tower was situated right atop the centipede’s head, blood-red water (iron-rich water) flowed endlessly from the valley behind the tower. Since this matter was deemed unfit for public disclosure by the imperial court, the tower was named “Zhougong Tower” to avoid any implication. The small tower at the tail of the centipede later collapsed, while the large one at its head has remained intact to this day. One corner of the tower's roof was destroyed by Japanese aircraft in 1942, serving as evidence of Japan’s crimes during their invasion of China. In May 1984, the tower was listed as a county-level cultural relic protection unit of Shanghang. -

Historical Legend

There is a mythical legend surrounding this pagoda.

During the Tianqi era of the Ming Dynasty, a prominent family living at the foot of Sancai Ridge built a grand ancestral tomb at the ridge’s summit. This tomb was said to occupy a “dragon birth site,” and it was believed that after sweeping the tomb and paying respects to ancestors, visitors must not turn back as they left. For decades, people remembered and respected this ancestral rule. One year, there were particularly many visitors paying their respects. On that day, after finishing the tomb sweeping, a woman accidentally dropped the lid of her basket at the tomb site and walked some distance before turning back to retrieve it. When she returned, she saw countless black ants crawling on the bamboo basket lid. The woman picked up the basket and knocked it against a stone corner of the tomb chamber to shake off the ants. That simple knock set off an extraordinary chain of events — the golden bell in the imperial palace of the reigning emperor began to chime loudly, startling the Son of Heaven himself. The emperor dispatched an imperial envoy to investigate the cause of the mysterious bell sound. The investigation lasted three years, and eventually, the truth came out. It was said that a true dragon of destiny — an emperor — would emerge from Shanghang in Fujian, and the so-called “dragon birth site” was none other than that tomb atop Sancai Ridge. As the saying goes: “One mountain cannot contain two tigers, nor can one nation have two rulers.” The emperor summoned all the leading geomancers to devise a solution. One master from Xingguo, Jiangxi, proposed constructing a pagoda at the dragon vein point of the tomb to suppress it. And thus, the pagoda seen today on Sancai Ridge came into being. -