The "Re-Erected Stele of Pan Minhuì and Fú Kāng’ān on the Dredging of West Lake"

The "Re-Erected Stele of Pan Minhuì and Fú Kāng’ān on the Dredging of West Lake"

The "Re-Erected Stele of Pan Minhuì and Fú Kāng’ān on the Dredging of West Lake" is a cultural relic protection unit of Fuzhou City.

The "Re-Erected Stele of Pan Minhuì and Fú Kāng’ān on the Dredging of West Lake" is located in the southwest corner of West Lake, within the Dameng Mountain Scenic Area. It was erected in December of the first year of the Daoguang reign during the Qing Dynasty (1821). The stele is made of granite, standing 270 cm tall, 117 cm wide, and 24 cm thick. The inscription on the stele’s head is in seal script, reading "Re-Erected Stele of Pan Minhuì and Fú Kāng’ān on the Dredging of West Lake". Below this are inscribed Pan Siju’s "Stele Record on the Re-Dredging of Fuzhou West Lake" from the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, Fú Kāng’ān’s "Stele Record on the Completion of the Re-Dredging of the Lakes and Rivers in Fuzhou Prefecture", as well as a postscript by Wú Róngguāng added when the stele was re-erected during the Daoguang reign. The entire stele contains 34 lines, each with 80 characters, written in regular script. Originally located near West Lake beside Hubin Primary School in Fuzhou, the stele was moved to the Dameng Mountain Scenic Area of West Lake after the zoo was relocated in 2009, and a wooden stele pavilion was erected above it, with the stele protected under a glass cover.

In the spring of 1748 during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, Pan Siju (posthumously honored as Minhuì), transferred from his position as governor of Anhui to become governor of Fujian. At that time, Fuzhou was experiencing a severe drought, with the water in West Lake so shallow that it could be waded through. Since the lake’s water system was crucial to tens of thousands of acres of farmland nearby, he discussed the matter with the provincial administration commissioner and instructed the prefect of Fuzhou to take charge of dredging West Lake. Work began in November and was completed by the end of the year. Pan Siju documented the history of West Lake’s dredging and the details of this particular project in his "Stele Record on the Re-Dredging of Fuzhou West Lake", which was erected on the eastern wall of the Lotus Pavilion.

In the winter of 1788 during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, Fú Kāng’ān (posthumously honored as Wénxiāng), a Manchu of the Bordered Yellow Banner, served as governor-general of Fujian. Together with Fújiàn governor Xú Sìzēng, he discussed the dredging of West Lake and the inner rivers. Two months later, Fú Kāng’ān was transferred to serve as governor-general of Liangguang, and the final dredging work was completed by Xú Sìzēng in May of the following year. Xú Sìzēng invited Fú Kāng’ān to compose the "Stele Record on the Completion of the Re-Dredging of the Lakes and Rivers in Fuzhou Prefecture". The inscription states: "In the summer of the 53rd year of Qianlong, I crossed the sea from Taiwan to return to the Mountain Resort to report my duties. That winter, I was again appointed to oversee Fujian. Governor Xú had also just returned from Taiwan, and we pledged our joint commitment and united efforts." Both had visited Taiwan on inspection tours and were involved in the dredging of West Lake. The stele was originally erected at West Lake Academy.

Later, these two steles were lost one after another. In 1821, during the first year of the Daoguang reign, people found rubbings of the original texts and asked Wú Róngguāng, the judicial commissioner of Fujian, to compile and carve the records by Pan Siju and Fú Kāng’ān, along with his own postscript, into a single stele, named the "Re-Erected Stele of Pan Minhuì and Fú Kāng’ān on the Dredging of West Lake".