Enjiang Bridge

Enjiang Bridge

Enjiang Bridge is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangxi Province.

Formerly known as "Jichuan Bridge," it was a multi-arch stone bridge built during the Yuan Dynasty. Located south of Yongfeng County in present-day Jiangxi Province, it spans the Enjiang River. Construction began during the Yuandade (1264–1294) period and was rebuilt during the Ming Zhengde (1506–1521) era. The bridge is 400 meters long with twenty-two arches. Due to severe stone erosion, it was dismantled and rebuilt in the winter of 1956, with five concrete arches added, resulting in an elegant and magnificent structure.

In the seventeenth year of the Ming Wanli era (1589), County Magistrate Wu Qizhao built a wooden Pingzheng Bridge over the Xiaojian River. In the forty-sixth year of the Qing Qianlong era (1781), a devastating flood caused the Jichuan and Xiaojian rivers to converge. In the forty-eighth year of Qianlong (1783), local residents extended the Pingzheng wooden bridge by over ten zhang and connected it to the Jichuan Bridge. In the third year of the Xianfeng era (1853), Liu Shaoshu and his son from Shuangling personally funded the transformation of the Pingzheng wooden bridge into a stone bridge. After eight years of construction, the Pingzheng stone bridge was completed in the tenth year of Xianfeng (1860) and connected to the Jichuan stone bridge, forming the Enjiang Grand Bridge.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the government allocated special funds for its restoration four times starting in 1956. The stone railings on both sides of the bridge deck were replaced with reinforced concrete railings, fitted with reinforced concrete lamp posts. The bridge deck was paved with cement, and bridgehead turrets were built on both ends (now demolished).

Legend has it that during the Yuandade period (1264–1294), Wang Hui, a native of Yongfeng County, donated 400 mu of land and first built a pontoon bridge over the Jichuan River using boats. After several cycles of destruction and rebuilding, by the seventeenth year of the Qing Shunzhi era (1660), County Magistrate Deng Bingyuan rebuilt the bridge with stone. However, funding was scarce. At that time, a monk named Zhiyuan, who was traveling through Yongfeng County, learned of the shortage and, in the bustling market of Yongfeng, cut off his own arm to raise funds. He spent three months collecting donations and gathered a fortune. However, every time the bridge was repaired during the day, it would collapse at night. Monk Zhiyuan discovered that a yellow catfish spirit and a carp spirit were causing the trouble. Using his Buddhist powers, he subdued the yellow catfish spirit and one of the carp spirits. The yellow catfish spirit transformed into Mazhou (now the Mazhou Orchard), and the carp spirit became Momenzhou (the islet where Longpan Temple now stands). Because they were transformed from spirits, Mazhou and Momenzhou float even during severe floods and have never been submerged (as is still the case today).

To make travel easier for locals on rainy days, a covered corridor with tiled roofing was added to the bridge. After the bridge was completed, Monk Zhiyuan quietly left Yongfeng County.

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units