Mingshui Bridge

Mingshui Bridge

Mingshui Bridge is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Song Dynasty-era Mingshui Bridge is located at the entrance of Lingyun Peak in the Gaozao Mountain Scenic Area, Zhangshu City. Built in the first year of the Zhenghe era of the Northern Song Dynasty (1111 AD), it is a stone arch bridge. The bridge is 7.3 meters long and 6.8 meters wide, featuring a single stone arch in a semicircular shape with an arch height of 2.5 meters. The body of the bridge is constructed with horizontally laid rectangular stone slabs, topped with two additional flat stones over the arch. The bridge deck is paved with equal-sided square stones arranged in a diagonal diamond pattern. Stone railings are installed on both sides of the bridge, consisting of balusters, railing caps, panels, and plinths. The balusters are carved with lotus petals. Inside the bridge arch, 17 arch rings are visible on the eastern stone wall. The first stone block of each ring features an inscription in regular script, carved along the stream: “In the first year of the Zhenghe era of the Great Song (1111 AD), the Taoist community of Gaozao Mountain, together with devotees, donated money and resources to build this stone bridge. Construction was completed on the winter solstice of the fourth year.” The characters are as large as a dou (an ancient Chinese measurement) and clearly legible. Mingshui Bridge is one of the Eight Scenic Spots of Gaozao Mountain. According to the "Record of the Eight Scenic Spots of Gaozao Mountain," the source of the Gao River lies in the Nine Dragons. Following the terrain westward, the river rushes down through the cliffs at the mouth of Lingyun Peak, roaring like thunder. A bridge was built across the water. About a hundred years later, during the Kaixi era of the Southern Song Dynasty, a pavilion named “Mingshui Terrace Pavilion” was erected on the bridge. The pavilion was “burned down in the early Qing Dynasty.” Because of the beautiful scenery around the bridge and the sound of the cascading waterfall, the bridge came to be called “Mingshui” (literally, “Sounding Water”). Couplets once adorned the pavilion atop the bridge, such as “Echoes resound through myriad valleys, waters crash against a thousand rocks” and “The rushing water strikes the stones like flying snow, tree shadows stretch to the mountains as if turning into clouds.” Throughout history, notable figures such as Zhu Xi, Wen Tianxiang, He Zhong, Wu Cheng, and Xie Jin visited and composed poems here. In 1987, it was re-designated as a Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit. In 2006, Mingshui Bridge was listed as part of the sixth group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units