Zhou Yu’s Command Platform

Zhou Yu’s Command Platform

The Command Platform, situated in front of the ancient Nankang Prefecture government seat, is said to be the military review site of Zhou Yu. According to the "Records of the Three Kingdoms: Biography of Zhou Yu," in the twelfth year of the Jian’an era (207 AD), Zhou Yu was ordered to suppress the rebellions at the Ma and Bao stockades, then returned to guard Guanting. He also defeated Huang Yi, the governor of Jiangxia, and captured his subordinate general Deng Long in Chaisang. The "Xingzi County Annals" note that in the fourteenth year of Jian’an (209 AD), Sun Quan ordered Zhou Yu to train the navy on Poyang Lake. Xingzi was the ancient site of Chaisang. Gongting, now called Shenting Lake, is located east of Xingzi County near the Three Stars area. According to the "Comprehensive Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Place Names," the southern part of Poyang Lake was historically called Gongting Lake. The "Commentary on the Water Classic: Mount Lu" states: “At the foot of Mount Lu there is a temple known as the Gongting Temple.” Hence, Poyang Lake was also referred to as Gongting. The Command Platform was initially built around the eleventh year of Jian’an (206 AD). In the winter of the second year of the Ming dynasty’s Tian Shun era (1458 AD), a drum tower for Nankang Prefecture was constructed on the original site of the Command Platform. Bricks from the city wall, bearing inscriptions, are still clearly legible.

The platform faces south and is square in shape. In front of the platform stand two pairs of stone lions. The base is constructed of granite stones, filled with layered earth, with a width of 27.9 meters, a depth of 15 meters, and a height of 5.46 meters. There is an arched passageway in the center, 16 meters deep and 3.3 meters wide, flanked by a long couplet inscribed by Liu Fangpu of the Qing dynasty. The right line reads: “Once the revered passed through here teaching virtue—before Pangong, after Kaoting, I too am an official of the people, so let me try to collect taxes while nurturing them.” The left line reads: “Even if standing atop perilous heights to proclaim dominance, backed by Mount Kuanglu and facing Poyang Lake, who can be the guardian of this land, daring to rely solely on the terrain and rivers?” On the eastern side of the base, steps lead up to the platform, where the tower once stood.

Zhou Yu’s Command Platform, with its classic and rustic architectural style, stands in the midst of a bustling area, frequented by passersby, and continues to inspire a sense of national pride. In 1981, the People’s Government of Xingzi County designated it as a county-level cultural heritage protection unit.

Climbing onto the Command Platform and gazing out from the railing, one sees the azure skies of Wu and the vast expanse of Poyang waters. The magnificent historical scene of Zhou Yu (styled Gongjin) in those days—wielding a feather fan, clad in a silk headband, composed and smiling as he commanded thousands of troops, galloping across Poyang Lake—seems to come vividly to life before one’s eyes.