Jiujiang Langjing Well

Jiujiang Langjing Well

Langjing Well is located in Langjing Lane on Xiyuan Road near the Yangtze River in Jiujiang City. It is the city’s earliest historical relic and was once known as one of the “Ten Scenic Spots of Ancient Jiujiang” for its “Langjing Well Tides.”

The well is sheltered by a square pavilion with four corners. The pavilion walls are inlaid with poems about the well by Li Bai and Su Zhe. Inside the pavilion are the well itself and a commemorative stele. The diameter of the well opening is less than one meter, and the well is about 15 meters deep. The rim of the well opening is deeply grooved from ropes, and the walls are covered with patches of moss. Yet the water at the bottom remains crystal clear. Its fame comes from the legend that there is an underground spring connected to the Yangtze River, creating a marvelous phenomenon where “waves on the river surface cause ripples in the well,” a sight now sadly lost to time.

Historical records state that in the sixth year of Emperor Gaozu of the Western Han Dynasty (201 BC), the famous general Guan Ying built Jiujiang City. At that time, he dug a well beside Yulou. Because the water in the well responded to the waves of the river, it was named “Langjing Well,” also called “Guan Ying Well.” For a time, the well became obscured and disappeared. Later, in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, when Sun Quan stationed in Jiujiang, he ordered a well to be dug for water. Coincidentally, they discovered the ruins of Langjing Well along with a stone box inscribed with the words: “Opened by Marquis Yingyin in the sixth year of Han.” Below it read: “It will be blocked after three hundred years, and within a hundred years after being blocked, it will be reopened by someone destined to rule.” Sun Quan was overjoyed, considering it an auspicious sign, and renamed it “Rui Well” (Auspicious Well).

In Langjing Lane on Xiyuan Road in downtown Jiujiang, there is a square pavilion protecting an ancient well. The rope marks on the well rim are deeply embedded, the walls are covered with patches of moss, and the water at the bottom is crystal clear and pleasant to look at. This is Jiujiang’s earliest historical relic — Langjing Well, also known as Guan Ying Well or Rui Well.

According to *Xunyang Records* by Jin Dynasty’s Zhang Jian, this well was dug by the Western Han Dynasty general Guan Ying when he led troops to station in Jiujiang in the sixth year of Emperor Gaozu (201 BC), hence the name Guan Ying Well. It later became silted up over the years. During the Three Kingdoms period, Sun Quan stationed in Jiujiang and ordered a well to be dug. They happened to dig at the original site and found a stone box with the inscription: “Opened by Marquis Yingyin in the sixth year of Han.” It also stated: “It will be blocked after three hundred years, and within a hundred years after being blocked, it will be reopened by someone destined to rule.” Sun Quan was delighted, seeing it as an auspicious omen, and thus named it Rui Well.

What made Rui Well different from other wells in the city was that “whenever the river waves were fierce, people could hear the sound of waves from the well.” Li Bai quite believed this, writing in his poem “Descending on Xunyang City, Cruising on Poyang Lake, to Magistrate Huang”: “The waves stir Guan Ying’s Well, winds blow on the Xunyang River.” However, the Song Dynasty poet Su Zhe did not believe this: “Why does the water in the well surge in waves?” “Langjing Well Tides” was once one of the Ten Scenic Spots of Jiujiang.

Li Bai believed that because the well was close to the Yangtze River and had an underground spring connected to it, waves on the river caused ripples in the well. Su Zhe argued that there was a spring underground, and bubbles from the groundwater caused the sound of waves in the well. For over a thousand years, no one has thoroughly investigated which theory is correct. During the Ming Dynasty, Sang Qiao recorded an event in *Lushan Chronicles*: during the Jiajing era, someone digging a well inside the northern gate of Xunyang struck a spring. The water surged with loud, wave-like sounds that corresponded with the river tides. The force was so strong it seemed uncontrollable, so the person in fear sealed the well. It seems that if one digs into a spring, a Langjing Well can be formed — perhaps the mystery of the Langjing Well has been solved.

For thousands of years, the ancient well has endured, but at some point, the tidal sounds from the bottom ceased. Some say it was because embankments were built along the riverbank and stones were piled up to protect the shore, blocking the underground passage. Others say it was due to a drop in the groundwater level, leaving the spring too weak to surge and create waves. Which is true? That remains for scholars to investigate.

Address: Langjing Lane, Xiyuan Road, Jiujiang City

Type: Historic Site