Wanshen Tower

Wanshen Tower

Wanshen Tower is located at the north of Hongmen Palace on the central foothills of Mount Tai in Tai’an, Shandong Province, also known as Wangxian Tower. It is a gatehouse-style structure spanning the path, built during the Ming Dynasty’s Wanli era (1620), preserving architectural styles from the Qing Dynasty. Originally dedicated to the Queen Mother of the West, it later enshrined Bixia Yuanjun. Legend has it that this was where the deities of Mount Tai gathered to discuss and preach scriptures.

On the east side of the Wanshen Tower archway is the Yinzhen Cave, once a dwelling for Taoist priests. Inside the hall are 128 deities sculpted in various lifelike poses. The lower level of Wanshen Tower is a stone-arched gateway, 3.4 meters high, 2.9 meters wide, with the southern stone plaque inscribed “Wanshen Tower” and the northern one “Xie’en Chu” (Place of Thanksgiving). The entire lower level is 17.4 meters wide from east to west, 13.65 meters deep, and 4.4 meters high. To the east of the gate is the Yinzhen Cave, 1.76 meters deep, 1.95 meters high, and 0.9 meters wide. The upper level of Wanshen Tower is built slightly north of the upper platform of the lower level, spanning three bays (13 meters wide), 6.3 meters deep, and 11 meters tall overall. It features three pillars, seven purlins, and five beams, with a double-rafter construction, yellow glazed tiles, and a nine-ridged hip-and-gable roof. The front has a double-eaved, double-step corridor style. Under the eaves are shadow brackets, with one-dou-two-lift intersecting hemp-leaf heads, and ink-line large-dot-gold color paintings covering the beams and lintels. The lower part of the walls is inlaid with 63 steles inscribed with the names of donors from mountain-worshipping associations during the Ming Dynasty. A stone staircase in the northeast corner of the lower level leads to the upper level.

Above the archway of this tower is inscribed the phrase “Xie’en Chu” (Place of Thanksgiving). Legend says that when emperors climbed the mountain in ancient times, local officials would escort them here, and upon the emperor’s order to return, the officials would give thanks. Another story claims that pilgrims, having safely completed their journey to the mountain, would kneel here to thank Bixia Yuanjun for her protection—hence the name. To the east of the tower stand three ancient cypresses, known as the “Three Brothers Cypresses.” Wanshen Tower underwent multiple renovations during the Ming and Qing dynasties, was refurbished in 1954, had its doors and windows repaired in 1973, and was repainted in 1980. On the western stone wall of the mountain path near Wanshen Tower are carvings, uniquely formed by the characters “feng” (wind) and “yue” (moon) sharing the same central stroke, symbolizing boundless scenic beauty. The scholar Yu Fu once wrote the famous essay “Strolling Through Wanshen in the Bleak Autumn Wind.”

In front of the tower stand three ancient, upright cypresses, lush and towering, with a stone tablet inscribed “Three Brothers Cypresses.” Further ahead, the western cliff is inscribed with “Bravely Ascend to the Immortal Realm,” beneath which is a cave containing a stone turtle, commonly called the Turtle Cave. To the north of the tower is the Revolutionary Martyrs’ Monument, built in 1946. The monument records the heroic deeds of the New Fourth Army’s 1st Column, 3rd Brigade, which fought across the country. Around its base are engraved the names of 708 martyrs who died liberating Tai’an City.

To the west of the monument stands an upright rugged rock, inscribed by a Qing Dynasty figure with the words “Bai Shi” (Worship the Rock). This is associated with the Song Dynasty’s great calligrapher and painter Mi Fu, who, while serving as magistrate of Wuwei, refused to pay respects to the local governor but instead bowed every morning in ceremonial dress to an ancient rock, muttering, “I’d rather bow to an ignorant rock than to a rat-faced official.” As a result, he was demoted. Later generations inscribed this story here to praise his uprightness and integrity. According to the “History of the Song Dynasty, Volume on Literature and Arts, Biography of Mi Fu,” in Wuwei “there was a huge, grotesquely shaped rock. Mi Fu, upon seeing it, joyfully said: ‘This is worthy of my bow.’ He dressed formally and bowed to it, calling it brother.”

Between Wanshen Tower and the monument lies Cherry Orchard in the eastern stream, also called Peach Blossom Gully. A Qing Dynasty poet praised: “Cherries grow at the gully’s bottom, ancient moss covers many rocks. Flowers at the mountain’s foot have fallen, but those at the summit have yet to bloom.” The gully features expansive stone flats, rugged cliffs, murmuring streams that rush and swirl, forming waterfalls, pools, or underground flows, all converging into a deep, broad green pool called Bi Quan Wan (Emerald Spring Bay). Today, there are no peach or cherry trees in the gully, only poplars and locusts filling the valley, with cypress-lined banks, rocky gorges, and cascading waterfalls like curtains.

To the east of the monument is a broken cliff covered in ancient inscriptions. Faint traces can be seen of inscriptions by the famed female Taoist Zhang Lianshi of Mount Tai from the eighth year of the Tang Dynasty’s Dali era (773), as well as names of Yuan Dynasty generals who suppressed the Red Turban Rebellion.

Location

North of Hongmen Palace, Mount Tai, Tai’an, Shandong Province