The Zhang Shunchen Monument Pavilion

Zhang Shunchen Monument Pavilion

The Zhang Shunchen Monument Pavilion is a cultural relic protection unit of Shandong Province.

The Zhang Shunchen Monument Pavilion is located southeast of Mapeng Village, Ningjiabu Subdistrict, Zhangqiu District. The cultural relic consists of one monument pavilion. The protected area extends 2 meters in all directions from the center of the pavilion. The construction control zone is the same as the protected area.

The Zhang Shunchen Monument Pavilion is a brick-and-stone structure (with no wooden framework inside), facing south, and has three levels with a total height of 8.3 meters. The interior features a domed ceiling. It is one bay wide and one bay deep, measuring 2.35 m in both width and depth. The exterior walls of the ground floor measure 4.55 m in both length and width, those of the second floor measure 4.07 m, and those of the third floor measure 3.35 m. The building covers a floor area of 21.62 square meters. The roof is a gray-tiled cross-hipped roof, with the main ridge carved with scroll patterns of passionflowers and acanthus leaves. The walls are built with blue bricks in a cross-jointed pattern, pointed with white lime mortar. The first floor has doors on all four sides, above which are stone arches of the flat-water type. The second floor has windows on all sides, each topped with a brick arch of the semi-circular type. The interior floor is paved with crossed-jointed strip bricks. The doorways on the south and north facades are flanked by brick carvings in relief, featuring sunflowers and jade ruyi motifs. The brick carvings on the standing bricks of the second and third floors display passionflower and acanthus scroll patterns, while those on the ridge tiles of the third-floor roof depict peonies. The Zhang Shunchen Monument Pavilion is the only cross-hipped, cross-roofed monument pavilion in Shandong, built with a stable brick-and-stone structure.

The Zhang Shunchen Monument Pavilion was first built in the first year of the Longqing era of the Ming Dynasty (1567), constructed by the family of Zhang Shunchen, a minister of the Ministry of Revenue during the Ming Dynasty, to enshrine his memorial tablet after his death. It has a history of 450 years.

On June 23, 2015, the Zhang Shunchen Monument Pavilion was designated as part of the fifth batch of Provincial-Level Cultural Relic Protection Units by the People's Government of Shandong Province.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Shandong Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units