Tquan

Tquan

Tquan is located in the central part of Tquan Village. The spring pool is one meter square, about seven meters deep, and built with rubble stones. The water is clear, sweet, and flows continuously all year round. The water flows eastward through a stone cave and hidden channel in the pool wall, then turns southward to an open channel by the street where it flows westward, creating a scene where the channel embraces the stream. It eventually joins the Jinyang River. Next to this spring, there was once a Huanggu Nunnery during the Tang Dynasty, which housed a stone pagoda. In 1972, it was relocated to the Simen Pagoda site. Today, there remain two horizontally lying octagonal stone sutra pillars. In the old days, there was a Tquan Temple here, with a large stage in front of it. During temple fairs, villagers from the surrounding areas would come to watch the performances.

The spring water of Tquan is abundant, with two streams gushing out white spray, and the open channel flows like a small river. Local legend says the water can “float plates.” In the past, when families in the neighboring villages held wedding banquets and needed plates and bowls, they would come to the spring to burn incense and kowtow. As the water surged, porcelain plates and bowls would float to the surface. After use, the villagers would conscientiously return them in full. Later, a greedy landlord learned of this and wanted to keep the plates for himself. But as he had no sons, he hatched a plan—he lied to others that he had found a son and was soon to marry off his daughter-in-law, pretending to pray to the gods for help. Once his wish was granted, the landlord refused to return the items. Just as the landlord was secretly gloating over his scheme, a sudden fire broke out at his residence, raging fiercely. The villagers saw it as divine retribution, and the landlord watched helplessly as his mansion turned to ashes. But Tquan never floated plates again.

Tquan is also known as Duquan and was once listed among Jinan’s 72 Famous Springs. The spring has a strong flow, with water gushing up from the pool in a bulging shape. Later generations named it “Tquan” (meaning “Surging Spring”) based on its appearance. This spring not only provides drinking water for people and livestock but also irrigates farmland, earning it the reputation of being a “treasure spring” among villagers. It is now listed as one of the newly designated 72 Famous Springs of Jinan in 2004.

Tquan Village: Liubu Town’s Tquan Village is located 4.5 kilometers northwest of the town, on the northern bank of the Jinyang River. Tquan Village has 680 households and a population of 2,348. The village features the ancient and famous Tquan Spring, as well as the ruins of the Tang Dynasty stone carving statue and Huanggu Nunnery. Tquan is recorded in both the Jin Dynasty’s "Famous Springs Stele" and the Ming Dynasty’s "Seventy-Two Springs Record."

Tquan Village was called Tquan in the Tang Dynasty. Commonly known as Duquan Village, it got its name from the spring. Within the village, the Huanggu Nunnery Pagoda erected in the fifth year of the Tang Kaiyuan era (717 AD) and the Octagonal Stone Stele from the second year of the Changqing era (822 AD) both mention the name Tquan. It is said that Tquan Village was established earlier than the Huanggu Nunnery Pagoda. The Ming Chongzhen-era "Licheng County Annals" referred to it as “Duquan”... More details about Tquan Village++