Qu Yuan Memorial Hall in Zigui County

Qu Yuan Memorial Hall in Zigui County

The Qu Yuan Memorial Hall in Zigui County is a memorial dedicated to a historical figure in China. It is located in the eastern part of Zigui County, Hubei Province. Opened in 1980, the hall is divided into upper and lower exhibition rooms. The upper room displays cultural relics unearthed in the county, while the lower room is a memorial exhibition dedicated to Qu Yuan. The museum houses over 500 sets of various editions of the Songs of Chu and books on the study of the Songs of Chu and Qu Yuan, as well as more than 300 pieces of calligraphy and paintings by renowned artists from different dynasties. There are also over 800 unearthed cultural relics. Among them, the more precious ones include the Sword of King Zhe of Yue (Zhou Gou), which is 50 cm long and weighs 1.75 kg. The guard of the sword is engraved with bird script that reads “King Zhe of Yue, made this sword for his own use.” Other items include Ba-style halberds, spears, and swords, all of which bear inscriptions and totems.

The hall also features a stone statue of Qu Yuan, a bronze statue, the Orange Ode Pavilion, and a stele corridor. The stone statue of Qu Yuan was originally housed in the “Temple of Lord Qu” at Xiaoqingtian on the southern bank of Guizhou. It was moved to the Qu Yuan Memorial Hall in 1980, standing 103 cm tall. It was carved and donated by the people of Guizhou in the 16th year of the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty (1537), making it the earliest surviving stone statue of Qu Yuan in China. The bronze statue of Qu Yuan stands prominently on the central dam within the memorial hall. Its base is made of granite, standing 2.5 meters high, while the bronze statue itself is 3.92 meters tall with a wall thickness of 17 cm and weighs 3 tons. The Orange Ode Pavilion is located 50 meters east of the tomb, in an orange grove. It is a double-layered pavilion with six pillars and glazed tiles, featuring six large bluestone tablets arranged in a circle at the center, each inscribed with the full text of Qu Yuan’s “Ode to the Orange” in six different calligraphic styles. The stele corridor is divided into eastern and western sections, situated on both sides of the bronze statue and extending from north to south. It houses 60 stone tablets inscribed with 25 poems by Qu Yuan, including “Li Sao.” The original texts are shown above, with explanatory notes below. (National Cultural Heritage Administration)

Further Reading:

· National Third-Class Museum of China