Shuicheng Wenchang Pavilion

　　   Commonly known as Guanyin Pavilion. Located on a small rocky hill at the northern end of the old city, it faces south with a slight westward orientation. The exact date of its initial construction is uncertain, but it was built no later than the early years of the Jiaqing reign. Wenchang Pavilion is the general name for an ancient temple architectural complex, including the mountain gate, Kuixing Tower, Wenchang Palace, Skanda Pavilion, Wenchang Pavilion itself, and east and west side halls. It spans 48 meters from east to west and 60 meters from north to south, covering an area of 2,900 square meters.

　　　　    Among these, the Wenchang Pavilion is one of the better-preserved remnants of temples in Shuicheng. Currently, only the Wenchang Pavilion and the east and west side halls remain, while the mountain gate, Kuixing Tower, abbot’s quarters, and Skanda Pavilion have been lost. Since the 1950s, the Wenchang Pavilion had been repurposed as staff dormitories and underwent renovations and alterations. It was later destroyed in 1958.

　　　　    According to elders’ recollections, the small hill where the Wenchang Pavilion stands was once covered with pine, cypress, Chinese honeylocust, holly, bamboo, and various flowers and plants. The Wenchang Pavilion was shaded by tall trees, creating a serene and elegant atmosphere. When night fell, hundreds of egrets and herons would perch in the trees, adding to the vibrancy. Today, most of the trees have been cut down.

　　　　    The remaining Wenchang Pavilion covers an area of 216 square meters. It is five bays wide, totaling 24 meters, with the central bay measuring 4.6 meters and a depth of 9 meters; the side bays are 4.1 meters wide with the same depth, and the end bays are 4.1 meters wide with a depth of 9 meters. Its total height is 9.3 meters. It features a single-eave hip-and-gable roof, a mixed post-and-lintel and beam-frame structure, brick-and-stone walls, and is covered with green tubular tiles. Apart from some replacement tiles, the wooden framework, paneling, walls, and eaves tiles are all relics from the Qing Dynasty.

　　    The east and west side halls are each three bays wide, 8.7 meters, with a depth of 6.5 meters and a total height of 5.6 meters. They have single-eave gable-and-hip roofs, post-and-lintel structures, and are built with a combination of brick and wood, covered with small green tiles. Each covers an area of 56 square meters.

　　　　    The Wenchang Pavilion is one of the main buildings in this complex. It is a three-story, three-eave hexagonal pavilion with an upturned roof ridge, covered with green tubular tiles. The bottom floor has a diameter of about 4 meters, the middle and upper floors are about 3.6 meters high, the roof is approximately 2.1 meters high, making the total height around 13 meters. The bottom floor has six partition doors, with the upper sections carved in openwork featuring auspicious birds and animals, the lower panels decorated with floral bas-reliefs, and the hip ridges adorned with statues of immortals and mythical creatures. Iron bells hang from each upturned corner. A horizontal plaque hangs above the bottom-floor doorway, inscribed in gold characters with the words “Compassionate Ferry Across the Sea.” A plaque beneath the middle-floor eave reads “Stellar Terrace of Literary Study” in gold characters. In the 30th year of the Daoguang reign (1850), a plaque was hung under the upper-floor eave, inscribed with the four golden characters “Rise of Culture and Letters.”

　　　　    A pair of stone lions flank the entrance, and a money-burning furnace weighing about 500 kilograms, finely cast, stands in the center of the courtyard.

　　　　    The Wenchang Pavilion architectural complex integrates both Buddhist and Taoist elements. It is a comprehensive representative temple structure that holds significant reference value for the study of Shuicheng's various religious cultures and architecture during the Qing Dynasty. It was designated as a county-level cultural relics protection unit on June 3, 1988.