Drum and Trumpet Tower

　　The Drum and Trumpet Tower is situated on the ceremonial gate directly south of the Guangde Prefecture Office. It was first constructed in the fourth year of the Jiyou era during the Northern Song Dynasty (1067) and originally had two stories. The upper section featured overlapping tiers of roofs, housing one drum, one horn, one bell, and one water clock, embodying the idea of “beating the drum and sounding the horn to alert the drowsy, and marking time with the water clock to regulate day and night.” The lower part consists of an arched gateway structure, standing 4.3 meters high. It was damaged during wartime in the Yuan Dynasty and was restored in the fourth year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty. The tower was destroyed during the wars in the late Qing Dynasty, and the drum, horn, bell, and water clock were all lost. In the 15th year of the Republic of China (1926), local gentry Zhan Jiapeng funded the reconstruction of the three-story building according to the original design. In the 26th year of the Republic of China (1937), it was heavily bombed by Japanese aircraft and almost completely destroyed, leaving only the gateway structure. In 1999, the tower was restored to its former glory.

　　Speaking of this Drum and Trumpet Tower, one must mention a particular individual. Quanzhou’s Pear Garden Opera, a remnant of Southern Song Dynasty drama, features a play called “Zhu Shouchang.” It tells the story of Zhu Shouchang, a local official during the Song Dynasty, who learned that his birth mother had been driven out of the house when he was seven years old. Determined to find her, he resigned from his post and endured many hardships before finally reuniting with her. This story was later compiled by Guo Jujing of the Yuan Dynasty as one of the “Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars” under the title “Resigning Office to Search for Mother,” becoming a popular text promoting filial piety. The protagonist of this story, Zhu Shouchang, was one of the builders of the Guangde Drum and Trumpet Tower, serving at the time as an official in Guangde.

　　According to the “History of the Song Dynasty,” Zhu Shouchang governed “with courage in righteousness and without reservation in aiding others in need.” While serving as prefect of Langzhou, he ingeniously solved a murder case involving the powerful Yong Ziliang, earning the praise of the region: “The prefecture called him a deity, and the people of Shu still recount his deeds to this day.” In the fourth year of the Jiyou era of the Song Dynasty (1067), Zhu Shouchang took office in Guangde. Dissatisfied with the prefectural office’s “narrow and low main gate, undecorated towers... its shabbiness falling short of proper standards,” he led the soldiers and civilians of Guangde to “haul earth with baskets, build with spades, and shape with ropes and chisels,” resulting in the current “lofty walls rising proudly, with overlapping tiers overlooking each other”—the Drum and Trumpet Tower.

　　After the completion of the Drum and Trumpet Tower, Zhu Shouchang wrote multiple letters to the capital, appealing to Zeng Gong—later one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties—to compose a commemorative inscription. This led to Zeng Gong’s “Record of the Reconstruction of the Drum and Trumpet Tower in Guangde Prefecture.” Today, standing before the Drum and Trumpet Tower, one can clearly see these words inscribed: “Drum and Trumpet Tower, winter of the first year of Xining era, Song Dynasty, inscribed by Zeng Gong.”

　　“The Drum and Trumpet Tower is our precious historical and cultural heritage. It bears witness to the historical trajectory of Guangde’s development. Without it, I don’t know what we could use to prove Guangde’s profound historical civilization in the future.” This is the voice of the people of Guangde. The affectionate nickname “Yamen Cave” has long been on the lips of the locals, and its amiable and beloved image remains deeply engraved in their hearts.