Taibai Tower

　　Taibai Tower is situated on the north bank of the ancient canal in Jining’s urban area. It was originally a tavern run by the Helan family during the Tang Dynasty. In the 24th year of the Kaiyuan era (736 AD), the great poet Li Bai, along with his wife Lady Xu and daughter Pingyang, relocated from Anlu, Hubei to Rencheng (present-day Jining). “Their residence was in front of the tavern,” and he would come here daily to drink and compose poetry, producing many literary works. The Helan family tavern gained great fame and thrived in business due to Li Bai’s frequent visits. Starting from the 2nd year of the Xiantong era (861 AD), Shen Guang from Wuxing, who admired Li Bai, visited the Helan family tavern. He inscribed the plaque “Taibai Wine Tower” in seal script for the building and authored the Record of Li the Hanlin’s Tavern, after which the Helan family tavern became known as “Taibai Wine Tower” and rose to prominence. During the Song, Jin, and Yuan dynasties, the tavern underwent renovations while retaining its original appearance. In the 24th year of the Hongwu era (1391 AD), Di Chong, the commander of Jining’s Left Guard, rebuilt the “Taibai Wine Tower.” With the symbolic meaning of “the exiled immortal,” and following the original design, he relocated the tower onto the southern city wall and dropped the character “wine,” naming it “Taibai Tower.” It underwent dozens of major renovations during the Ming, Qing, and Republican periods.

　　The current Taibai Tower was reconstructed in 1952 with special government funding on the old city wall. The rebuilt tower, including its base, covers a total area of 4,000 square meters. The two-story structure features a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof and is built with brick and wood. A horizontally hung, fan-shaped plaque with the engraved characters “Taibai Tower” in regular script hangs centrally under the second-floor eaves. On the north wall of the main hall upstairs is inlaid a large stone plaque inscribed with the words “Poetic and Alcoholic Hero” written by a Ming Dynasty poet. Below it is embedded the “Stone Portrait of the Three Nobles,” a relief carving depicting Li Bai, Du Fu, and He Zhizhang. The tower’s corridors and courtyard house over 60 stone tablets, including the Rare Record of Li Bai at the Rencheng Hall Wall and praises, poems, and writings by literati since the Tang Dynasty, as well as Emperor Qianlong’s poem Ascending Taibai Tower. There is also a rare square stele with Li Bai’s handwritten calligraphy of the character “壮观” (majestic). In 1987, Jining established the Li Bai Memorial Hall in Taibai Tower.

　　

　　Li Bai (701~762)　　The Poet Immortal Li Bai (February 8, 701 – December 762 AD), styled Taibai, also known as the Hermit of Green Lotus or the Exiled Immortal, and nicknamed Li the Twelfth, was a Tang Dynasty poet, often referred to together with Du Fu as “Li-Du.” Li Bai’s collected works, The Collected Works of Li Taibai, include masterpieces such as Quiet Night Thought, Drinking Alone under the Moon, and Dream Journey to Tianmu Mountain: A Farewell Poem. He brought ancient romanticist literature, song-style poetry, and the seven-character quatrain to heights rarely matched by later poets. His achievements in yuefu poetry, song-style verse, and quatrains are considered the greatest; his style is bold and unrestrained, fresh and graceful, rich in imagination, with marvelous artistic conception and language, embodying clear romanticism and intent. There are various theories about Li Bai’s death, none of which have reached a consensus... Details+