Ying’en Tower

　　 Di Renjie (607–700), also known as Di Qingliang, with the courtesy name Huaiying, was a native of Taiyuan, Shanxi. He was a high-ranking official of the Tang Dynasty and once served as Chancellor. When Empress Wu Zetian ascended to the throne, Di Renjie fearlessly remonstrated with her, attempting to prevent her from executing innocent people and attempting to pass the Tang Empire to the Wu clan, which displeased Empress Wu. Coupled with false accusations by Lai Junchen, he was demoted to serve as Prefect of Pengze, later transferring to become Prefect of Wei Commandery, Military Governor of Youzhou, and finally Prefect of Fuzhou.

　　In the first year of the Divine Martial era (697 AD), he was reinstated as Chancellor and later posthumously honored with the title “Duke of Liang.”

　　In the fourth year of the Chuigong era (688 AD) of the Tang Dynasty, Di Renjie arrived in Fuzhou (now Miancheng) to serve as Prefect. He placed great emphasis on agriculture. Given the frequent flooding in Fuzhou, he mobilized the people to dredge canals, manage rivers, construct water gates to prevent waterlogging, reinforce embankments to resist floods, thereby ensuring bumper harvests. At the same time, he vigorously promoted commerce and economic development, achieving “thriving business reaching the four seas, and abundant wealth flowing to the three rivers.” To ensure the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, he also resolved legal disputes and eliminated violence while protecting the good. He often said, “Officials must remember three principles: integrity (cleanliness), prudence (caution), and diligence (diligence).” Thus, he constantly held himself to high standards and kept the people’s hardships close to heart. He frequently visited Bagua Well to inquire about public sentiment and discuss political affairs, earning deep trust and admiration from the people, who

　　regarded him as a benevolent, incorruptible, and people-loving magistrate who cared for the populace like his own children.

　　All called him a parent-official who governed with benevolence, upheld integrity, and loved the people as his own children.

　　Later, the people of Miancheng, in memory of Di Renjie’s governance achievements, built an octagonal pavilion on the southwestern side between the Big and Small Lotus Ponds at the west end of Bagua Well. The plaque read, “Office of Tang Prefect Di Renjie Where State Affairs Were Addressed.” In the third year of the Qianlong era, it was rebuilt into a tower, roofed with tubular tiles, and renamed “Ying’en Tower,” expressing gratitude to Di Renjie.

　　 The eastern gate of Miancheng, originally called the Great East Gate, was renamed the “Benevolent Wind Gate” in honor of Di Renjie. Since then, every county, prefecture, or regional official who came to take office in Miancheng would travel by boat from the official route of Tongzhou River, disembark at Honghua Dyke, pass by Bagua Well, visit the site where Di Renjie addressed state affairs, and enter the city through the “Benevolent Wind Gate”—a practice intended to emulate Di Renjie’s benevolent governance and establish a culture of virtue.

　　 In 1998, the Miancheng Town Party Committee and Town Government built Ying’en Tower, Shuanglian Bridge, and the Benevolent Wind Gate Memorial Archway on the site of Di Renjie’s former office, with a couplet on the two pillars reading, “Two waters cradle a bright mirror, twin bridges span a rainbow.” In 2003, Di Renjie’s Office-Addressing Pavilion was constructed on the eastern side of the original Bagua Well.

　　 Today, Ying’en Tower has been transformed into a two-star tourist hotel that accommodates over 100 guests for meals and lodging. It serves as an ideal destination integrating leisure vacations, entertainment, gourmet dining, conferences and training, and commercial negotiations.