Bianjing Drum Tower
Tower in Xinzhou, Shanxi, China
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Bianjing Drum Tower,[1] also known as the Bianjing Pavilion[2] and by its Chinese name as the Bianjing Lou, is a drum tower in Shangguan, the seat of Dai County, Xinzhou Prefecture, Shanxi, in the People's Republic of China. It dates to 1476 and is 39.3 meters (129 ft) high.
| Bianjing Drum Tower | |||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 邊靖樓 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 边靖楼 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | Frontier-Pacifying Building | ||||||||
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| Former names | |||||||||
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| Watchtower | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 瞧樓 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 瞧楼 | ||||||||
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| Drum Tower | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 鼓樓 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 鼓楼 | ||||||||
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History
Yanmen Pass was an important defensive choke point for ancient and medieval China.[2] The nearest major town to its south was the seat of what is now Dai County, previously known variously as Guangwu, Yanmen, and Daizhou. The tower was constructed in Hongwu 7 (1374 CE), for the purpose of military observation and signaling by means of drums.[3] That original structure was destroyed by a fire[4] in Chenghua 7 (1471).[3] The present tower was built on the site of the first[4] in Chenghua 12 (1476).[3] It was further restored 4 times under the Qing, as well as in 1957, 1976, and 1986 under the People's Republic.[3] The more recent renovations dealt with water damage on the first floor.[3] The Bianjing Drum Tower was named a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage in 2001.
Structure
The present drum tower is 39.3 meters (129 ft) high.[2] The stone base is about 40 meters (130 ft) long, 33 meters (108 ft) wide, and 13 meters (43 ft) high.[4] The wooden tower[5] faces south.[3] The traditional Chinese units of measurement are 7 jian in length and 5 in width; it has 3 stories and reaches 26 meters (85 ft) high.[4] Its two large placards read "First Tower of Yanmen" (t 鴈門第一樓, s 雁门第一楼, Yànmén Dìyī Lóu) and "Audible in All Directions" (t 聲聞四達, s 声闻四达, Shēng Wén Sì Dá).[2]
Museum
The tower holds a local museum.[5] One artifact is a 1.9-meter (6 ft 3 in)-tall stone lantern (t 燈臺, s 灯台, dēngtái) that was carved into the shape of Mount Wutai in Dongzhang c. 720.[1]
