Zhengyangguan City Gate is a cultural relic protection unit in Anhui Province.
Zhengyangguan City Gate is located in Shouxian County, Lu'an City and dates back to the Qing Dynasty.
Zhengyang Pass is one of the famous passes in China. It was known as Yingwei, Yangshi, Yangshi, Yangshi City, etc. in ancient times. It is an ancient town with a long history, which took shape as early as the middle of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. "Zuo Zhuan" records that in the twelfth year of Lu Zhaogong (530 BC), "Chu Zi came to the state to hunt, second to Yingwei". Based on this calculation, Zhengyangguan Town has a history of more than 2,530 years; according to the Ming Jiajing 29 The "Shouzhou Chronicle" published in 1550 AD records that "Dongzhengyang Town, sixty miles south of the state, was named Yangshi in ancient times, and Zhaolie of the Han Dynasty built a city and stationed troops here." According to this, Zhengyangguan has a city-building history of more than 1,780 years.
Although Zhengyangguan, an ancient town in Huaishang, has been repeatedly damaged by wars and floods in history, it still has three ancient city gates built during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty - the North Gate, the South Gate, and the East Gate. Gate (the west gate was destroyed before liberation). What is even more amazing is that the inner and outer gates of the three city gates are engraved with ancient inscriptions. The fonts are either graceful and dignified or powerful and vigorous. They are not only profound and timeless, but also rare calligraphy treasures. The original people of Zhengyangguan built a Tuwei to keep out floods. In the fifth year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1866), Shi Zhao, the magistrate of Shouzhou, "rebuilt a city wall on the old site of Tuwei, with a circumference of 720 feet and a height of one foot and five feet. Counting four miles and three points, there are one thousand three hundred and seventy stacks of female walls." The city has four gates with towers above them. There are stone inscriptions on both the inside and outside of the gates.
The inscription on the inner forehead of the east gate: Chaoyang; the inscription on the outer forehead: Xiyu Chuntai. Chaoyang: The rising sun in the east. This inscription means that people place infinite good hopes on Zhengyang. May Zhengyang be like a red sun rising in the east and flourish. Xiyu Chuntai, this allusion comes from Chapter 20 of Laozi's "Tao Te Ching": "Everyone is bustling, as if they are enjoying a prison, and they are like spring on the stage." In today's terms, everyone was in high spirits, as if they were attending a sumptuous banquet, or as if they were climbing to a high platform to gaze out at the beautiful scenery in the warm spring. It was a harmonious scene. "Xiyu Chuntai" means that when people climb up to the east gate, they feel as comfortable as climbing up to the high platform and overlooking the beautiful scenery on a sunny spring day. This not only refers to the height of the east gate, but also refers to the pleasant scenery around it, making it a good place for everyone to visit.
The inscription on the inner forehead of the south gate: Jie Fu; the inscription on the outer forehead: Huainan Ancient Town. "Jiefu" comes from Emperor Shun's "Southern Wind Song". According to the music book of "Historical Records", "In the past, Shun made a five-stringed qin and sang "Southern Wind"." The song of the south wind goes: "The fragrance of the south wind can relieve our people's anger; the coming of the south wind can relieve our people's wealth." It means that officials should solve problems for the people, reduce their burdens, increase their income, and enable them to live and work in peace and contentment. Huainan Ancient Town means that Zhengyangguan is an ancient town in Huainan Kingdom, which has a long history. According to "Historical Records: Biography of Qingbu", in the third year of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, King Qingbu of Jiujiang returned to the Han Dynasty. "In July of the fourth year (i.e. July 203 BC), Li Bu became the King of Huainan." Shouchun was the territory of the Huainan Kingdom. Of course, Yangguan is also under the jurisdiction of the Huainan Kingdom, so it is known as the "Huainan Ancient Town".
The original inscription on the inner forehead of Ximen: Xiying Changgeng; the original inscription on the outer forehead: Huailiu Guankey. The west reflects Chang Geng, and the words come from Xiaoya-Dadong in the Book of Songs, "There is Qiming in the east, and Chang Geng in the west." Chang Geng is Venus, also known as Taibai and Qiming. It is Chang Geng when seen at dusk and Qiming when seen at dawn. "Xi Ying Chang Geng" means: At dusk, the Chang Geng star shines on the west gate along with the afterglow of the setting sun. It mainly describes the beautiful scenery of the west gate when the sun sets in the west. Key to the Huaihe River: Zhengyangguan is an important hub for water transportation in the Huaihe River. The Seventy-two Waters connect to Zhengyang, reaching Yangzhou in the east, Tongbai in the west, Yingfu in the north, and Dabie Mountain in the south. "Huailiu Guankey" means that the west gate is like a key on the Huaihe River that can control the flow of the Huaihe River. It means that the west gate is important to the water transportation of the Huaihe River, guarding the throats of the Huaihe, Ying, and Pei rivers. During the Anti-Japanese War, a Japanese gunboat coming from Huainan violently bombarded the city gate tower from the Huai River, destroying the west gate.
The inscription on the inner forehead of the north gate is "Gongchen", and the inscription on the outer forehead is "Fengcheng First Town". "Gongchen" comes from the second chapter of "The Analects of Confucius: Weizheng", "Confucius said: Weizheng" With virtue, it is like the North Star, which dwells in its place and is supported by all the stars." It means that when you are an official or a politician, you should put "official morality" first and convince people with morality, so that the people will unite around you like the stars surrounding the Beidou, thus gaining the trust and support of the people. There is a sentence in "Jitian Fu" written by Pan Anren of Jin Dynasty: "It's like the rising sun in the clear dew, like the stars in Gongbei Chenye". The first town of Fengcheng, meaning Zhengyangguan, is the largest town in Fengyang Prefecture. According to historical records, in order to expand the jurisdiction of his hometown Fengyang Prefecture, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang included Shouzhou into Fengyang Prefecture in the fourth year of Hongwu (AD 1371).
According to the records of Shouzhou in Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty: "In the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Gao made Shouchun Prefecture, and Shouzhou was transferred to Fengyang Prefecture." Zhengyang belongs to Shouzhou, and Bang Zhengyang also belongs to Fengyang Prefecture. And because Zhengyang Pass has "seventy-two waters leading to Zhengyang", it benefits from water transportation, is good at boating, and has many merchants. It is an important material distribution center in the middle reaches of the Huaihe River. Since the establishment of the banknote collection pass in the first year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty, it has been A large commercial town in the middle reaches of the Huaihe River, it is known as the "first town in Huainan", so it is also known as the "first town in Fengcheng".
It can be seen that most of the inscriptions on the forehead of Zhengyangguan City Gate come from classics such as the Tao Te Ching, the Book of Songs, the Analects of Confucius, and Historical Records. They have meaningful meanings and are indeed worthy of visitors to stop and think twice. The Zhengyang City Wall was demolished by the Kuomintang Guangxi troops in 1940, and the three gates in the east, south and north are still preserved today.
In 2012, Zhengyangguan City Gate was announced by the Anhui Provincial People's Government as the seventh batch of provincial cultural relics protection units.
Protection scope: the main building and 100 meters to the east, south, west and north.
Construction control zone: Zhengyangguan Ancient Town.