Located in Yuelu Mountain, Changsha City, Hunan Province is the Aiwan Pavilion.
Aiwan Pavilion is located on the west bank of the Xiangjiang River in Changsha City, Hunan Province, in the Qingfeng Gorge of Yuelu Mountain. It was first built in the 57th year of Qianlong's reign (1792) in the Qing Dynasty. It was created by Luo Dian, the director of Yuelu Academy in the Qing Dynasty. Originally named Hongye Pavilion, it was later renamed Aiwan Pavilion by Bi Yuan, governor of Huguang, according to the poem "Stop and sit in the maple forest to love the evening, the frost leaves are as red as the flowers in February".
The four famous pavilions in China are scenic spots famous for the poems and articles of literati in ancient China. They are the Drunken Old Pavilion in Chuzhou, the Huxin Pavilion in Hangzhou, the Taoran Pavilion in Beijing, and the Aiwan Pavilion in Changsha. pavilion.
Aiwan Pavilion is square in plan and covers an area of ??50 square meters. The side length of the pavilion is 6.23 meters, the platform base is 0.4 meters high, and the overall height is 12 meters. The golden pillars in the Aiwan Pavilion are made of red lacquer and are made of square granite. The top of the pavilion has double eaves and a pointed roof. The corners of the four wings are stretched far and high, and are decorated with green glazed tiles.
Origin of the name
1. Yuan Mu said: The name of the pavilion "Ai Wan" was changed by the poet Yuan Mu. It is said that Yuan Mu visited Luo Dian (who was then the director of Yuelu Academy), but Luo despised him and refused to meet him. I heard that Yuan Mu thought that the name of the pavilion "Hongye" was too vulgar and he should change it to "爱夜" based on the poetic meaning of "stop and sit in the maple forest to love the evening", so he changed it.
2. Bi Yuan said: The real namer of "Ai Wan Pavilion" was Bi Yuan, the then governor of Huguang. Bi Yuan had a close friendship with Luo Dian, and they often sang and made friends with Luo Dian in Yuelu. Bi cleverly intercepted the poetic meaning of "Mountain Journey" by the late Tang poet Du Mu and renamed it "Ai Wan".
Reference for the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia-Aiwanting