Yueyang Tower

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Yueyang Tower (simplified Chinese: 岳阳楼; traditional Chinese: 岳陽樓; pinyin: Yuèyáng Lóu) is an ancient Chinese tower in Yueyang, Hunan Province, on the shore of Lake Dongting. Alongside the Pavilion of Prince Teng and Yellow Crane Tower, it is one of the Three Great Towers of Jiangnan.

[edit] History

The history of Yueyang Tower dates from the Three Kingdoms Period, when Lu Su, commander in chief of the forces of Wu, was sent to the area to fortify it and train the fleet there. To ease the inspection and command of ships he constructed a tower near the strategic location where Lake Dongting joins the Yangtze River, from which the whole of Lake Dongting was visible. This inspection tower, then called the Ba Ling Tower after the nearby city of Ba Ling, was the first incarnation of Yueyang Tower.

[edit] Literature

Like the other two great towers of Jiangnan, Yueyang Tower is famous partly due to its literary associations, namely the piece Yueyang Lou Ji (岳陽樓記), loosely translated as Memorial to Yueyang Tower, written by renowned Song poet Fan Zhongyan at the invitation of his friend Teng Zijing (滕子京), who in 1044 became local governor and rebuilt the tower.