Chongwen Pagoda
Chongwen Pagoda: People used to say that Dayong was a place of fierce mountains and treacherous waters, always producing combative warriors but never scholars, and the Tujia people didn't like to study. Everyone was muddled and ignorant. In the eighteenth year of the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty (1753 AD), a county magistrate named Ma Sui came from Zhejiang. He was a provincial graduate, full of the Four Books and Five Classics, and also knew feng shui...
This article has been compiled from historical materials on 'Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network' (33519.com · Specialty Foods / Cuisine / Customs section). Prices, business hours, administrative divisions, and statistical data mentioned in the text may already be outdated. Before traveling, please refer to the latest announcements from merchants, scenic areas, and local competent authorities; the parts involving folk legends and folk customs are local historical and cultural anecdotes, provided for cultural reference.
The Chongwen Pagoda
In the past, people all said that Dayong was a place of fierce mountains and treacherous waters, where fighting men of martial prowess were always produced but never men of letters. The Tujia people did not like to study. And the people were all muddled and confused.
In the eighteenth year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1753 AD), a county magistrate named Ma Sui came from Zhejiang. He was a provincial graduate, full of the Four Books and Five Classics, and also versed in feng shui and geography. On the day he took office, he rode his horse around Yongding Guard City and discovered that the city had Tianmen Mountain to the south, Ziwu Terrace to the north, and Wangcheng Slope to the west — only the eastern side was low-lying, with weak energy. He said: "Dayong produces no talent and its literary spirit does not flourish because the east side is too low. We must build a pagoda to balance the feng shui. I guarantee that within ten years, Dayong will produce a group of men of letters." So he advocated fundraising and built a seven-story pagoda on the hill east of the city, and at the same time built the Dongyue Palace by the river on one side (now destroyed). On the day the pagoda was completed, villagers from all around came to celebrate. Each brought a tin pot of rice wine — more than four hundred pots in all. The wine pots were all given to Ma Sui, and he had them melted down to cast the pagoda's top. He personally named it the "Chongwen Pagoda" and installed a statue of the Star of Literature on the top floor, meaning "the Star of Literature marks the Dipper," to bless even this barbarian land with the birth of talent. An exiled official climbed the pagoda and gazed at Tianmen Mountain and the Li River, and immediately composed a poem: "High as a jade bamboo shoot beside the mountain's bend, a seven-tiered pagoda encompassing all things. It stands alone piercing the clouds, swallowing the mountain's colors; a pillar in midstream blocking the clear waves. In the clear breeze one whistles freely, inscribing poems on the wall; with the good moon overhead, carrying wine as one passes. Looking down, the mortal world is all indistinct — only because one's body has entered the blue heavens so deeply."
Ma Sui's construction of the Chongwen Pagoda was originally a good deed, but a certain feng shui master was deeply displeased and wanted to destroy Ma Sui's prospects. He too wrote a poem beneath the pagoda: "Seven tiers of tower, pointed and sharp, thrusting abruptly from the ground to pierce the blue sky; good and evil, kings and emperors all meet their recompense in the end, beneath the snow-swept pagoda the horse will not advance." This was a poem with a double meaning. Because he was dissatisfied with the court's policy of gaituguiliu—replacing native chieftains with appointed officials—and with Han officials ruling the Miao regions, he harbored malice toward the newly appointed county magistrate Ma Sui. A year later, in winter, heavy snow fell. Ma Sui rode out of the city to enjoy the snow scene, and when he reached the foot of the Chongwen Pagoda, his horse would not move. Ma Sui lashed it with his whip; the horse, stung by pain, bolted wildly, and Ma Sui was thrown from its back, landing head over heels and bleeding profusely. On his deathbed, Ma Sui bitterly warned the native people gathered around him: "The Miao customs remain unenlightened, chaotic and dull, all because people do not study and do not understand principle and righteousness; I hope the country folk will lay down arms and honor learning, change their habits and customs, and on the day when culture and talent forever flourish, I shall die without regret!" Having spoken, he passed away with his grievance unfulfilled.
Nine years after Ma Sui's death, in the twenty-seventh year of the Qianlong reign, Guo Liuzai, a juren from Xinyang, Henan, rode to take up the post of magistrate of Yongding County. On the very day of his arrival he led the civil and military officials of the county office to pay respects at the Chongwen Pagoda and the Dongyue Temple, and was deeply moved by Ma Sui's determination to cultivate literary culture and enlighten the native Miao. He therefore took the lead in establishing the Songliang Academy and proposed its educational mission: "Honor substance and discard frivolity, seek depth and attain self-realization. Rectify human relations, enrich customs, study broadly, inquire carefully, think prudently, distinguish clearly, and practice earnestly—to become timber for the nation and fine talents for the community; this is what I earnestly hope for!"
Legend has it that through the ages, any student who sincerely bowed before the Chongwen Pagoda never failed to attain official rank and honor.