The Nanfeng Opera Tower is located on the northeast bank of Daming Lake. Also known as Zeng Gong Memorial Temple, it was built in memory of Zeng Gong, a writer of the Northern Song Dynasty and one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties. Zeng Gong, courtesy name Zigou, was from Nanfeng, Jiangxi Province. He is known as Mr. Nanfeng. In 1071 AD, during the fourth year of Xining in the Northern Song Dynasty, he served as the prefect of Qi Prefecture (now Jinan). He implemented new laws, punished bullies, reduced corvee, and reformed education. Eventually, Qi Prefecture presented a prosperous scene of ‘easy to obtain grains in the market and full granaries, and the city is still peaceful without alarms in the neighborhoods’. After Zeng Gong left, the people still did not forget and chose a site to build a memorial temple. The memorial temple has three large halls. Inside the hall, there is a wooden statue of Zeng Gong. Wearing a tall hat and a broad belt, holding a book scroll, he is elegant and unrestrained. It is carved from a thousand-year-old camphor tree in Nanfeng, Zeng Gong’s hometown in Jiangxi Province. In front of the hall, there are couplets on the pillars: ‘The light of the Northern Song Dynasty is passed on by the author. The two characters of Nanfeng belong to Mr.’. Opposite the memorial temple is the relatively large ancient opera tower现存 in Jinan urban area. On the east side of the north hall, there are five large halls, displaying the calligraphy relics of the calligrapher Mr. Sun Mofo and the Chinese painting works of his grandson Sun Tianmu. On the east side of the Nanfeng Memorial Temple courtyard is the Mingchang Bell Pavilion. Inside the pavilion hangs an iron bell cast during the Mingchang period of the Jin Dynasty – the Mingchang Bell, implying that Daming Lake will always be prosperous. On the south side, there is a four-sided long pavilion named ‘Yuhe Hall’. It has red pillars, blue tiles, high upturned eaves, lattice windows and doors. There are circular corridor seats around it. The curved pond surrounds it on three sides. The pond water ripples. In summer, the pond is full of lotus flowers. To the south of the pavilion is close to the lake water. The lake surface is covered with reeds, lotus leaves and lotuses. The scenery is elegant and pleasant. It is a good place to listen to the rain and view the lotus. The opening hours are subject to the opening status on the day.
Nanfeng Opera Tower
The Nanfeng Opera Tower is located on the northeast bank of Daming Lake. Also known as Zeng Gong Mem[...]
