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The Relocation of Zhang Fei’s Temple Zhu and Li

head under the Flying Phoenix Mountain by Among them, the Main Monumental Hall
the River and built a temple to worship him was rebuilt in the first year of the Daoguang
day and night. The local people believe that period (1821), which is also the earliest
General Zhang Fei has blessed them with a building in the Temple. The Jieyi building
peaceful and quiet life for several thousand (pledge building) was reconstructed in the
[3]
years . [Figure 3]. 12th year of the Tongzhi period (1873).
On April 3，1992, the world’s largest The Cuckoo Pavilion was reconditioned in
water conservancy project，the Three the first year of the Guanxu period (1875).
Gorges Dam Project began. General Zhang Other buildings were also reformed between
Fei’s Temple relocation has become the the Tongzhi and the Xuantong periods.
largest moving project of ancient building Historically, the Temple was destroyed and
complex along the Yangtze River, and also rebuilt repeatedly following the times of
the biggest heritage conservation activity in flood in the Yangtze River. Therefore, some
China at that time. valuable hydrological markers of the Yangtze
River are preserved around the Temple,
2. RESEARCH ON THE VALUE which are of great value to the study of
ASSESSMENT historical hydrology of the Yangtze River.
All the conservations of Chinese For example, the hydrology marks of Yangtze
historic buildings are based on thorough River flood “ 大清同治庚午洪水至此 ” in
understandings of their values. The precise 1870 was engraved on the cliff. In addition,
judgment on General Zhang Fei’s Temple’s the cliff on the back of the Cuckoo Pavilion
values guides the relocation and restoration also embraced a special carving “ 泽惠流离 ”
process. which means “giving shelter to the refugee
From the perspective of historical as the rain to grass.” Its context narrates a
values, General Zhang Fei’s Temple is the history of how the refugees from eastern
only ancient large-scale building complex provinces were accommodated by the kind
in the Three Gorges region that has retained folks of Yunyang town during the Yangtze
the unity of structures and environment. River flood in 1870 . All these valuable
[4]
Although there is no exact evidence from historical records have been integrated
the Han dynasty (206 BCE‒220 CE), clear into the Temple as a whole and became an
architectural remains of the Song dynasty inseparable part of its history [Figure 4].
(960‒1279) were found in the archaeological From the standpoint of scientific
excavation after the relocation. This is values, General Zhang Fei’s Temple
consistent with the story of an official named is a representative of historic vernacular
Chen Si crossing the Yangtze River to architecture in the area of Bashu in south-
worship General Zhang Fei about 1000 years western China with plenty of important
5
ago, as recorded in the stone inscription regional and traditional characteristics.
“Chen Si bei” of the Song dynasty preserved As we know, the Bashu region is one of the
in the Temple. The long and glorious history birthplaces of Chinese civilization, with a
of Zhang Fei’s Temple can be traced back large number of ancient sites from the Eastern
at least to the Song dynasty. Most of the Han dynasty (25‒220). In terms of ancient
Temple’s current buildings were rebuilt architecture, different traditional architectural
at the end of the Qing dynasty (1644 techniques are still used in the Three Gorges
4
‒1911) because of an awful flood (1870) . are of Chongqing, which are clearly different

4 Yunyang County chronicles, Editorial Committee of Yunyang County chronicles, Sichuan people's publishing
house, 1999.
5 Lv Zhou. The scenery on the river—the cultural relic value of Zhang Huanhou Temple in Yunyang [J]. Ancient
Architecture and Garden Technology, 1996(02): 11-16.

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