Pavilion of Prince Teng

The Pavilion in winter.

The pavilion grounds.

The Pavilion of Prince Teng was first built in 653 AD, by Li Yuanying, the younger brother of Emperor Taizong of Tang and uncle of Emperor Gaozong of Tang. Li Yuanying was enfeoffed as Prince Teng in 639 and spent his early years in Suzhou. In 652 he was assigned the governorship of Nanchang where the pavilion served as his townhouse. The Pavilion of Prince Teng is the only existing royal architecture in southern China. Twenty years later, the building was rebuilt by the new governor. Upon its completion, a group of local intelligentsia gathered to compose prose and poetry about the building. The most famous of these is the Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng by Wang Bo. This piece made the Pavilion of Prince Teng a household name in China down to the present day.

The Pavilion was subsequently destroyed and rebuilt a total of 29 times over the next centuries.[1] The building itself changed shape and function many times. The penultimate construction was during the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty. That building was destroyed in October 1926 during the chaotic Warlord Era.[2]

Yueyang Tower caisson

Calligraphy of Mao Zedong in its entrance hall

Theater stage

The present Pavilion of Prince Teng was built according to the design of architect Liang Sicheng, and was completed on 8 October 1989; now a landmark of Nanchang. The building is of reinforced concrete, but decorated in Song Dynasty style. It is 57.5 meters (189 ft) tall and has nine stories. The building has a total floor area of 13,000 square meters (140,000 sq ft).

The building sits atop a 12 meters (39 ft) tall concrete platform, which symbolizes the now-destroyed ancient city wall. A stainless steel tablet at the entrance is engraved with a calligraphy work of Mao Zedong: 「落霞与孤鹜齐飞，秋水共长天一色。」 ("Falling snow and lone goose flying together; a single hue, autumn water and the long stretch of sky."), a quotation from Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng.

The beautiful garden which is built in 1989 is the perfect ornament of the Pavilion. The building mainly serves tourism purposes. Apart from internal decoration, attractions include a theater that stages performances of period music, and displays of reconstructed ancient instruments. There are some restaurants and souvenir shops. The streets around the pavilion have been designed to conform with its style. This area has become the epicenter of Nanchang's antiques trade.

The Pavilion of Prince Teng achieved national fame through the Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng. As a result, it was endowed by later generations with almost legendary status as an example of magnificent architecture. When the Forbidden City was built, its corner towers were built to imitate the Pavilion of Prince Teng and the Yellow Crane Pavilion as depicted in Song Dynasty paintings. (Strangely, both pavilions are depicted identically in surviving paintings). These uniquely structured corner towers remain some of the most valued architectural treasures of the Forbidden City. The Pavilion of Prince Teng was regarded as the holy land in several dynasties in the history of China. In the meantime, it is the ancient library as well, storing a large number of precious scriptures and poems.

According to Wang:[3]

• 
  Prince Teng Pavilion by Xia Yong, Yuan dynasty
• 
  Prince Teng Pavilion by anonymous, Yuan dynasty
• 
  Prince Teng Pavilion by Xia Yong, Yuan dynasty
• 
  Prince Teng Pavilion by anonymous, Yuan dynasty

• Four Great Towers of China
• Yellow Crane Tower
• Yueyang Tower
• Penglai Pagoda

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• Wang, Qiaolin (Chinese: 王巧林; pinyin: Wáng Qiǎolín) et al. 1996. Jiangnan Famous Site: The Pavilion of Prince Teng (simplified Chinese: 江南名胜 滕王阁; traditional Chinese: 江南名勝 滕王閣; pinyin: Jiāngnán Míngshèng Téngwáng Gé). Baihuazhou Literary Press (Chinese: 百花洲文艺出版社; pinyin: Báihuāzhōu Wényì Chūbǎnshè). 247 pages. ISBN 7-80579-797-8.