Yueyang Tower () is an ancient Chinese pavilion 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. Yueyang Tower became famous for Memorial to Yueyang Tower () written by Fan Zhongyan, an eminent minister of the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) in China.
Located on the city wall of the west gate of the ancient city in Yueyang city, Hunan province, China, Yueyang Tower faces Junshan Island and overlooks Dongting Lake, being exquisite and imposing. Since ancient times, it has enjoyed the good reputation that Dongting Lake is the best among lakes, and Yueyang Tower is incomparable among towers. Yueyang Tower with yellow tiles and overhanging eaves set the green forest off (). Its roof covered with yellow glazed tiles () has a smooth curve, precipitous yet warped, just like a general's helmet in ancient China. It is the only ancient building with a helmet roof structure in China.
History
Legend has it that this helmet roof was specially designed to commemorate a general of the Three Kingdoms period (220–280): Lu Su, the famous general of Eastern Wu (222–280).
In the 13th year of the Jian'an period of the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220), namely AD 208, in the famous Battle of Red Cliffs, Lu Su, the senior general of the Eastern Wu, joined the alliance of Sun Quan and Liu Bei.
The allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei launched fire attacks on 800,000 soldiers of the troops of Cao Cao, in the red cliff (today's Chibi city, Hubei province), thus forming the tripartite confrontation of Cao Wei (220–265), Shu Han (221–263), and Eastern Wu (222–280) from then on. Later, Sun Quan of Eastern Wu dispatched Lu Su to lead troops to defend Baqiu (; today's Yueyang), so as to scramble for Jingzhou with Liu Bei. Lu Su built Yuejun Tower () on the top of the city wall by Dongting Lake, to train and review the navy. Yuejun Tower was the former Yueyang Tower. Under the Yueyang Gate, and by Dongting Lake, was the site of the Call-officers-roll Platform (), where Lu Su reviewed the navy of Eastern Wu at that time.
Before the Tang dynasty (618–907), Yueyang Tower was mainly used for the military. After the Tang dynasty, it gradually became a famous scenic spot where men of letters chanted poetry and composed fu.
Li Bai, a poet of the Tang dynasty, drank against the wind and wrote: "The water and the sky merge in one color, and the wonders of natural beauty and boundless" (). Du Fu, another poet of the Tang dynasty, ascended Yueyang Tower while ill and wrote the verse, famous through the ages, that "I heard of Dongting Lake before, and now I ascend Yueyang Tower" (). The verses "the waters around Dongting Lake are covered by steam, and the rolling waves shock Yueyang city" () by Meng Haoran and "the vast waters cover an area of , and layer upon layer of mountains are as tall as 100 floors" () by Du Fu in the Tang dynasty, describe this place. However, it was Fan Zhongyan, an eminent minister of the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127), that really made Yueyang Tower world-famous. In the fifth year of the Qingli period, namely 1045, Fan Zhongyan was dismissed from his post of assistant administrator () and demoted to Deng Prefecture (today's Deng county), Henan, because the reform viewpoint he proposed influenced the interests of the conservative party of the court. In the next year, Fan Zhongyan suddenly heard from his good friend Teng Zijing (). In the letter, Teng Zijing said he was demoted to Yueyang and served as magistrate. He planned to have Yueyang Tower rebuilt. So he invited Fan Zhongyan to write a memorial article. Painting Autumn Night by Dongting Lake () was also attached. After hearing from Teng Zijing, Fan Zhongyan had complex feelings. Unexpectedly, his good friend Teng Zijing also suffered the same hardship. He expressed his emotion with landscapes to console his good friend. At the same time, he also expressed his ideal wish: To be the first to worry and to be the last to enjoy pleasure in the world is our credo. On September 15 that year, Fan Zhongyan wrote down the eternally famous article Memorial to Yueyang Tower.