This pavilion lies on a hillside at the northwest corner of Purple Bamboo Courtyard in the Southern Section of the Tower Park. It is 107 m southeast of Yellow Crane Tower and 197 m southwest of White Cloud Pavilion. Such name alludes to a crane-riding immortal.
Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties bore witness to the prevalence of immortal tales. Those about Yellow Crane Tower came into being against the backdrop of widespread strange stories back then. The legend of a crane-riding immortal made its debut in Records of Strange Tales by Zu Chongzhi, a scientist of Southern Dynasties. Later the “crane-riding guest” was included in The Probe into Ancient Novels by modern scholar Lu Xun.
Xun Gui, styled Shuwei, treated his mother in a filial manner. He loved literary writings and Taoist teachings. Moreover, he led a secluded life without eating any cereals. Once Xun wandered east and arrived at Jiangxia-based Yellow Crane Tower where he took a rest. All of a sudden, he saw something falling from the sky—in fact a guest on craneback. After the crane stopped at the window, that immortal in feather robe and rainbow-garment walked inside and took a seat. In this way, both chatted heartily for a while and the immortal took leave. He got on the crane and soon vanished in midair.
Then Xiao Zixian of Southern Dynasties wrote in “Part II, Prefectures and Counties,” The Book of Southern Qi, “Yellow Crane Rocky Beach lies at Xiakou. Legend says an immortal called Zi’an ever passed it riding a crane.” Later a surname “Wang” was added to the immortal. Yet it is alleged elsewhere that his family name was Dou. In that version, Dou Zi’an, native to Jiangxi behaved supernaturally. After his death and burial, a yellow crane came and stopped in the tree in front of his house, calling his name time and time again. Strange to say, Dou appeared in person, rode the crane and hovered for circles above the house before flying west.
Tang scholar Yan Boli quoted Topographical Classic ‘s account in his Records of Yellow Crane Tower, the immortal was called Fei Yi, a minister of Shu in Three Kingdoms. Yan initiated his version that the tower gets its name from an immortal’s visit here. This assumption continued to Song Era.
Yet Fei Yi later gave way to Lü Yan, styled Dongbin and called Master Pure-Yang by himself as the latter got deified in Tang Dynasty. Such trend went further when Immortal Lü (in fact Lü Yuangui) left a poem at Rock Mirror Pavilion and Lü Yan “toured Jiangzhou and in particular Yellow Crane Tower before rising to heaven at noon on the 20th Day of the 5th Month” in Song and Yuan texts. It follows that Master Lü “painted a crane on the wall” and “rode a crane to the heaven” at Xin’s tavern. As soon as the immortal took his leave, the tavern became the so-called Yellow Crane Tower. A great many Ming and Qing scholars composed poems and essays to heighten the widespread popularity of this anecdote.
In Northern Song Epoch, an inscription was carved on the ridge of Yellow Crane Mountain to commemorate Fei Wenwei who flew to heaven on craneback. This is how that name sprang into form. Beside the pavilion stands Terrace of Spring Tranquility. The precipice even features a stone inscription created by Southern Song’s calligrapher Liu Qingzhi in the 9th Year (1182) of Chunxi Period. Pitifully, later the handwriting got dilapidated.
In 1986, Crane-Riding Pavilion was erected once more at the current location. This new one, facing the east, is a quasi wood-and-stone structure of 4.2 m length, 2.67 m width and 4.74 m height. Hexagon pyramid roof, black round tiles and quasi grey brick make this pavilion take on an ancient look. In front of the pavilion stands a grey-bricked white wall, thus creating a tranquil place for one or two tourists to unwind. Its southwest corner lies in the depth of verdant bamboos, which suggests a yellow crane fluttering among bamboos (Huang Gu Teng Zi Zhu Zhi Jian). The inscription turns out an artwork by professor Qiao Xiuye at Nankai University, Tianjin.
Service hotline: 027-88875096
Supervision hotline: 027-88848188
027-12301
(Wuhan Tourism Bureau.)
027-87124701
(Hubei Tourism Administration)
Scan focuses on the yellow crane tower.