From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Old City of Zuoying
Old City of Zuoying
The Old City of Zuoying (Chinese: 左營舊城), also known 1825 and a whole new stone wall was completely built in
as the Old City of Fengshan County (Chinese: 鳳山縣舊 1826. At the time, it was one of the most advanced city
城), is a walled city located in Tsoying, Kaohsiung, Tai- wall in Taiwan.
wan. It was built during the Qing rule period and is one
of the first Taiwanese cities fortified by a defensive wall.
The city was administrated under the Fongshan County
(鳳山縣) of the Taiwan Prefecture (台灣府).
History
Origin
Tsoying was a major juncture of the Kaohsiung plain, and
therefore possesses strategic advantages. Nearby moun-
tains such as the Turtle Mountain (龜山) and the Snake
Mountain (蛇山) created nature barriers, making the
place easily defensible. In 1684, Taiwan was annexed by
the Qing Dynasty, which favored the strategic advantages The East Wall at night
the place provided. The Qing government set up the
Fongshan County seat in Hsinglungchuang (興隆庄) and Aftermath
built government buildings and Confucian Temples,
Soon later, however, it was rumored that the governor
gaining its significance. The early Qing dynasty prohibit-
died of a disease. The residents thought his death was
ed the construction of defensive walls in Taiwan to pre-
an unlucky sign and refused to move to the new city.
vent rebellions, so the city never obtained its wall until
The new walled city was left unused until 1853 when the
1721. In 1721, Chu Yi-kuei (朱一貴) led a rebellion in
Qing government ordered the move of the county seat.
southern Taiwan and captured the county, which had
According to documents, some important government
no protection, and ruined many government buildings.
buildings in the city were the administration office (文
After the incident, Qing permitted building defensive
武衙署), the record office (典史署), and the defense of-
walls in Taiwan. The governor of Tsoying County Liou
fice (守備署); there were temples which worshiped Mat-
Kwang-shi (劉光泗) built the first city wall made of mud
su, Confucius, and Guan Yu.
with a moat system in 1722.
During the Japanese rule period, the walled city did
not change much. As their military policy developed,
Renovation however, the Japanese Imperial Army made the Zuoying
In 1787, the city wall was broken through during the oc- Port (左營港) a naval port. The city was administered as
currence of the Lin Shuang-wen incident (林爽文事件). a military district to protect the port. As a result, over
The wall was destroyed by the rebels. At the time, the lo- fifty households were force to move out. After World
cal officials thought the walled city was an unlucky place, War II, the Kuomintang government still administered
therefore decided to move the county seat to Pitouchieh the North and East Gates as military district, and set up
(埤頭街; present-day Fongshan City). However, the move three villages in the walled city. In 1985, the Ministry of
of the county seat did not stop invasions. In 1805, Tsai the Interior rated the North, South, and East Gates First-
Chien (蔡牽), who claimed to be the "Sea-calming Majes- class historic sites. The remaining wall was renovated in
tic King"(鎮海威武王), led a rebellion and still broke in- March 1991.
to the walled city. The government planned to move the
city back to Hsinglungchuang in 1807, but it was not fi-
nancially possible. Until 1824, when Yang Liang-bin led a Structure
rebellion and the residents were extremely panicked. As The stone wall was made out of concrete and granite.
a result, the government collected donations from peas- There were four gates to enter the walled city, the North,
ants as well as government officials and put together South, East, and West Gates.
about 140,000 silver yuans (of which three-fourths were
contributed by the civilians). The construction started in
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Old City of Zuoying
South Gate
North Gate
Present-day South Gate
North Gate
The North Gate is also called the Gongchen Gate (拱辰 The South Gate is also called the Ciwun Gate (啟文門).
門), and has two inscribed boards on it. The one on the The walls connected to it had been removed and now it
outside says "Gongchen Gate", the one on the inside says sits in the center of a traffic circle. Like other gates, the
"North Gate" (北門). There are two sculptures of door South Gate was built with granite. In the renovation of
gods on the gate. The names of the door gods are Shentu 1961, reinforced concretes were added to the four cor-
(神荼) and Yulei (鬱壘). ners of the gate, and the stairways leading to the top of
the gate was renewed.
East Gate
The East Gate is also known as the Fongyi Gate (鳳儀門).
Of the four gates of the walled city, it is the best pre-
served. A portion of the wall connected to the East Gate
is still present. The gate lacked maintenance during the
period when it was part of the military district, which al-
lowed vines to grow on the gate. The gate was renovated
after the military camped moved.
West Gate
Gate,
The West Gate also known as the Dianhai Gate (奠海門),
is no longer present as it was destroyed during the Peri-
Present-day Kungchen Well od of Japanese rule. There was no evidence of the exis-
tence of the gate until a Japanese map of the region was
The "Gongchen Well" (拱辰井) was a well near the found. A monument was unveiled in 2004 by then-mayor
North Gate built approximately 200 years ago. During the of Kaohsiung Frank Hsieh.
Qing rule period local residents relied on this well. The
well did not work anymore and the government dur-
ing the Taiwan Post-war Era decided to demolish it as See also
it obstructed the transportation. An iron lid was put on • Defensive wall
the remaining hole instead. Without careful preserva-
tion, the lid even has zebra crossing marks on it.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Old_City_of_Zuoying&oldid=445386442"
Categories:
• Historical sites in Taiwan
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Old City of Zuoying
The monument of the West Gate
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