The Qing Dynasty Emperor Cai Xin inscription appeared in Pinghe Shanmei Village, Zhangzhou

According to a report by the Minnan Daily on 13 May, a few days ago, villagers of Shanmeishe in Dingsai Village, Qiling Township, Pinghe County, Zhangzhou City, found a well-preserved stone carved plaque when cleaning up the ruins of an earthen building. The plaque is 1.91 meters long and 0.63 meters wide, with three large italic characters of "Nanhu Lou" engraved in the middle, the inscription on the right "Qianlong Years Are Ugly", and the left side of the "Puyue Jidan". In the upper right, there is an oval introductory stamp with the word "Geshan"; in the lower left, a square stamp with the word "Shili" is stamped. From the first chapter "Geshan", it can be seen that the inscription of the plaque is written by Cai Xin, a famous Minister of the Qing Dynasty who is known as "a generation of imperial masters".

According to research, the founder of the Nanhu Tower, Cai Zan, is a well-known historical figure in the area of Qiling and Jiufeng in Pinghe County, and the ninth ancestor of the Cai clan of Qiling Mountain, known as "Cai Million". According to the local genealogical records, Cai Million ben name praise, character charter, also known as Zongyuan, number Zhangting. Cai Zan crossed the platform alone in the year of the weak crown, and after nearly twenty years of hard work, he became a well-known giant "Cai Million", and only returned to his hometown in middle age to marry and have children, and then built beautiful Buildings such as Nanhu Tower and Ancestral Hall in his hometown of Shanmei. Among them, the stones and green bricks consumed are transferred from the coast of Zhangpu, and it is said that when the Nanhu Tower was built, each green brick was carefully polished by craftsmen until it was spliced together. The shape of the Nanhu Building is in the style of the Southwest Fujian Tulou, but the wall is made of green bricks, and the "NanhuLou" plaque on the lintel is inscribed by Cai Xin.

Cai Xin (1707~1799), Zi Ciming, Ge Shan, a native of Zhangpu, Fujian Province, Qianlong Yuannian Jinshi, Zhishu Jishi, Hanlin Academy Editor, Straight Study, Hanlin Academy Attendant, Chief Master of the Inner Court, Concurrently Li Bingbu Shangshu and In Charge of Guozi Supervision Affairs, Libu Shangshu and Li Bingbu Shangshu, Bureaucrat Shangshu and Guozi Supervisor Affairs, Wenhuadian University Scholar and Official Shangshu, and Crown Prince Taishi. Cai Zan, the head of the New Year, is 6 years old, and Cai Zan performs the "Juzi Ceremony" for him, and after Cai Zan returns from Taiwan, it coincides with Cai Xin's return to his mother, and the two have endless exchanges and friendships. In the ugly years of Qianlong, the huge Nanhu Building was completed, and Cai Xin, who was then the Shangshu of the Military Department and in charge of the affairs of the State Supervision, gladly picked up his pen and wrote down the three big characters of "Nanhu Lou" with strong penmanship.

Cai Zan was a life of charity and unlimited scenery, and so far the ancient inscriptions stored in the Pinghe Luxi Bishui Rock, qiling Tianhu Hall, and Jiufeng City God Temple still have records of his donation to build the temple. Cai Xin commented in the "Preface to the Charter of Tai Weng Ah Xian Shou" composed for Cai Zan's seventy-fifth birthday: "The hidden thoughts of kindness and compassion, old and mitu, are high in the old age and demi Shaoye, and enjoy the blessings of the age." The Daoguang edition of the Pinghe County Chronicle records various seals and bei also gave "commandments", and also praised the virtues of Cai Zan's father and son. It is regrettable that around the time of the Tongzhi dynasty of the Qing Dynasty, an anonymous fire completely burned down the beautiful Nanhu Building, leaving only the cornerstone and the door of the building, none of the Cai family's property remained, and the houses and grandchildren had no livelihood, most of them fled around and wandered to other places, and there are only more than 160 people who have stayed in the mountains so far, of which only a few dozen people really belong to the descendants of Cai Zan. It can be said that a nameless fire destroyed the South Lake Tower that year, and also drew a desolate end to a legend of the rich in the mountains. (Zi Ling text/photo)