The Tang Xianzu Memorial Hall in Fuzhou is a comprehensive cultural venue built to commemorate Tang Xianzu, one of the world’s hundred great cultural figures and a master of Ming‑dynasty drama in China. It is also one of Jiangxi Province’s ten major memorial halls dedicated to historical luminaries.
Tang Xianzu Stories | Ringing the Bell to Enlighten and Encourage Agriculture and Learning
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2023-11-04
The bell rings, ushering in the dawn of agricultural learning. 
Tang Xianzu was a diligent student. His family owned an extensive library, with books of every kind; whenever he had a moment, he would pore over them with great care. Passersby near his home could often hear a child’s voice reciting classic poems and prose from within. Some listeners, so entranced by the sound, would lose themselves in thought and forget to keep walking. On fine, sunny days, little Xianzu would even set out a small stool, sit at his doorstep, and read intently. This habit frequently drew teasing and playful banter from older neighborhood children or the grown‑up neighbors. Some kids would outright snatch his book, saying, “If you spend all your time reading like this, it’s no wonder you’ll end up as dumb as a mule,” while others would remark, “Who ever reads day in and day out? You can’t eat books, after all.” And then there were those who, though only marginally literate themselves, would seize his book, leaf through it, and challenge him: “You’ve read all these books? Very well—let me test you, to see whether you really know them or just think you do.” With that, they’d point to a passage, recite the first line, and demand that Tang Xianzu supply the second; or they’d pose a sentence and ask him to explain its meaning.
Tang Xianzu even became a role model for the elders in the neighborhood when they taught their children. Parents would often say to their own kids, “Look at Xianzu next door—how diligently he studies! Can’t you take a page from his book and put some effort into reading just a few pages? Otherwise, won’t you end up as someone who’s blind despite having eyes?”
Tang Xianzu’s habit of diligent study and reading persisted throughout his life. He often urged others to pursue both farming and learning with equal diligence. Later, while serving as magistrate in Suichang, a tale known as “the bell that awakens the enlightened” circulated about him—sufficient evidence of all this.
When Tang Xianzu served as magistrate in Suichang, one early winter morning, just as dawn was breaking, the rosy glow of the sunrise was faint and barely perceptible. The townsfolk of Suichang were, for the most part, still fast asleep; even those who had awakened lingered in bed, loath to rise. Suddenly, from the sky came wave after wave of a buzzing, resonant chime—growing louder and more urgent with each passing moment, deafening in its intensity. The scholars huddled under their blankets, the fishermen and woodcutters, the peddlers and porters—all were forced to throw on their robes and step out of bed, exchanging puzzled inquiries about what on earth could be causing such a commotion.
It turned out that this was none other than the “masterpiece” of County Magistrate Tang Xianzu. To encourage the people of Suichang to devote themselves to farming and learning, and to break their former habit of laziness, Tang Xianzu, while founding the Xiangpu Academy, also rebuilt a three‑story “Qiming Tower” (that is, a bell tower) at the Baoyuan Temple in the eastern part of the town. Atop the tower hung a massive bronze bell; striking it at set hours reminded everyone to rise and go about their daily routines on time. On this very day, when the Qiming Tower was officially completed and put into use, the sky was still dark. Tang Xianzu rose from his bed, donned his robe, and personally ascended the tower, vigorously ringing the great bronze bell to rouse the townsfolk. Knowing that it was the magistrate himself who had sounded the call, the people dared not slacken; they rose one after another—some read, some went fishing, some chopped firewood, and others went about their trades. In an instant, the town of Suichang was fully awakened, and its inhabitants began the bustling tasks of a new day—a day brimming with vitality.
When Tang Xianzu ascended this tower, a myriad of scenes surged before his eyes, and a deep, resonant echo seemed to reverberate within his heart. Filled with great enthusiasm, he composed “Ten Rhymed Verses on the Newly Completed Bell Tower of Baoyuan Temple in Pingchang”: “…Its sound resounds for ten miles; its realm of color spans but three layers. At clear dusk, the thousand‑strike chime echoes far and wide; in the frosty sky, the nine‑tiered spouts pour richly. In the void, sacred tones descend; upon earth, they meet the ears… With no means to repay the vast vow, I shall long slumber, half‑awake.”
Tang Xianzu often lodged personally on the top floor of the bell tower, ringing the bell morning and evening to mark the hours without fail. The people of Suichang, deeply moved by the magistrate Tang’s devoted efforts, took the bell’s chimes as their guide, observing regular routines and never voicing a single complaint. Later, this Qiming Tower was destroyed, whereupon the folks of Suichang erected a new three‑story Qiming Tower on Wolniu Mountain at the city’s outskirts, in commemoration of Magistrate Tang’s benevolent and exemplary administration.
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