During the 51st year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1786) an uprising led by Lin Shuang-wen led to a similar uprising by Zhuang Da-tian in the south, both of which led to the capture of the government seat in Zuoying on two separate occasions. After these events the Qing authorities moved the local government to Pitou, using a screen of thorny bamboo as a fortification. A provincial government building was then constructed, and this came to be called the "new city."
In the 9th year of Emperor Jiaqing's reign (1804), the provincial magistrate Wu Zhao-lin built six city gates in stone, these being the Big East Gate (Chaoyang Gate), the Little East Gate (Fengyi Gate), the West Gate (Jinghua Gate), the South Gate (Anhua Gate), the North Gate (Pingshuo Gate) and the County Gate beyond the North Gate, also known as "the first county gate in the south."
The walls of the six gates were all painted with dragon and tiger patterns to make them more pleasing to the eye. Most fortified provincial cities only have four gates, but the provincial government at Fengshan had a fifth gate to the east [not counting the County Gate] as a means of dealing with local disturbances. The administration buildings and the gunpowder depot were located to the east of the city, and the Little East Gate was used for both military use and the evacuation of officials and their families [in times of distress].
After the pirate Tsai Qian assaulted Taiwan, his general Wu Huai-sse captured the New City. Local people in Zuoying then began working toward moving the government seat back to Zuoying. [Unfortunately for them] the provincial magistrate Du Shao-qi died while in office, and the "old city" [in Zuoying] came to be regarded as an "unlucky" place. [For this reason] the government seat was moved back to the "new city."
道光十八年 (一八三八) , 知縣曹謹在新城城門上加建城樓 , 並在城牆四隅築砲台六座 , 城外開挖濠溝 . 咸豐四年 (一八五四) , 南路參將曾元福將原刺竹牆垣改為土牆 . 外圍仍環植刺竹 , 但土牆於光緒十八年 (一八九二) 倒塌 , 地方官員乃命人重修 . In the 18th year of Emperor Daoguang's reign (1838), the magistrate Tsao Jin built a tower over the [main] New City gate, added cannon emplacements around the four corners of the city wall, and had a moat dug outside the New City. In the fourth year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign (1854), South Road Chief Dzeng Wen-fu replaced the original thorny bamboo wall with a wall made of earth. The thorny bamboo wall remained planted around the perimeter of the fortification, but the earthen wall collapsed during the 18th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign (1892). Local officials later ordered it rebuilt.
日劇時代 , 城牆及城門均遭拆除 , 至今只剩東便門及城外濠溝留存 . 矗立在鳳山市三民路四十巷中之東便門 , 經整修後已不復原有之樣貌 . 不但城樓已不知去向 , 整座城門還用水泥重新舖過 , 並刻意凸顯一小塊一小塊石頭模樣 , 好似軍營中之碉堡 . 門洞上方有一石匾 , 書 "東便門" 三字 , 為後人整修時以水泥鑄成 , 紅底金字 , 古味盡失 . The New City's walls and gates were demolished during the Japanese Colonial Administration, with only the Little East Gate and the moat/canal outside the New City left in place. The Little East Gate, which now stands on Lane 40, Sanmin Road, in Fengshan District (2), has lost its original appearance due to subsequent "renovations." In addition, the city tower [which stood above it] is gone, and the remaining gate has been resurfaced with concrete. Small pieces of stone [on the gate's exterior] have been highlighted to make the structure look like a blockhouse in a military camp. There's a stone plaque above the gate with the words "Little East Gate," but the ancient inscriptions [once present on the gate] -- gold characters on a red background -- disappeared long ago. (3)
門洞下方有道路通過 , 可連接三民路與鎮東街 . 東便門前有一東福橋 , 窄窄的橋面僅能容二部機車並行 . 底下汩汩而流的鳳山溪為昔日之護城河 , 如今水色如墨 , 今人不忍卒睹 . 東福橋為台灣唯一殘留下來的中國式石橋 . 其橋下六角形之橋礅甚有特色 , 其上舖以石板供通行之用 , 可惜光復後竟用鋼筋水泥將之補強 , 並加上紅色鐵欄杆 , 實為古蹟保存之錯誤示範 . There's a road passing through the gate, connecting Sanmin Road and Zhendong Street. In front of the Little East Gate is the Dongfu Bridge, which is so narrow that only two scooters, riding in parallel, can pass over it at any time. The Fengshan River, gurgling underneath [the bridge] follows the course of the moat that was once there. It's inky black now, which makes it difficult to look at. (4)
The Dongfu Bridge is the only remaining Chinese-style stone bridge in Taiwan. The hexagonal supports under the bridge are very distinctive. It's been covered in stone slabs to accommodate traffic. After liberating Taiwan [from the Japanese], the current government reinforced the bridge with concrete, and added red railings along its length, making the Dongfu Bridge an unfortunate example of how not to preserve a historic site. (5)
當年北門外郭 "郡南第一關" 之門額如今被收藏在舊高雄縣政府縣長室外 , 而東門門額則保存於曹公祠內 , 近來又在昔日各城門舊址立柱 . The plaque formerly outside the North Gate which reads "the first county gate in the south" is now kept outside the Magistrate's Office in the old Kaohsiung County Government building, while the plaque formerly outside the East Gate is kept within Tsaogong Temple. Recently pillars have been erected at the sites of the old city gates.
道光十八年 (一八三八) 鳳山知縣曹謹於鳳山新城的城牆四隅構築六座砲台 , 現今尚有三座被保留下來 . In the 18th year of Emperor Daoguang's reign (1838), Tsao Jin, the Magistrate of the Fengshan Provincial Government, built six cannon emplacements at the corners of the Fengshan New City walls. Three of these have endured to the present day.
位在曹公路二十五之三號之平成砲台 , 為鳳山新城西北隅之砲台 . 其結構體呈四方形 , 高約五公尺 , 台基係以咾咕石與三合土壘積而成 , 上有雉堞 . 西南北三面各有二個觀測孔 , 內寬外窄 , 孔後為砲位 , 安放三千斤以下大砲各一 , 東側則設紅磚階梯以供登臨 . The Pingcheng Cannon Emplacement can be found on Tsaogong Road #25-3. It was the fortification at the northwest corner of the Fengshan New City. It's square in shape and about five meters high. The base of this emplacement was made of a traditional mixture of sand and soil, with a walled area on top. There are two observation holes each for the south, west and north sides of the emplacement, all of which are wide on the inside and narrow on the outside. Behind each of the pairs of holes are spaces for cannons weighing less than 3000 KG. This emplacement can be accessed via a red brick staircase on the east side.
平成砲台目前由高雄水利會鳳山工作站負責管理 , 整體而言大致維持昔日舊貌 . 砲台後方有一棵老榕 , 枝葉及氣根向外攀爬 , 給這粗線條的建物增添了幾許柔和 . 而正面壁上刻有 "平成" 二字之橫匾 , 質材為花崗石 , 在一塊塊咾咕石顆粒中 , 更顯得莊嚴 . The Pingcheng Cannon Emplacement is currently maintained by both the Kaohsiung Irrigation Association and the Fengshan Work Station. It retains its original appearance. There's an old banyan tree behind the emplacement which has grown outward over the structure, softening its rigid appearance. On the front of the emplacement there's a plaque reading "Pingcheng." This plaque is made of granite and looks even more solemn than the emplacement itself.
鳳山新城西南隅之砲台為澄瀾砲台 , 地處復興路與立志街口 . 早些年砲台僅存幾面牆垣 , 附近居民不但將其佔用 , 還以水泥紅磚任意加蓋 , 導致澄瀾砲台處在屋簷鋼柱之間 . 但刻有 "澄瀾" 二字之花崗石橫匾猶存 , 只是被前方之福德正祠擋住 , 需費一番功夫才能尋獲 . The cannon emplacement at the southwest corner of the Fengshan New City is the Chenglan Cannon Emplacement. It's located at the intersection of Fuxing Road and Lizhi Street. Early on much of this emplacement was eroded or dismantled. Not only did some residents occupy the structure, but others covered it with red cement bricks. What is left of the Chenglan Cannon Emplacement is located between two steel pillars. A long horizontal plaque with the words "Chenglan" engraved upon remains at the site, but it's obstructed by the main part of the Fude Temple complex. It's difficult to find.
至於僅剩一片弧狀牆垣的訓風砲台 , 位於中山路五巷八號前 , 為當年城牆東南隅之砲台 . 雖然已成斷垣殘壁 , 但訓風砲台正面刻有 "訓風" 兩字的橫額周邊 , 其浮彫裝飾仍相當清晰 , 不知情者恐怕會誤認為此乃從前大戶人家之遺址 . As for the Shunfeng Cannon Emplacement there was only a curved wall remaining [prior to renovations]. This curved wall is to be found in front of #8 Lane 5 Zhongshan Road. It was the emplacement at the southeast corner of the New City wall. Even though it was [previously little more than] a ruin, you could still see the engraving which read "Shunfeng" on the front of the structure very clearly. Those less versed in local history might have thought this engraving referred to some wealthy family that lived there in the past.
民國八十七年 , 高雄縣政府為了維護古蹟 , 將澄瀾砲台周邊違建拆除 ,附近闢為綠地 , 並以相同之石材修補訓風 , 澄瀾兩砲台 . 目前這三座砲台都呈現煥然一新之貌 , 堪稱地方特色 . On the 87th year on the Republic of China calendar [1998], the Kaohsiung County Government demolished illegal buildings around the Chenglan Cannon Emplacement to protect the historic site there. A green space was opened up around this site, and both the Chenglan and Shunfeng emplacements were restored with the same type of stone. All three emplacements have since been given brand new looks which accord well with the local surroundings.
Related Entries 相關的文章:
Kaohsiung in the News 高雄的新聞 (East 東) 5
NOTE 1: The Chinese text above was taken from "A History of Taiwanese Fortified Cities in Pictures" 圖說 台灣古城史 , published by 遠足文化 Walkers Cultural in 2014. The Chinese was written by 載震宇 and the English was written by me.
NOTE 2: If you're looking for local history, the Fengyi Academy 鳳儀書院 is in the same area. It's the Qing Dynasty equivalent of the American one-room schoolhouse. It's been heavily "restored," but it does offer further insight into the time period.
1. I sometimes translate 里 as "village," sometimes as "district." Since talking about one village as being part of another village is confusing, I opted for "district" in this instance. Needless to say, 里 just refers to an administrative division.
2. The Chinese here reads "Fengshan City."
3. More of an ancient "flavor." These inscriptions would have only dated back to the early 1800s, not sure if that qualifies as "ancient."
4. I linked the three places to their locations on Google Maps. They're very close to one another, and if it's not too hot you could probably walk there from the Dadong 大東 MRT stop. The picture above, by the way, is the Little East Gate.
5. Are we sure that it's the only remaining example of a Chinese-style stone bridge in Taiwan? I dunno, that would be a tough one to research. I seem to remember reading about other Chinese-style bridges in Kaohsiung and elsewhere, but maybe the other is using his own criteria.
