Terrace Buildings

The Tai was an ancient architectural structure, a very much elevated terrace with a flat top. Generally built of earth and stone and surfaced with brick, it was used as a belvedere from which to look into the distance. In fact, however, many a well-known ancient tai as we know it today is not just a bare platform but has some palatial halls built on top.

A good example in hand is the Round City (or Tuan City, Tuan Cheng) of the Beihai Park in Beijing. A terrace five meters high, it has, on its top space of 4,500 square meters, a main hall with side corridors.

The Tai could be built to serve different practical purposes. It could be used as an observatory, as for instance the one near Jianguomen in Beijing which, with its brass astronomical instruments, dates to the Ming and Qing dynasties. It could also be used militarily, like the beacon towers along the Great Wall, to transmit urgent information with smoke by day and fire by night. Also on the Great Wall, there is a square tai at intervals of every 300 to 400 meters, from which the garrison troops kept watch. On the track of the ancient Silk Road can still be seen, here and there, ruins of the old defense fortifications in the form of earthen terraces.

Famous Terrace
Heptachord Terrace, or Guqin Tai to give it its Chinese name, is located in the north of the Hanyang District of Wuhan City, Hubei Province. It is situated at the west of Tortoise Hill and on the bank of the Moon Lake. The terrace is a reminder of the legend of Yu Boya, who was a famous official who lived in the Jin State during the the Spring and Autumn Period (770 B.C. - 476B.C.), and was an expert heptachlord player. One day, Yu Boya played two pieces of music on his way home by boat from an official visit to the Chu State. One was a composition called 'High Mountain' and the other 'Flowing Water'. To Yu Boya's amazement Zhong Ziqi, a woodcutter, understood and appreciated his music. Yu Boya admired Zhong Ziqi's musical attainment and after a long conversation they became bosom friends. Since Yu Boya had to return to his state, they agreed to meet again in the coming year. Unfortunately, Yu Boya found that his friend had died from a disease before their planned meeting could take place and understandably he was deeply grieved upon hearing the sad news. Upon setting up an altar near his friend's grave and burning incense there, he played 'High Mountain' and 'Flowing Water' once again. The emotion of the music was so strong that it was as if the rivers and the mountains were crying. When he had finished playing, the distraught musician broke his heptachord to pieces. From then on, Yu Boya never played again.

The terrace was built in honor of the sincere friendship between Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi during the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) and later restored by a prefect living in Hubei Province during the early years of the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911).

Surrounded by water on three sides, the Heptachord Terrace is set among some very beautiful scenery. As well as the stone terrace, a hall named 'High Mountain and Flowing Water' stands on the site. Other recreational features around the Heptachord Terrace are a courtyard and a teahouse as well as an arboretum. At the entrance to the Heptachord Terrace, you are confronted by a colorful glaze-tiled hall over which the Chinese characters say ”Guqin Tai”. Walking to the north brings you to a screen wall facing the gate of a house, on the screen is carved the Chinese character written by the Daoguang Emperor (1875 - 1909) of the Qing Dynasty. Passing a small gate to the east of this screen wall, a zigzag veranda lies in front of you. Here you will see many stone carvings and a stele inscription commemorating the restoration of the Heptachord Terrace. On the west of the veranda is the Heptachord Hall in front of which is a white marble terrace. As the legend suggests, it was on this terrace that Yu Boya played his instrument. There is an exhibition of wax figures depicting how the two men became good friends together with a white marble statue of Yu Boya playing the Heptachord.

All in all, a trip to the Heptachord Terrace will help tourists to truly appreciate the friendly nature of Chinese people and have a better understanding of the stress they place upon sincere affection.