Palace of Medicine King is located in Tengchong City. It was built in 1626 of the Ming Dynasty by the medical scholars. In the reign period of Emperor Kangxi during the Qing Dynasty, the abbot Ziweng repaired and expanded it to expand the building into a gourd shape. The Palace of Medicine King is not only well-conceived in layout and unique in architecture style; it is also an important testimony of the development process of Chinese medicine industry in Tengchong. In 2005, it was rated as the Provincial Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.
Development process of Palace of Medicine King
The Palace of Medicine King was initiated by Li Zhongchun, a military doctor who rebelled with General Deng Zilong from Fengcheng, Jiangxi, during the Ming Dynasty. It was completed in 1626, which was originally named as Qingwei Palace, dedicated to Sun Simiao, a famous doctor in the Tang Dynasty. There is also a General Deng Zilong’s Memorial Hall in the palace.
In the Qing Dynasty, the abbot Ziweng expanded and renovated the palace. In 1725, the Wudi Pavilion was newly built. Later during the Qing Dynasty, the palace was destroyed by wars and fires, and then was rebuilt in 1887. In 1933, the Tengchong Medical Community established the Physician Association here.
Layout of Palace of Medicine King
The palace covers an area of 8,700 square meters. The main gate faces to the east. It is a wooden archway-style building. It consists of the main gate, the Wudi Pavilion, the Medicine King’s Hall, and other auxiliary halls and buildings. The original buildings of Palace of Medicine King are basically well preserved. The main gate and Wudi Hall restore their old appearances.
The terrain is high in the east and low in the west. The whole layout is the gourd shaped. The main gate is like the gourd mouth, the Wudi Pavilion the gourd neck, the Medicine King’s Hall and the halls the gourd belly. The lotus pond is like the gourd bottom and the surrounding walls are the gourd shell. The maximum drop is about 112 meters.
The Wudi Hall, sitting to the east, was built on a high platform foundation. It is a double-eave and loft-style building. The beams, eaves and pillars are decorated in the colorful paintings. The sculpture’s composition is simple while the lines are bright. The front porch is circled by the stone fences.