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Located on the Xixiu Ridge (the West Embroidery Ridge) of Mt. Lishan, the remains of the beacon tower of the Western Zhou dynasty is easily identified.
A famous story is told about Baosi, queen of the Western Zhou dynasty. She was highly honored, yet she never cracked a smile. King You tried many ways to put a smile on her face, but he failed over and over again. He "called his court band to toll bells and beat gongs", and she put on a long face. Then the band was asked to "play the bamboo flute and strings", and she remained displeased. Afterwards, "maids of honor served wine, festively singing and dancing", and she still did not let out a smile. "You don't like music! What on earth are you fond of?" the king asked. "I don't have much of a liking for anything. But I can still well remember when I was a child, I liked to listen to the sound of colored silk being torn. It was clear and melodious." she replied. King You said in excitement, "That is very simple. How come you didn't let me know that earlier?" Thus he ordered the officially appointed property manager to produce colored silk and he assembled fresh and energetic maids of honor and had them tear it into pieces, but Baosi remained unmoved. "Why didn't you let out a single smile then?" he asked. "I have not smiled so far," the queen replied.
The king tried over and over again, but failed repeatedly, and in the end he gave order: "Anyone, either in or out of court, who can amuse Baosi will be awarded one thousand pieces of gold."
Admission: 40 (RMB)
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China Travel China Tour Provider website by Chinatown. All rights reserved |
The
beacon tower was built at the top of the mountain to give alarm of border
attack in ancient times. It was constantly manned by special guards. Once
the enemy pressed towards the border, the signal from the beacon tower
would be sent. It was made to smoke during the day and would light the
sky with fire at night. 
Afterwards,
Guo Shifu, a treacherous court official, came, and offered advice: "Set
the beacon tower on fire and fool your sovereign rulers." That night
the king and queen reached Mt. Lishan by carriage, and gave the order.
In a split second, the flames of the fire lit up the sky and the sovereign
rulers moved their troops immediately to Mt. Lishan. There they found
the king and queen enjoyed drinking festively. The king then dispatched
his bodyguard to inform them that "Everything is all right. I have
just been joking with you." When they found out this, they looked
at each other in blank dismay, and left disappointed. Sure enough, Baosi
burst into laughter, stroking her hands when she noticed all the troops
who had come in vain and now returned noisily. Accordingly, Guo Shifu
got a prize of one thousand pieces of gold. Later, King You repeated his
joke more often than not. In 771 BC, Quan Rong (a minority tribe at that
time) staged an armed rebellion against the Western Zhou dynasty. King
You urgently ordered the beacon tower set on fire, but all the sovereign
rulers did not come. Consequently King You was killed, and Baosi was taken
away. The Western Zhou dynasty vanished. Herein come the Chinese idioms
"A single smile costs one thousand pieces of gold" and "the
sovereign rulers are fooled by the beacon fire".