Drum tower, originally the second floor of bell and drum, is also called bell and drum tower. It is the place where the time and the bell rang in ancient times. It was built in the fourth year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty (137 1), but it was rebuilt six times in more than 600 years due to natural and man-made disasters. Tomorrow, in Shunmao Yinian (1439), the garrison commander Talia Liu will merge the bell and drum on the second floor into the first floor, which is called the Drum Tower. It was rebuilt in the year of Zheng Deyuan in the Ming Dynasty (1506). Scholar Ming Lu recorded in Rebuilding the Drum Tower that Jiajing began to rebuild the Drum Tower on June 26th and completed it on July 28th. In the seventeenth year of Chongzhen (1644), the Qing army slaughtered the city and burned it for several days, and the Drum Tower was burned down. During the reign of Shunzhi in Qing Dynasty, Huang Jiadong, a Taoist in Jizhou, restored the Drum Tower. In the 18th year of Kangxi (1679), the Drum Tower collapsed in the earthquake. In the thirty-third year of Kangxi (1694), Zhang Chaoyan, the animal husbandry in Jizhou, was rebuilt, and there were two plaques on it: "Ancient Yuyang" and "Lock Key in Jidong". In the eleventh year of Qianlong (1746), the Drum Tower was burned down again, leaving only its base. 90 years later, in the 16th year of Daoguang (1836), the Drum Tower was rebuilt in Mu Huajun, Jizhou, and two plaques, "Ancient Yuyang" and "Key to Jidong", were still hung on the north and south fronts, written by Zhang Chaoyan with Huajun. But interestingly, the signature of "Grain Rain Yang" is "Zhang Chaoyan, a native of Zhoumushan", and the signature of "Jidong Lock Key" is "Huajun, a native of Zhoumushan".
1966, the second plaque on the pavilion was destroyed. 1983, the drum tower was renovated again, and two plaques were hung on it, which made the drum tower glow again. The Drum Tower in Jixian stands on a high platform in the center of the city. It is three rooms wide from east to west and two rooms deep from north to south, surrounded by ten thick red painted pillars, surrounded by Gong Dou cloisters and nine-ridged blue tiles, and a roof built on the mountain. In the south of the Drum Tower, there is a plaque hanging high, with three vigorous ancient Yuyang characters written in regular script, which was inscribed by Zhang Chaoyan, a well-known person in Jizhou during the Kangxi period of Qing Dynasty. On the back of the plaque, the key of Jidong is written in a similar font, and the signature is Huazhou Huajun during Daoguang period of Qing Dynasty. There are cribs around the city platform, and there are arched doorways in the middle of the city platform. The whole building is simple and elegant, which embodies the characteristics of the ancient city of Jixian. Now it is a county-level cultural relics protection unit.
The word "ancient Yuyang" engraved on the Drum Tower fully summarizes the ancient history of Jixian County. In the Spring and Autumn Period, a country without docks was built in Jixian County, Tianjin. There was no end county in Qin Dynasty. In the first year of Emperor Gaozu, Xiang Yu made Han Guang the king of Liaodong, and his capital was here. At the beginning of the great cause of Sui Dynasty, it was renamed Yuyang. Du Fu, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a heroic poem about Yuyang and praised Yu Sheng's poem. Bai Juyi's Song of Eternal Sorrow and Drum Beating came from Yuyang, which shocked the whole earth. All the poems mentioned this place. During the Tang, Liao, Jin and Yuan Dynasties, Jixian County was called Yuyang. In the early years of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty, the name of Yuyang was replaced by Jizhou.
The inscription on the key to Jidong summarizes the importance of Jixian's geographical location. Jixian county has been an important town in the north since ancient times, a military stronghold and a battleground for military strategists. In the Western Han Dynasty, Rebecca Zangcha killed Wang Hanguang in Liaodong; In the Eastern Han Dynasty, a general appeared to kill Miao Zeng in Youzhou. Hou Guangping's beheading in the Eastern Jin Dynasty took place in Wuji (now Jixian) here. The post-Zhao, Khitan, Liao, Yuan, Ming, Qing and War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression periods were once battlefields. To the north of Jixian County, ancient nomadic people lived in compact communities and were constantly harassed by dispatch troops. Therefore, the rulers of the Tang Dynasty, Liao Dynasty, Ming Dynasty and other dynasties all set up heavy guards here, and have already built cities for fortification. Wuding in the Eastern Han Dynasty was one of the four cities in Youbeiping County. After the Ming Dynasty moved the capital to Beijing, Jixian County was the eastern neighbor of the capital and the key to defending the capital, so it was necessary to strengthen the city defense here. Ming Lu scholar "Jizhou Fu Tower" said: Jizhou is a famous town in Beijing. ..... There is a river on the pillow mountain, and the town will be closed again, so that it can be supported and covered with wings. ..... Therefore, we worship the giant screen, be especially defensive, stick to it, and store abundant scenery to defend the city. All these show the importance of the geographical location of Jixian County.
Jixian was originally a tucheng. In the fourth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (137 1), the tucheng was wrapped in masonry and surrounded by 13 steps. There is a hill blocking the north of the city, and there is no door. There are doors on the east, south and west sides of the city, with buildings on the doors and turrets on the four corners of the city. The Drum Tower is built in the city center. In the fifteenth year of Chongzhen in Ming Dynasty (1642), the Qing army invaded Jizhou, demolished the city and burned the Drum Tower. During the reign of Shunzhi, Kangxi and Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty, it was rebuilt several times like the Ming Dynasty, but it was destroyed several times due to earthquakes, fires or disrepair. By the end of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the watchtowers in Jixian County had all collapsed and the city walls had been demolished. The Drum Tower in the city is also in tatters. In the years after 1983, the people's government of Jixian County carried out several repairs to the Drum Tower that people now see.
During Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty, Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Tianjin and the city wall was demolished, but the Drum Tower survived as a watchtower. During the Republic of China, the Drum Tower was rebuilt and the roof beams were covered with blue tiles, which was completely new. After liberation, the Drum Tower was demolished due to the development of the city.