The whole commentary of Zhaozhou Bridge includes three parts:
Part one: Introduction
The Zhaozhou Bridge is also known as the safe crossing bridge and the Great Stone Bridge. It crosses the Xiao River in Zhao County. It is named after the nearby Zhao County, which is known as Zhao Zhou in history.
Zhaozhou Bridge is designed and built by LiChun from 605 to 616 during the Sui Dynasty, has stood the tests of earthquakes, floods and traffic for more than 1400 years. It is the world’s oldest single-arch stone bridge still in use today and with the reputation as one of the Four Treasures of North China.
Part two: Creative construction.
Characteristics:
1) It has only one main arch and this arch has a span of more than 37 meters, which is a great creation in the world history.
2) The bridge has two small side arches on either of the main arch, they serve two important functions: First, they reduce the total weight of the bridge and save the structural materials. Second, in time of flood, they cooperate with the main one allowing water to pass through, thus weaken the flood’s impact on the body of the bridge itself.
3) This design also improve the general look of the bridge, contributes to its beauty, so people compared the bridge to a new moon rising above the clouds” and “a long rainbow hanging on a mountain waterfall”.
Part three: Beautiful stories and famous folk song
There are many legends about the design of this bridge.
According to one legend, the bridge was built by LuBan, who is a excellent architect, he managed the sheep turn into stones and built the bridge in o single night.
In another story, the bridge was put to the test by two immortals who crossed it at the same time. One is ZhangGuolao, he rode his lovely donkey with the sun and moon in his bag, and the other is ChaiWangye, who crossed the bridge with the Five Famous Mountains. LuBan was worried and saved the bridge by plunging into the water and supporting the structure.
