1991 was the Chinese Zodiac year of Sheep. Its commemorative coin of Sheep was officially released in January of 1991.
On the obverse of the gold coin, there engraved the People’s Republic of China in characters and the year of circulation. Its architecture design is Yueyang Tower of Yueyang City in Hunan Province. Boarded the shore of Dongting Lake, which connects to the Yangtze River, Yueyang Tower, along with the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan and the Pavilion of Prince Teng in Nanchang, is one of the three greatest ancient Chinese towers of south China. Standing on top of the west gate of Yueyang City wall, Yueyang Tower holds a reputation of being the First Tower Under Heaven, as the Dongting Lake is known as the First Water Under Heaven. It was once an inspection site for General Lu Su to view and train his naval troops during the Three Kingdom Era. In 716 AD, Tang Dynasty, officer Zhang Rui renovated the Tower and formally renamed it “Yueyang Tower”. Elite poets of Tang Dynasty such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi had all been to the Tower to enjoy its beauty and attractive sceneries around it, leaving behind many well-known poems. At the invitation of the local governor and his friend Teng Zijing who rebuilt the Tower in 1045, the renowned Song Poet Fan Zhongyan composed an essay “Yueyang Lou Ji” as memorial to Yueyang Tower. The verses of “Yueyang Lou Ji” have been widely enjoyed by Chinese people for generations and the Yueyang Tower became well-known in China due to its literary association with “Yueyang Lou Ji”. Since then, the Tower went through numerous renovations. It was reconstructed again in 1886, Qing Dynasty. The Main building is in rectangle shape with three stories. At 17.24 meters long, 14.54 meters wide and 19.72 meters high, the wood structured Tower used neither nails nor metal pins in construction, but the interlocking brackets. The entire Tower was supported by four huge wood pillars with open corridors surround it. On the right side of the main building, there is the famous “three drunk pavilion”, so named after a legendary Immortal Lu Dongbin who got drunk three times in the pavilion. On the left side there is the “Fairy Plum Pavilion”. According to the legend, a slate found there in Ming Dynasty bore plum blossom design on it and it was thought to be drawn by immortals. So it named “Fairy Plum Pavilion”. To date, there still erects a piece of flagstone in the middle of the pavilion. In the main hall there is a wooden screen on which Fan Zhonyan’s “Yueyang Lou Ji” was written by famous calligrapher Zhang Zhao of Qing Dynasty. Poet Li Bai and Du Fu’s poetry can also be found carved on stones.
On the reverse, the image of Sheep on the 8 gram golden coin was originated from renowned Chinese contemporary painter Zhao shaoang’s ( 1905 – ) work. Mr. Zhao is good at painting mountains, water, people, fish and animals with bright and rich colors. His paintings have been exhibited in Japan, England, France, the United States and Canada and are very well received by public. The Sheep on the coin appeared to be very gentle, soft and noble. It symbolizes a propitious year ahead.
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