Donglin Dongjing Introduction
The "Donglin East Well" located in the Donglin settlement of Lieyu Township was excavated in the 4th year of the Jia Tai era (1204) during the reign of Emperor Ningzong of the Song dynasty, constructed by Lin Yanzhi. It has a history of over 800 years and is the largest ancient well in Kinmen, featuring a unique construction method. In 2004, due to village renovation, steps and granite pavement were laid around the ancient well, and stainless steel railings and transparent glass were added above the well, designating it as a County-protected Historical Site. The well is built with stone slabs measuring 160 cm in length, 40 cm in width, and 11 to 13 cm in thickness, forming a square well structure with each side measuring 130 cm. Each stone slab has a notch of 15 cm in length and 20 cm in width carved out from the lower left and upper right corners. The construction method alternates between convex and concave styles. In the center of the northern well railing, there are three lines of regular script carved directly, reading from right to left: "Jia Tai Jia Zi Chun Lin Yan Zhi She" (嘉泰甲子春林彥智捨). The center section of the southern well railing also features two lines of regular script reading: "Da De Yi Si Chong Xiu" (大德乙巳重修). Due to prolonged exposure to sunlight, the granite surface of the southern section has weathered significantly, making the inscriptions difficult to read. The characters for "De" (德) and "Chong" (重), as they are located in the center of the stone, are clearer, while the other four characters at the edges are more worn and are not very legible.
