First built in the Tang Dynasty, the Shuiguanyin Pavilion lies in the center of South Lake. During the reign of Zhende in the Ming dynasty, it was once used as a dressing room by the wife (whose surname was Lou) of Zhu Shenhao (Duke Ning). During the reign of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty it became the villa of Prime Minister Zhang Wei, also called Xinghua House. Tang Xianzu, a great dramatist in the Ming Dynasty, once composedpoems here. In the Qing Dynasty it was repaired with publicdonations in order that it could be used to offer sacrifices to the spirits of Zhu Shenhao's wife, and it was for the first time called Yinshi Nunnery. In the fifty-third year of the reign of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1788 A.D.), it was repaired again.