Chapter 3 Chapter Three: Mountains and Rivers: Carved Stones and Cliffs

my country's stone inscriptions have matured after about a thousand years of development during the Shang and Zhou dynasties.Therefore, from the Qin and Han Dynasties, it has been widely used in society, especially among the ruling class and the wealthy class, and even the first climax of using stone inscriptions appeared.Among these stone inscriptions, the first to meet us are the inscriptions in the form of stone carvings and cliffs. Stone carving is just a form and a category of stone carvings, and it only refers to the kind of stone carvings with no customization in shape and free content.It is obviously different from the stone inscriptions that have a certain shape and a relatively fixed content range mentioned later.The carved stones of the Qin Dynasty are the earliest carved stones we have found so far.In 221 BC, after Qin Shihuang unified the country, the first thing he thought of was how to publicize his prestige and consolidate his imperial career.Therefore, he did not shy away from the hard work of long-term battles. In the 10 years from 219 BC to 210 BC, he conducted five large-scale inspections, covering the land of eastern China today, and carved inscriptions on stones seven times to praise Qin. North Korea and his own merits.In 219 BC, Qin Shihuang visited the East twice, climbed Zouyi Mountain (now in Zou County, Shandong Province), and erected "Yishan Carved Stones"; climbed Taishan Mountain (now Tai'an City, Shandong Province), and erected "Taishan Carved Stones"; On Langya Mountain (now southwest of Jiaonan County, Shandong Province), the "Langya Terrace Carved Stone" was erected.In the second year (218 BC), Qin Shihuang went to the east to inspect Zhifu (in today's Yantai City, Shandong Province), and established "Zhifu Carved Stone" and "Zhifu Dongguan Carved Stone".Later, he visited the north in 215 BC and set up "Jieshi Carved Stone" in Jieshi Mountain (north of Changli County, Hebei Province today).In 210 BC, he went to the south to inspect and set up "Kuiji Carved Stone" in Kuaiji Mountain (now south of Shaoxing, Zhejiang).

Qin Shihuang carved a total of seven carved stones during several inspections, and their contents are similar. Of the carved stones from Qin Shihuang's period, there are only two original stones preserved to this day, and both of them are seriously damaged.One is a stone inscription on Mount Tai. After being destroyed many times, there are only 10 characters left. It is now hidden in Tai'an Dai Temple, Shandong.The best surviving rubbings of Taishan stone inscriptions are only the 29-character rubbings rubbed in the Ming Dynasty; one is the Langya Terrace inscriptions, which are now crushed stones. Although they have been bonded, there are not many characters left. The names of individual officials accompanying Qin II and part of the 13 lines of the imperial edict, with a total of 86 characters, were preserved. The residual stone was moved to the collection of the Chinese History Museum in 1959.The two rubbings from the early Qing Dynasty and the Qianlong period of the Langya Terrace inscriptions are considered rare.

After the original inscription on Yishan in Zou County, Shandong Province was lost, there was a copy of Xu Xuan handed down in the Five Dynasties and Southern Tang Dynasty.In the fourth year of Chunhua, Emperor Taizong of the Northern Song Dynasty (AD 993), Zheng Wenbao re-carved a stone based on Xu Xuan's copy and erected it in Chang'an, which is now in the Forest of Steles in Xi'an.The rest of the stones have long been lost and will never be seen again.About 10 pieces of carved stones from the Western Han Dynasty were unearthed later, most of which are sketches.After the Eastern Han Dynasty, due to the emergence of other forms of stone carvings such as cliffs, inscriptions, epitaphs, etc., such stone carvings have been relegated to a secondary position.

Cliff carvings are a category of stone carvings.The so-called cliff carvings are stone carvings that use natural stone walls to record events.This kind of cliff carving has different sizes, different lengths and widths, and different characters. In short, there is no fixed specification, as long as it can meet the needs of the carvers.According to what we know now, the distribution of cliff stone carvings in my country is relatively wide, almost all provinces and cities have them, such as Baoxiedao in Hanzhong, Shaanxi, Taishan in Tai'an, Shandong, Yunfeng Mountain in Yexian County, Wu[Wu] River in Qiyang, Hunan, Jiaoshan Mountain in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, etc., are famous cliff carving areas.

There are many theories about the time when the cliff inscriptions appeared in our country, some say it appeared in the Zhou Dynasty, and some say it existed in the Shang Dynasty, but there is no reliable evidence.According to reliable records and existing physical inspections, it can be confirmed that they are cliff stone carvings, which were first seen in the Eastern Han Dynasty.At this time, there are a lot of cliffs, which have reached a considerable level.After the Han Dynasty, all dynasties had cliff carvings, some of which were also very famous.According to incomplete statistics, there are more than 10 well-known cliffs in the Han Dynasty, nearly 20 in the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties, and about 10 in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.After the Song Dynasty, there were also some, about 50 in total.

The cliff carvings in the Hanzhong area of ​​Shaanxi are concentrated in the Shimen area of ​​Baocheng County.The so-called Shimen is a section of tunnel dug during the Yongping period (58-75 AD) of Emperor Ming (Liu Zhuang) of the Eastern Han Dynasty.In ancient times, the Baoxie Road went south to Baogu and walked through this tunnel.Baoxie Road is a road leading from the Guanzhong area of ​​Shaanxi to Shu County (now west of Sichuan Province).The two mountains where Shimen is located face each other. There are the victories of "Hufeng" and "Xiong Mountain", and the danger of a long road. Baoshui rushes between the two mountains. , like a picture.There are many cliff carvings here, reaching more than one hundred pieces.Among them, "Shimen Thirteen Products" is particularly famous.They are engraved inside and outside the stone gates on both sides of Baogu River, and the carving time is mainly in the Han, Wei and other dynasties.For example, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, "Han 鄐〔chu Chu〕Jun Kaitong Baoxie Road Cliff", "So Sili Xiaowei Qiang Ode to Yang Jun", "You Fufengcheng Li Jun Tongge Road Cliff", "Yang Huai and Yang Bibiao Sacrificial Cliff", the Three Kingdoms The "Inscription of Li Baotong Pavilion Road" in the period, the "Shimen Ming" in the Northern Dynasties, and the "Completion of Mountains and Rivers Weirs" in the Southern Song Dynasty.These cliffs are all in the valley far away from the busy city. Because of the deep ravines and cliffs as barriers, the disasters of the past dynasties have not been affected, so they are well preserved.Later, due to the needs of the construction of Baoshui Dam and other water conservancy projects, the main part was moved to the current Hanzhong Museum for preservation.

"The Cliff of the Bao Inclined Road Opened by the Lord of the Han Dynasty" is on a cliff about half a mile southwest of Shimen, Baogu, Mian County, Shaanxi.It was excavated in the sixth to ninth year of Emperor Yongping of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 63-66).It mainly describes the situation of repairing the ancient plank road from Hanzhong Baogu to Mei[mei] Nanxie Valley by Emperor Kuijun, the prefect of Hanzhong in Shaanxi Province. One hundred and fifty-eight miles" and other records.However, the total length of the ancient plank road in Baoxie is 470 kilometers, and here only 258 miles of Taoism is mentioned, so it can be seen that Taishou Kui only repaired a part of it.This cliff is an important material for studying the history of plank roads in my country.The cliff itself has no written title, so it has been called differently in the past dynasties, such as "Stone Carvings of Kaitong Baoxie Road", "Cliff of Kaitong Baoxie Road", or "Monument of Hanzhong Taishou Julu Junjun Kaitong Baoxie Road", "Han Yongping According to the meaning of the text, we call it "The Cliff of the Baoxie Road Opened by the King of Han", which seems to be more appropriate than other names.

"Ode to Yang Jun, Sili Xiaowei Qianwei", this is an ode written by Yang Mengwen, the Sili Xiaowei in the early years of Emperor Shun of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The words mainly praise Yang Mengwen's perseverance in asking the emperor to restore the praise ramp several times.The cliff is engraved on the west wall of Baogu Shimen at the southern end of the ancient Bao inclined plank road (in today's Baohe Township, Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province), with a height of 261 cm and a width of 205 cm.22 lines of text, 30 to 31 characters per line.There is also a section of the forehead, which is 54 centimeters high and 25 centimeters wide.The 10 characters in the second line of the text are all engraved in official script of the Han Dynasty.

"Shimen Ming" is a cliff carving carved on the east wall of Shimen, Baoxie ancient plank road in Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province in the second year of Yongping (509 A.D.) of Emperor Xuanwu of the Northern Dynasties and Northern Wei Dynasty.It is 175 centimeters high and 215 centimeters wide, with a total of 27 lines of inscriptions, 22 characters in each line, and the diameter of each character is about 5 to 6 centimeters, in regular script.Northern Wei, Liang and Qin states signed (official name) Wang Yuan from Taiyuan County wrote the article and wrote it (that is, written on the stone), and Wu Aren in Luoyang County, Henan Province engraved it.At the lower right of the "Shimen Ming", there is also a section of cliff stone carvings, 98 cm high and 28 cm wide, with seven lines of inscriptions, each line ranging from seven to nine characters. Regular script.Its characters were chiseled at the same time as the inscription of "Shimen Ming", so the predecessors often called it "Small Notes of Shimen Ming".From the content point of view, it should be the same as the inscription of "Shimen Ming".Therefore, most of the articles about "Shimen Ming" in the past dynasties included "Shimen Ming Xiaoji" and described them together.

"Shimen Ming" is one of the most famous cliff carvings in the Northern Wei Dynasty.It records the opening, blocking and re-opening of Baogu Shimen, the earliest tunnel through mountains in my country, and the restoration process of Baoxie Ancient Plank Road, which is known as the beginning of the plank road. It has high historical value. The calligraphic style of "Shimen Ming" is similar to the famous "Yi [yi Yi] Crane Ming" on Jiaoshan Cliff, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu. The article in "Shimen Ming" is also very well written, with concise writing style and realistic narrative, and it is also a rare masterpiece.Due to the above-mentioned characteristics of "Shimen Ming", it has always been valued by the circles of epigraphy, literature and history, and calligraphy. Since the Song Dynasty, many famous scholars in various dynasties have conducted research and textual research.

Mount Tai is a large mountain composed of gneiss, with magnificent momentum and magnificent scenery. There are many scenic spots and historical sites on the mountain, and it is the first of the famous mountains in my country.It not only has the aesthetic feeling of "Looking at the eight poles from the cliff, and the eyes are as far away as possible" written by Li Bai, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, but also the cliff composed of gneiss rocks is a good place for carving stones on the cliff.There are about 1,200 cliff carvings on the mountain.Among them, "Jingshiyu Cliff" and "Jitai Mountain Inscription" are the most famous masterpieces, and "(Fengzi Quji) Er" Cliff is an interesting one. "(Fengzi Quji) Two" cliff carvings were chiseled on the stone wall on the west side of Beipan Road, Wanxianlou, Mount Tai. "(Fengzi Quji) Er" is an anagram, which is composed of the heart of the two characters "wind" and "moon".It means "the wind and the moon are boundless" here.The cliff was engraved by Liu Tinggui, a famous scholar in Jinan in the Qing Dynasty, in the 25th year of Guangxu (1899 A.D.). "Jing Shiyu Cliff" is carved in a valley about one kilometer northeast of Doumu Palace in Mount Tai. There is a Deng (deng Deng) road in the valley, a small stream in the valley, and a natural slightly sloping granite on the right bank of the stream. Shiping covers an area of ​​about one mu, and a Buddhist scripture is immediately on the stone flat, so Qiyu (valley) is also famous for engraving this Buddhist scripture, so the world changed its name to "Jingshiyu". There is no date, name of calligrapher or engraver's name on the classics carved in Shiyu. Many calligraphers in the past have regarded it as the work of the Northern Qi Dynasty.Some people think that its characters are similar to "Tang Yong [yong Yong] Title" written by Tang Yong, Wang Zichun and others.At that time, the engraving should be the full text of the "Diamond Sutra". After several generations of erosion, there are only more than 30 lines, more than 1,000 characters, and the diameter of each character is about 50 cm. Respected as "the originator of big characters" and "the ancestor of the list of books".Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there have been many tourists' inscriptions on the cliffs.Recently, a high mountain and flowing water pavilion has been built on the side of the valley, where you can take a rest while watching the cliffs. In 1967, a dam was built on the upper reaches of the stream to divert the stream and strengthen the protection of the cliff carvings. "Ji Taishan Inscription", on the Daguan Peak at the top of Mount Tai, carved on the wall.The cliff carvings are 13.3 meters high and 5.3 meters wide, with 24 lines of inscriptions, 51 characters in each line, and a total of 996 characters.In the fourteenth year of Tang Kaiyuan (726 A.D.), Emperor Xuanzong (Li Longji) of Tang Dynasty wrote an article when he went to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven and enshrine Zen.The first title and the end of the inscription are in regular script with slight changes.On the right side of the inscription on the cliff, there are inscriptions such as "Ode to the Pilgrimage of Dongfeng" by Tang Suyu (tingting), which were unclear in the Ming Dynasty. In 1959, all the inscriptions of "Ji Taishan Ming" were pasted with gold for protection, which is very spectacular. There are also groups of cliff carvings in the south that are comparable to those in the north, and the Wuxi stone carvings in Qiyang County, Hunan Province are one of them. Wuxi is on the west bank of the Xiangjiang River about two kilometers southwest of Qiyang County.The water of Wuxi River flows out from the mountains and meets the Xiangjiang River here.Looking down at the foot of the mountain, there are sparkling rivers and streams, with fish swimming; looking up at the top of the mountain, there are clusters of flowers and trees, birds flying, and the scenery is very pleasant.No wonder people in "Qiyang County Chronicles" praise "the scenic spot of Wuxi" as "the formation of heaven and earth", and "every plant and tree" are "extraordinarily elegant". Because the two rivers converge here, the Wuxi River forms a scenic spot with high mountains and deep valleys. In addition, the steep and steep mountain shape and the excellent texture of the cliff stones provide excellent conditions for the carving of cliff stone carvings.Therefore, there are many Wuxi cliffs, among which "Ode to Zhongxing in the Tang Dynasty" is the most famous. "Ode to Zhongxing in the Tang Dynasty" was engraved on the stone wall of Dongshan Mountain in Wuxi, Qiyang. The cliff stone carving is 284 cm high and 300 cm wide. steep. "Ode to Zhongxing in the Tang Dynasty" was written by Tang Dynasty poet Yuan Jie in the second year of Suzong's Shangyuan (761 AD). In Shu, Tang Suzong Li Heng came to the throne and recovered Chang'an in Shaanxi and Luoyang in Henan. This is the so-called "Zhongxing".Later, in the sixth year of Emperor Zongli of the Tang Dynasty (771 A.D.), Yuan Jie invited the great calligrapher Yan Zhenqing to write in regular script and asked masons to engrave it on the stone wall of Wuxi.Because the composition, writing and engraving of the cliff stone carvings in "Ode to Zhongxing in the Tang Dynasty" are very peculiar, it is called "three wonders" later. Yan Zhenqing was one of the most famous calligraphers on par with Liu Gongquan in the middle and late Tang Dynasty. Yan style calligraphy has always been respected by calligraphers of all dynasties.According to legend, Song Dynasty calligrapher Huang Tingjian (word Valley) went to Qiyang Wuxi several times to learn Yan characters.At the same time, the title of the poem was also engraved on the left side of "Ode to Zhongxing in the Tang Dynasty". Later generations called it "Xiaojieya". Yan Zhenqing once served as an official in Shandong, so he was called Duke Lu) "Ode to Zhongxing" is the great achievement of the rules and principles of calligraphers".Therefore, there are many reprints of "Ode to Zhongxing in the Tang Dynasty" in various places. There are three places in Sichuan alone, one in Heming Mountain, Jianzhou (now Jiange County) in northern Sichuan; State Dongyan.Among the existing rubbings, there have been Song rubbings, but most of them are Ming rubbings or later Ming rubbings. In addition, there are some more famous cliff carvings in our country, such as Wenfeng Mountain Cliff Stone Carvings, which are located 7.5 kilometers southeast of Ye County, Shandong Province. There are more than 30 stone carvings, most of which are on the side of protruding rocks. It was written by Zheng Daozhao, a great calligrapher, when he was the governor of Guangzhou (now Ye County).The famous work "The Stele of Zheng Wengong in Xingyang" is 2.8 meters high and 3.6 meters wide. There is a huge stone, shaped like a crescent, commonly known as "Crescent Stone", about 16 meters long and 6 meters high. On a huge granite stone screen in the suburbs, with an area of ​​1037 square meters, the content is the engraving of the "Diamond Sutra", odes and list stone inscriptions in the first year of the elephant in the Northern Zhou Dynasty (AD 579); Gangshan Cliff Stone Carvings, located in Tieshan To the north, together with the cliff carvings of Tieshan, Jianshan and Geshan, they are called "Guzhu (Zhu) Four Mountains and Cliffs".The stone was carved in the second year of Daxiang in the Northern Zhou Dynasty (AD 580), with 26 places in total, and the main content is the "Diamond Sutra". From three years (AD 1104) to the second year of Southern Song Dynasty Xianchun (AD 1266), literati, officials and gentry boarded tours and chanted poems, Quanzhou prefects and city ship officials prayed for wind and sent ships, etc., which are precious historical materials for the overseas traffic of Quanzhou Port at that time; The Baiheliang stone carvings are located in the Yangtze River in the north of Fuling City, Sichuan. They are carved on a natural stone beam with a length of 1600 meters from east to west and a width of more than 10 meters from north to south.There are 163 inscriptions from the second year of Guangde in Tang Dynasty (AD 764) to modern times, and 14 stone carvings of fish, intermittently recording the historical low water level in 72 years, which are of great value to the study of the hydrology of the Yangtze River.The above is the group of cliff carvings, and the number of individual cliff carvings is even greater.For example, in 1980, in Gaxiandong, Oroqen Autonomous Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, in the fourth year of Taiping Zhenjun in the Northern Wei Dynasty (443 A.D.), the Zhu Wen written on the stone wall by Tuo Batao, the ancestor of Wei Shizu Tuoba Tao, on the stone wall at the time of offering sacrifices to his ancestors is a piece left 1,500 years ago. This "stone book" archive is of great value for the study of the early history and life of the ancestors of the Xianbei who entered the Central Plains; On the rocks of Bozhekelagegoukou in the Northeast Karadag Mountains.The lettering is divided into two places, the north is the inscription, and the south is the ode.It was discovered in the fifth year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (AD 1879).It is one of the important historical materials for the study of my country's Xinjiang region. China is a vast country with cliff carvings everywhere.Due to text limitations, we cannot list them all.