Chapter 5 Chapter 5 House of Inscriptions - Forest of Steles and Stone Inscription Museum

A large number of original stone inscriptions in our country have been scattered in the same place because they cannot be moved, and a considerable part has been gradually concentrated in museums or local cultural relics protection units in various provinces and cities, and a number of inscription concentration points have begun to appear.Among them, those with more collections and larger scales will be described one or two. Xi'an Forest of Steles.It was originally an integral part of the Shaanxi Provincial Museum. After the completion of the new Shaanxi Provincial Museum in the early 1990s, it has become an independent Stele Forest Museum.Founded in the second year of Yuanyou in the Northern Song Dynasty (AD 1087), it has a history of more than 900 years.At the beginning, it mainly collected Tang carved stone scriptures (that is, "Kaicheng Stone Classics"). Later, the content was gradually expanded. Now more than 11,700 pieces of steles and stone inscriptions from past dynasties have been collected, making it the most eye-catching museum of inscriptions in China's historical and cultural treasure house.In addition to the "Kaicheng Stone Classic" (114 pieces), there are also religious stone carvings such as "The Great Qin Nestorian Popular Chinese Stele"; Chu Suiliang "Tongzhou Shengjiao Preface Stele", Ouyang Xun "Huangfu Birthday Stele", Yan Zhenqing " Calligraphy and stone carvings such as Yan's Family Temple Stele, Liu Gongquan's Xuanmi Pagoda Stele, Zhang Xu and Huai Su's "Thousand-Character Stele", as well as Su Dongpo, Huang Valley, Mi Fu, Cai Xiang in the Song Dynasty, Zhao Mengfu in the Yuan Dynasty, Dong Qichang in the Ming Dynasty, etc. of many boutiques.Stepping into it, it is really dizzying!

Qufu Confucian Temple Forest of Steles.The Confucian Temple is the place where Confucius was sacrificed in the past dynasties. It was built one year after the death of Confucius (that is, 478 BC). It was rebuilt by Duke Ai of Lu at that time.After repairs and expansions from generation to generation, the temple now has more than 460 halls and verandahs, covering an area of ​​327 mu.The stone carvings in the temple are one of the largest collections.It began in the Han Dynasty and ended in the Republic of China. It has authentic calligraphy, cursive script, official script, and seal script. With more than 2,000 pieces, it is known as the second largest forest of steles in my country.Among them, "Confucian Temple Stele", "Shichen Stele", "Yiying Stele" and "Ritual Vessel Stele" are representative inscription treasures that are well-known at home and abroad. After 1949, its collections were divided into three exhibition rooms for the inscriptions of the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties, the stone carvings of the Han Dynasty, and the stone carvings of Yuhonglou Fatie for people to visit and appreciate.

The Forest of Steles at the South Gate of Tainan is the main place for collecting stone inscriptions in Taiwan Province of my country. It has collected more than 1,000 steles of various types and has become one of the three major forests of steles in my country. Hanyuan Forest of Steles is located in Kaifeng City, Henan Province.The characteristics are: one is for personal financing and construction, and the other is that the content of the stele is mainly to display famous calligraphy.Its collection is more than 1,200 pieces, making it the fourth largest forest of steles in my country. There are still many forests of steles with hundreds of pieces of steles collected all over the country, which are also of high value.For example, the Forest of Steles in Jiaoshan, Zhenjiang, also known as the Forest of Steles in the middle of the river, is divided into two parts: the Cliff and the Garden of Steles, with a collection of more than 400 pieces. It was first built in the Tang Dynasty, and 486 pieces of various stone carvings have been discovered so far, among which "Three Inscriptions on Wuxi" and "Ode to Zhongxing in the Tang Dynasty" are their representative works; More than 150 inscriptions on earthquakes in this area have been collected, forming a unique stone inscription earthquake data archive at home and abroad; the Red Army Stone Slogan Slogan Forest, located in Huangze Temple, Guangyuan, Sichuan, was built in 1977 and has been displayed for the period from 1933 to 1935. There are 43 movable red army stone slogans in Guangyuan.

In addition, many inscription museums have been established across the country. For example, the Suzhou Inscription Museum has more than 1,000 inscriptions, which are of high academic and historical value. Only four of the Song Dynasty steles have been announced as national key cultural relics. Stone carvings such as "Astronomical Map Stele", "Geographic Map", "Pingjiang Map" and "Emperor Shaoyun Map" are masterpieces in the history of Chinese and foreign science and technology.The Beijing Stone Carving Art Museum has collected more than a thousand stone carvings and stone carvings of various types in Beijing from the Han Dynasty to modern times. It is an important place for studying the history of Beijing.Others, such as Shandong Provincial Stone Carving Art Museum, Zhengzhou Stone Carving Art Museum in Henan Province, Nanyang Portrait Museum, Gongxian Qiantang Zhizhai, etc., are all museums with a collection of stone carvings.