World Cultural Heritage - Qimu Que

Qimu Que, also known as Kaimu Que, is located at the foot of Wansui Peak on the southern slope of Mount Taishi in Dengfeng City, Zhengzhou, Henan Province. It is the spirit way que in front of Qimu Temple, built in the second year of Yang Guang (123 AD) by Zhu Chong, the governor of Yingchuan, and is known as one of the 'Three Han Que of Zhongyue' along with Taishi Que and Shaoshi Que. Qimu Que is carved and built from stone, consisting of two separate que to the east and west, with the existing height being 3.17 meters. On the north side of the western que, there are two inscriptions. One is the Qimu Que inscription in seal script; the other is the Rain Prayer inscription, written in clerical script below the Qimu Que inscription by Tang Xi Dian. The body of the que is carved with scenes of horse taming, horseback riding, acrobatics, magic, elephant training, Guo Ju burying his son, Yu the Great transforming into a bear, dismounting from a horse, hunting, a tiger chasing a deer, double dragons, images of the Moon Palace, and Cuju (ancient football). The top of the que is carved with architectural components such as tile ridges, tile ends, flat tiles, and hanging ridges. Among them, the image of women playing Cuju is an important physical evidence that football originated in China. The carving art of Qimu Que has high historical, artistic, and scientific value and holds an important position in the history of world historical epigraphy and stone carving. The architectural components carved on the top of the que provide physical evidence for the study of Han Dynasty architecture. On March 4, 1961, Qimu Que was announced by the State Council of the People's Republic of China as one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units; On August 1, 2010, the historical architectural complex of Dengfeng 'Center of Heaven and Earth', which includes Qimu Que, was listed as a World Cultural Heritage site.