Appreciation of the National Treasures of Jiaoshan Forest of Steles

In the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, in the northeast corner of the ancient town of Zhenjiang, there is a treasure island called Jiaoshan. Because the mountain is covered with lush green, like jasper, it is known as "Floating Jade in the River". The continuous and magnificent cliff carvings, which are treasures hidden in the mountains, are world-famous, and Jiaoshan is therefore known as the "Mountain of Calligraphy". . The Jiaoshan Stele Forest is a national key cultural relic protection unit, consisting of cliff carvings and a stele forest. The cliff carvings are gathered on the west cliff of Jiaoshan Mountain. They are magnificent and there are more than 80 stone carvings from the Six Dynasties. The Forest of Steles integrates the quintessence of Jiangnan steles, displays the calligraphy styles of past dynasties, and integrates natural and cultural landscapes. It is truly a famous city site and a national treasure. . 🌟Highlights: ✔️The original site of "The Inscription on the Buried Crane", the "ancestor of large characters", is here. The Tang Dynasty cliff carvings of "Verses from the Diamond Sutra", the Song Dynasty carvings of "Title and Inscription by Mi Fu", "Lu You's Inscription on Watching the Cranes in the Snow", etc. are all precious. . ✔️The Jiaoshan Forest of Steles originated from the Baomo Pavilion built by the prefect Qian Yanyuan in the eighth year of the Qingli period of the Northern Song Dynasty (1048). The current stele forest covers an area of ​​square meters, with scattered courtyards, winding corridors and paths, and rich shade and fragrance. There are more than 500 inscriptions in the collection and more than 400 on display. Famous inscriptions include the "Stele of Wei Master" from the Tang Dynasty, the "Lanting Wedge Postscript" copied by Mi Fu of the Song Dynasty in the Ming Dynasty, and the "Chengjiantang Stone Carvings" from the Qing Dynasty, which are all shining and beautiful. "Zuohe Ming" stands alone in the central hall, majestically standing in the history of books. . 🗓Fine product appreciation: 1⃣️Stele of Master Wei Written in regular script, it was created in the second year of the Yifeng period of the Tang Dynasty (677). It is one of the few well-preserved early Tang dynasty steles in Jiangsu. Master Wei's name was Jiang, with the courtesy name Dao Chong. He was from Rencheng and died at the age of 82. The text was written by Hu Chubin of Anding, the Right Historian of the Secretariat and Academician of Chongwenguan, and the calligraphy was written by Zhang Deyan of Qinghe. Engraved by Xu Xiuxin of Donghai. The stele reflects the important status of Taoism in the early Tang Dynasty. The characters on this stele are sparse, neat and orderly, and the brushwork is calm and heavy. It combines the firmness and flexibility of Yu Shinan and the clarity, elegance and grace of Chu Suiliang. Ye Changchi, a Qing Dynasty epigrapher, called it a "masterpiece of the early Tang Dynasty." 2⃣️《Chengjian Hall Stone Carvings》 The two paintings of wind-blown bamboo, each measuring 18 feet long, are inspired by the two giant scrolls of wind-blown bamboo painted by Wen Tong and Su Shi in the Song Dynasty. They contain inscriptions and postscripts by 73 literati and calligraphers from the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. The scroll was handed down to the Qing Dynasty and was collected by Zhang Jing, the governor of Nanhe. In the eighth year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty, in order to ensure that these two treasures would be passed down forever, Zhang Jing asked Wuxi calligrapher and epigrapher Qian Yong to inscribe the calligraphy of the poems, essays, comments and postscripts on the paintings on stone. As the paintings were too large to be easily engraved on stone, the inscriptions of 73 celebrities on the two paintings of wind-blown bamboo were only engraved on 42 square stones. Among them, there are twenty pieces of Chinese ink bamboo inscriptions and twenty-two pieces of Su Shi's ink bamboo inscriptions. The "Chengjiantang Stone Inscription" is a representative of the Wenyuan-type inscriptions, and has extremely high value and status in literature and calligraphy and painting. The engraving is meticulous and lifelike, preserving the styles of various calligraphy styles. The regular script, running script, cursive script, official script and seal script are all gathered together, which is profound and ancient, and has become a model for learning calligraphy. His titles, postscripts, poems, essays, comments, and fu, all kinds of literary styles, are gathered in one room, which makes people linger after reading them. His writing is not only beautiful, but also pertinent and profound in his comments on paintings and philosophy. The calligraphy of literati and calligraphers from the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties has left a lasting legacy, which is truly a magnificent sight. 3⃣️Imperial Monument Pavilion Qianlong visited the south of the Yangtze River six times and left behind many poems praising Jiaoshan. This stele was made in 1780, the 45th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign, during his fifth tour to Jiaoshan. There are poems engraved on both the yin and yang sides of the stele, which is carved from a whole stone. The sides and base of the stele are engraved with reliefs of nine dragons, clouds and water patterns, with exquisite craftsmanship. 4⃣️The bamboo garden is densely covered with green bamboos, swaying in the wind, and the surrounding walls are covered with inscriptions by famous artists of all dynasties. You can stroll and enjoy the scenery while listening to the audio commentary. 5⃣️《The Inscription on the Buried Crane》 It is a stone carving from the Six Dynasties, and the author wrote this inscription for burying a crane. It was originally on the cliff at the west foot of Jiaoshan Mountain. At some unknown time, the rock collapsed and fell into the river, and was washed by wind and waves and buried by mud and sand. In the Song Dynasty, someone discovered words on a broken stone, which became a strange story. People who are interested in calligraphy make rubbings of the numbers and show them to others. Because of its unique calligraphy, which combines regular script with seal script and clerical script, with ancient strokes and an open style, it became famous in the world. Literary men and women of all ages came here to see the beauty of the place. After expressing their feelings, they expressed their feelings in poems and essays, which were engraved on the cliff walls, forming the Jiaoshan Cliff Carvings. In the Qing Dynasty, five fragments of "The Inscription on the Buried Crane" were salvaged and ninety-three characters were found. They were built on the wall of Jiaoshan Temple and later moved to the Forest of Steles. His calligraphy art has reached the highest level and is known as the "ancestor of large characters." 6⃣️The Lanting area in the Jiaoshan Stele Museum mainly displays calligraphy works and cultural relics related to Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Preface". The most noteworthy of these is the inscription of Mi Fu's imitation of Wang Xizhi's "Preface to the Lanting Collection". Mi Fu was a famous calligrapher in the Song Dynasty. His imitations are faithful to the original in brushwork and artistic conception, and are regarded as important models for studying "Lanting Preface".