Once
the Temple of Confucius,
the Forest of Steles at
Sanxuejie Street nearby
the South Gate in Xi’an
was originally built in
Northern Song dynasty
(1090 A.D.) when a large
Confucian collection of
steles cut in A.D. 837 -
the oldest existing
texts of the Confucian
classics - was moved
here for safekeeping. It
gained the present name
in the 18th century and
boasted the largest
collection of its kind
in China.
The contents of the
Forest Steles can be
divided into four
groups: works of
literature and
philosophy, historical
records, calligraphy and
pictorial stones.
One of the more striking
exhibits is the Forest
of Steles, the heaviest
collection of books in
the world with the
earliest of these more
than 2,000 large
engraved stone tablets
dates from the Han
dynasty. Most
interesting includes an
enlargement to the
Confucian Classics stone
inscriptions in the Tang
dynasty. With the
successive collections
of Steles in the Song,
Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing
dynasties, it was
gradually renovated and
expanded like a forest
of steles. The Popular
Stele of Daiqin
Nestorianism, which can
be recognizable by the
small cross at the tip
and engraved in 781 A.D.
marks the opening of a
Nestorian church. The
Monk Bu Kong Stele in
Tang dynasty (A.D. 781)
is noteworthy for its
Buddhist value.
Collections here are
also of high value for
exploring Chinese
calligraphy history.
Here stand the many
tablets engraved with
works of many
outstanding
calligraphers through
ages. Chinese
calligraphy boasts a
long history in five
basic script forms,
namely: seal script,
clerical script, regular
script, running script
and cursive script.
Through more than 5,000
years of creative work
various forms have
constituted the abundant
treasure and unique
traditions of Chinese
calligraphy. The typical
includes the Cao Quan
Stele, written in Han
clerical script famous
for its elegant,
ingenious inscription;
The Tang dynasty
witnessed the prosperous
period with noted
distinctive styles of
regular script. The most
distinguished Tang stele
is "the Preface to the
Holy Buddhist
Scriptures" in the
handwriting of Wang
Xizhi, a famous Jin
calligrapher. Some poems
of calligraphy are also
collected here.
The Stone Sculpture
Gallery
The Stone Sculpture
Gallery, which was built
in 1963, nearby the
Forest of Steles has a
collection of about 70
scultures and relief
carving of unparallel
quality. The famous
exhibits are the six
bas-reliefs, four of
them original, form the
Zhaoling, the Mausoleum
of Emperor Tang Taizong.
A reproduction of the
horse from the tomb of "
Swift Cavalry General"
Huo Qubing also stands
here. At the end of the
gallery are some
Buddhist statues, of
which the most famous is
a very beautiful torso
of a bodhisattva,
showing strong Indian
influence from the Tang
period. |