Among the steles in our country, there is a kind of steles with excellent inscriptions, calligraphy and carving skills. People call them "three unique steles". This kind of steles can be roughly divided into three types. :
Firstly, most of them are those whose inscriptions, calligraphy and carvings are exquisite and can be combined into one stele; secondly, most of them are those whose articles, calligraphy and the outstanding moral and political achievements of the people mentioned in the article can be combined into one. The third one is the article, calligraphy and engraved stone.
However, no matter what the situation is, it is inseparable from the exquisiteness of articles and calligraphy as its foundation, so that it can be called a "three unique monument".
In my country, the famous "Three Unique Steles" include: the "Three Unique Steles" in Suxianling, Chenzhou City, Hunan Province, the "Stele of the Ancestral Hall of Prime Minister Zhuge Wuhou" in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and the "Three Unique Steles" in the Liuzi Temple in Yongzhou, Hunan Province. "Su Shi Lizi Monument", "Weifang Newly Built City God's Temple Monument" in Shandong Province, "Wan'an Bridge Memorial Monument" in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, "Shangzun's Title and Zen Monument" in Linying, Henan Province, "Wu'an Monument" in Qiyang, Hunan Province "Stone Carvings on Cliffs of the River", "Stele of Praise to Baozhi Gongxiang" of Kaishan Temple, "Stele of Li Sheng's Tomb" in Gaoling, Shaanxi Province, and "Stele of Su Shi's Letters to Ouyang Xiu Drunkard Pavilion" in Zhengzhou, Henan Province.
Among them, Su Xianling's "Three Unique Monuments" ranks first among the ten famous "Three Unique Steles". This stone tablet is on the stone wall of Bailu Cave in Suxianling Park. It has a poem by Qin Guan, a poet of the Northern Song Dynasty, engraved on it.
It is said that after Qin Guan was dismissed from his post and moved to Chenzhou, he wrote the phrase "Tasha Xing·Chenzhou Hostel" in 1097:
The tower is lost in the fog, and the moon is lost in the ferry. The peach garden is nowhere to be found. It is worth mentioning that the solitary pavilion is closed in the cold spring, and the setting sun is setting in the sound of cuckoos. The plum blossoms are sent to the post, and the rulers are passed down from fish to fish. There are countless hates built into it. Fortunately, the Chenjiang River flows around Chenshan Mountain, but why does it flow down to Xiaoxiang?
The sentimental poet's words reveal his miserable and disappointing mood after being laid off from his job. The day after tomorrow, he sent the poem to Su Dongpo. Su Dongpo liked it very much and couldn't put it down. After Qin Guan's death, out of admiration, Su Dongpo wrote a postscript after his poem: "It's time to travel a little! How can I redeem myself if I have ten thousand people?" and it became popular.
Later, Mi Fu, one of the "Four Great Calligraphers" of the Song Dynasty, wrote Qin Guan's poems and Su Dongpo's postscripts on the fans and spread them to Chenzhou.
In order to commemorate Qin Guan, the people of Chenzhou carved "Qin Ci, Su Ba, and Mi Shu" on the stele, which was known as the "Three Unique Steles" in history. More than 100 years later, Zou Gong, the magistrate of Chenzhou in the Southern Song Dynasty, ordered a stonemason to carve it on the large stone wall near Bailu Cave in Suxianling. This became the "Three Unique Monuments" on Bailu Cave later.
Bailu Cave is a natural cliff. This stele is 0.52 meters high and 0.46 meters wide. It has 11 lines, each line has 8 characters. The stele has a very high artistic technique and strong appeal. It can be said to be unique in Chenzhou.
Chengdu's "Stele of the Ancestral Hall of Prime Minister Zhuge Wuhou" stands on the right side of the gate of the Wuhou Temple. It is one of the oldest inscriptions in Chengdu. When it comes to its reputation and influence in later generations, this monument is second to none in Chengdu.
This stele was originally called "The Stele of the Ancestral Hall of Prime Minister Zhuge Wuhou of the Han Dynasty" and was erected in 809. The stele body and cap are 3.67 meters high, 0.95 meters wide, and 0.25 meters thick. There is a stele base underneath. The cloud pattern carving on the stele cap has the characteristics of Tang Dynasty stone carving art. The stone is gorge stone. The inscription has 22 lines, each line is about 50 words, in regular script.
The author of the inscription, Pei Du, was a famous politician in the middle and late Tang Dynasty. In 807, the Tang Dynasty sent Prime Minister Wu Yuanheng as the envoy to Sichuan in Jiannan, and Pei Du accompanied him as an aide. Pei Du wanted to write an article praising Zhuge Liang for a long time. After visiting Wuhou Temple in Chengdu, he wrote an inscription out of admiration.
The content of the inscription is divided into preface and inscription. At the beginning of the preface, Pei Du praised Zhuge Liang for his talent in founding a country, his skills in governing people, his integrity in serving the emperor, and his integrity. He was a rare feudal politician throughout the ages.
Later, the famous calligrapher Liu Gongchuo personally wrote the inscription in Liu style, and the famous craftsman Lu Jian personally completed the inscription on the stele. For this reason, the stele was extremely exquisite because of its writing, calligraphy and engraving. , and is known as the "Three Unparalleled Monuments" in the world.
The "Su Shi Lizi Monument" at Liuzi Temple in Yongzhou, Hunan is located in Liuzi Temple in Yongzhou Town, Lingling County.
The "Su Shi Lizi Monument" has four channels, each of which is 2.4 meters high, 1.32 meters wide and 0.21 meters thick. It is rectangular, with a flat forehead and no seat.
The original stele was composed by Han Yu of the Tang Dynasty and "The Stele of Poems Enjoying Gods in Luochi Temple" written by Su Shi of the Song Dynasty. Together with Liu Zongyuan's virtues and policies in Hedong, they are known as the "Three Unique Steles" in the world.
Because the poem begins with the line "Lychee is red and banana is yellow", it is also called the "Lychee Monument". The original stele was engraved in Luochi Temple, Liuzhou, Guangyou during the Song Dynasty, and copied by Liu Keqin in the Yuxi Temple, Yongzhou Town, Lingling, in the Ming Dynasty. The stele now in the Liuzi Temple was re-engraved by Wei Shaofang, the magistrate of Yongzhou during the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty.
The "New Weifang City God Temple Monument" is located in Weifang, Shandong. The inscription on this monument was written and written by Zheng Banqiao, the governor of Weixian County in 1752. The inscription is very ideological and has a simple materialist spirit, which is unique; The calligraphy is an extremely rare masterpiece of formal calligraphy in Banqiao, and is said to be one of the best. The Dan calligraphy stone was engraved by his disciple Situ Wenyao. It does not lose the meaning of the brushwork and is exactly the same as the original calligraphy. It is also said to be one of the best, so it is known as one of the "Three Uniques" in the world. monument".
Quanzhou's "Wan'an Bridge Record Monument" is located in the Cai Xiang Temple south of Luoyang Bridge in Quanzhou City, Fujian Province.
Cai Xiang was one of the four famous calligraphers in the Song Dynasty. His courtesy name was Junmo and he was an immortal traveler. He became a bachelor in Duanming Palace, went to Quanzhou twice and built Luoyang Bridge. He was given the posthumous title of "Zhonghui". The temple was built in the past dynasties, and the existing temple was rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. It has three rooms in front and three rooms in depth.
In addition to leaving many excellent calligraphy works for future generations, Cai Xiang’s greatest contribution was to preside over the construction of Luoyang Bridge, my country’s first large stone seaport bridge. At the same time, he also personally wrote and wrote for the bridge. The inscription "The large-character stone tablet of Wan'an Bridge" was written.
The article is concise, using only 153 words to record the time, age, length and width of the bridge, the cost of the bridge, the number of participants, etc. His beautiful calligraphy and exquisite carving add luster to Luoyang Bridge. The calligraphy on the stele is powerful and the carving is exquisite. It is known as the "Three Unique Steles" in the world.
Linying's "Shangzun Title and Zen Monument" is located in Fancheng, Linying County, Henan Province.
This stele was inscribed in 220 AD. The inscription on the stele is in eight-point official script, tall and square. The inscription records the historical events in the tenth month of the lunar calendar in 144, when General Wei Gongqing persuaded the emperor to enter the country and Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty retired to the throne of King Wei. This stele is said to have been inscribed by Wang Langwen, Liang Geshu, and Zhong Yao, and is known as the "Three Unique Steles" in the world.
The "Wuxi Cliff Carvings" in Qiyang are located on the shore of the Xiang River about 2,000 meters west of Qiyang County, Yongzhou City, Hunan Province.
Wuxi Cliff Carvings is the first cliff carving company in southern my country. Its poetry and calligraphy have rich cultural connotations.
The Cangya stone walls here are majestic and abrupt, stretching for 78 meters. The highest point is more than 30 meters of land, which is a natural place for inscriptions on the cliffs.
More than 1,200 years ago, Yuan Jie, a famous writer of the Tang Dynasty, left his post as governor of Daozhou and returned to his hometown. He passed by this place and saw the beautiful scenery here, so he lived here and named an unknown creek. It was named "Wuxi", which means "Jingwu is unique". He wrote the "Wuxi Ming" and this is how the name of Wuxi began.
Yuanjie also named the "strange rock" "more than twenty feet northeast of Wuxi" as "Yutai" and wrote "Yutai Inscription". He also built a pavilion on top of a strange stone "more than sixty feet high" at the mouth of Xikou, named it "Guangwu Pavilion", and wrote "Wuguang Ming".
Later, Yuan Jie made "Three Inscriptions" " was handed over to the seal calligraphers Ji Kang, Qu Lingwen, and Yuan Zi to write in jade chopsticks, hanging needle seals, and bell tripod seals respectively, and carved them on the cliffs of Wuxi. This is what later generations called the "Three Inscriptions of Wuxi" ", also known as the "Lao San Ming". These three steles have high artistic value.
In addition, Yuan Jie also included his article "Ode to the Zhongxing of the Tang Dynasty" written in 761, Yan Zhenqing was asked to write it in regular script, and it was copied and carved on a natural cliff near the Xiangjiang River in Wuxi. It is known as the "Three Wonders of Wuxi" in the world because of its unique writing, strange characters and unique rocks.
The "Zhongxing Ode Stele" was originally 3 meters high and 3.2 meters wide. It is the largest stele in the Wuxi Stele Forest. The inscription records historical facts such as the Anshi Rebellion, Xuanzong's flight to Shu, Suzong's accession to the throne, the conquest of Chang'an, and Luoyang. It is a rare and relatively well-preserved monument in the world. The famous cliff inscription
It is said that this is Yan Zhenqing's most proud work. Later generations praised his "Ode to Zhongxing of the Tang Dynasty" as "the pinnacle of Yan style and penmanship" and "the standard of regular script". p>
The "Poetry Stele of Baozhi Gongxiang" in Kaishan Temple is deep in the pines west of the Wuliang Hall of Linggu Temple in Nanjing.
The "Portrait of Baozhi" on the stele is a painting of the Tang Dynasty. It was painted by Wu Daozi, praised by the great poet Li Bai, and written by the famous calligrapher Yan Zhenqing.
Because the characters, calligraphy, and engravings are all the work of famous artists, they are extremely exquisite and stand out among the forest of steles.
The "Li Sheng Tomb Stele" in Gaoling, Shaanxi Province, the full name is "The Shinto Stele of Li Gong presented to Grand Master Li Gong by the late Tang Dynasty Lieutenant and Zhongshu Ling Xiping County Prince", is located in the north of Weishui Bridge in Baixiang Village, Gaoling County, Shaanxi Province.
The monument was erected in 829 in memory of Li Sheng, the king of Xiping County. The inscription mainly describes Li Sheng's life biography and his military exploits for the Tang Dynasty.
The monument is 4.35 meters high, 1.48 meters wide and 0.46 meters thick. Pan-headed turtle seat. The inscription on the stele was written by the famous prime minister Pei Du, and his writing was solemn and rigorous. The inscription is Liu Gongquan's calligraphy pill, which is beautiful and elegant. It was inscribed by a famous craftsman and is known as the "Three Jue Monuments" in the world.
On the underside of the stele are memorial inscriptions written by Li Zan, the twenty-fifth grandson of Wuhu who participated in the political affairs of Wuhu during the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty, and inscriptions by Li Yingkui, the edict of the Zhengde period, and Cao Lian, the deputy envoy.
It is said that this stele was originally erected in front of Li Sheng's tomb. Later, due to the continuous erosion of the Wei River to the north, the original body of Fengzheng continued to collapse and the original tomb was destroyed by water. By the Ming Dynasty, people moved the monument to Weiqiao Village, which is east of the northern end of the current Weihe River Bridge.
The "Stone Stele of Su Shi's Calligraphy and Ouyang Xiu Drunkard's Pavilion" in Zhengzhou is in the Zhengzhou Museum of Henan Province.
In 1091, when Su Shi was the prefect of Yingzhou, at the request of Kaifeng poet Liu Jisun, he wrote the long scroll "The Drunkard's Pavilion" in both real and cursive calligraphy. At the end of the scroll, there are Zhao Mengfu, Song Guang, Shen Zhou and Wu Kuan, Gao Gong and others' postscripts praised it.
Later, in 1571, people carved Su Shi's "The Drunkard's Pavilion" into a stone tablet and erected it in the Liu Family Ancestral Hall in Yanling County, Henan.
In 1692, Gao Youwen, the great-nephew of Gao Gong, the Minister of the Ming Dynasty, took out the rubbings from his family collection and re-engraved the stone because the original carving was not clear, and it was erected in the Gao Family Ancestral Hall in Xinzheng County. The craftsmanship of the stone carving is exquisite, even better than the original.
The stele has 18 passages, each of which is 0.6 meters long and 0.4 meters wide. It was written by Ouyang Xiu and Su Shi, a writer of the Song Dynasty.
Later, in order to protect the monument, the government moved it to the corridor of the Zhengzhou Museum for easier preservation.