Xi 'an Stele Forest in Four Steles Forest

Xi 'an Forest of Steles is an art treasure house with the earliest collection of ancient inscriptions and the largest number of famous inscriptions in China. It is not only one of the places where ancient Chinese cultural classics are engraved, but also a gathering place of famous calligraphy art treasures in past dynasties, which has great historical and artistic value. In terms of historical value, many stone inscriptions have precious historical value, some of which can be used to supplement and correct the mistakes recorded in historical books, and some are precious materials for studying the history of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries and local history. For example, the China Monument of Daqin Nestorianism, which was unearthed in zhouzhi county, Shaanxi Province and moved into the forest of steles in the thirty-third year of Guangxu (A.D. 1907), was 353 cm high and 0/03 cm wide, and was carved in Jianzhong, Tang Dezong for two years. It records the introduction of Nestorianism, a branch of Christianity in the Tang Dynasty, from Central Asia to China in both Chinese and Syrian languages.

The words "Dashun" and "Yongchang" are engraved on the "Mingde Ji Shou Monument". This is a relic of the peasant uprising led by Li Zicheng in the Ming Dynasty, which recorded the tragic scenes of drought in Shaanxi at that time, high food prices, "wheat is 224 yuan a barrel, rice is 226 yuan a barrel" and "people eat dogs and eat people"; The Qing Dynasty carved "Hualong Zhang Monument", praising Hualong Zhang, who led the peasants in Fufeng and Qishan areas of Shaanxi Province to rebel against the government at that time; The Song of Famine carved in the Qing Dynasty also recorded the miserable life of some peasants who were oppressed and exploited by bureaucratic landlords. Rebuilding the Temple Monument of Niu Shan Tuzhu Zhonghui King in Yuan Dynasty, the Tombstone in Qing Dynasty, and the tablet of Pingli religious case all recorded the fact that the Red Scarf Army uprising at the end of Yuan Dynasty and the broad masses of working people resisted exploitation and oppression and imperialist foreign aggression at the end of Qing Dynasty from different aspects.

A large number of stone classics in the forest of steles are important documents in ancient times. Shitai Xiaojing was engraved in the fourth year of Tang Tianbao (AD 745). Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, personally made a preface and annotated it, and wrote it in official script (The Xiaojing is a question and answer of Confucius students, mainly focusing on filial piety and filial piety). This monument consists of four exquisite stones, the color of which is black, and people can tell, and the height is 590 cm. The amount of tablets added. There is a stone on his forehead, and the edge of the stone is carved with beautiful cirrus clouds, and the top is like a mountain; There are three stone steps under the monument, so it is called "stone platform filial piety"; The three-story stone platform is carved with lifelike lines on all sides, with lush creeping weeds and mighty lion-shaped monsters. Two kinds of uncoordinated animals and plants are portrayed harmoniously, and the whole composition gives people a vigorous and lively feeling, which is the artistic essence of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. At the suggestion of Qin Zheng, imperial academy, in the fourth year of Tang Wenzong Taihe (AD 830), Ai Juhui and Marco wrote it in regular script. In the second year of Kaicheng (AD 837), it took about seven years to carve it into a stone sutra. Including six volumes of Zhouyi, Shangshu 13, Book of Songs 20, Zhou Li10, Book of Rites 17, Book of Rites 20 and Chunqiu Zuozhuan 30. This classic is the best preserved one among the seven ancient prints in China. Like a large stone library, it played an important role in the preservation and dissemination of culture before the invention of printing in China.