The forest of steles is named after the clusters of steles standing like a forest.
The origin of the Forest of Steles in Xi'an can be traced back to the "Shitai Xiao Jing" and "Kaicheng Shi Jing" that were established in the Imperial Academy of Chang'an City Affairs Office in the Tang Dynasty. In the first year of Tianyou of the Tang Dynasty (904), Han Jian, the garrison in Chang'an, downsized and built Chang'an City, and moved part of the stone scriptures originally stored in the Wubenfang Guozijian to the Wenxuan Wang Temple near Shangshu Province of the Tang Dynasty (today's Sheshe Road area in Xi'an). From the third year of Kaiping to the fourth year of Qianhua in the Later Liang Dynasty (909-914), Chang'an garrison Liu Po ??accepted the suggestion of the official Yin Yuyu to move the remaining stone scriptures to the west corner of Shangshu Province in the Tang Dynasty (today's Sheshe Road area in Xi'an).
In the second year of Jingyou (1035) of the Northern Song Dynasty, Fan Yong established Jingzhao Fuxue near the west corner of Shangshu Province in the Tang Dynasty; in the third year of Yuanfeng (1080), Lu Dafang built the Confucian Temple and part of the Fuxue It was moved to the present site of the Forest of Steles in Xi'an; in the second year of Yuanyou (1087), Lu Dazhong, deputy envoy of Shaanxi Province, saw that the stone scriptures preserved in the west corner of Shangshu Province of the Tang Dynasty were "mixed with people's houses, and the place was in a depression", so he transferred the stone scriptures and other In the Tang and Song dynasties, the stele was moved to the "Bei Yong of the Fucheng"; in the second year of Chongning (1103), when Yu Ce knew Yongxing's army, he completely moved the Fuxue to the "southeast corner of the Fucheng", which is the current site of Xi'an Stele Forest, and built it and transformation. At this point, the government school, the Confucian Temple and the Forest of Steles were in the same place, which is where the Forest of Steles in Xi'an is today.
In the fifth year of Jin Zhenglong (1160), Yin Yelulong, the prefect of Hezhong Prefecture, and Zhou Weifu, deputy envoy of Shaanxi East Road Transport, repaired the Forest of Steles.
In the fourteenth year of the Yuan Dynasty (1285), Luo Tianxiang, the academic master of Jingzhao Prefecture, and Meng Wenchang, the professor of Jingzhao Prefecture, asked Liu Bin of Baqiao Tangyi to restore the fallen stele. In the twenty-fifth year of Zhizheng (1365), the Confucian Temple, Mansion School and Forest of Steles were rebuilt.
In the thirty-fourth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1555), a major earthquake occurred in Guanzhong, and many of the steles in the Forest of Steles were toppled and broken. In the 16th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1588), the forest of steles was renovated, the damaged stone scriptures were copied and the "Nine Classics" inscriptions were engraved. The name "Forest of Steles" was first mentioned by Zhao Kan of the Ming Dynasty in the preface to "Graphite Engraved Flowers". This is the earliest record in the literature that Xi'an's Forest of Steles is called "Forest of Steles".
In the third year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1664), Shaanxi governor Jia Hanfu and Xu Jiye presided over the task of engraving seven chapters of "Mencius" together with the words of "Kaicheng Stone Classic". In the fifty-ninth year of Kangxi (1720), Xi'an magistrate Xu Rong, Fu Xue professor Zhang Zhong, and Yao Wensi instructed Yao Wensi to repair the forest of steles. In the thirty-seventh year of Qianlong's reign (1772), Shaanxi Governor Bi Yuan renovated the forest of steles, replanned and rebuilt the forest of steles, sorted out the stone collection, assigned personnel to manage the monuments, and restricted the expansion of the steles. This was the most comprehensive and comprehensive restoration of the forest of steles in the Qing Dynasty. An important renovation.
From the 26th to the 27th year of the Republic of China (1937-1938), the government of the Republic of China carried out large-scale renovations to the Forest of Steles. Shao Lizi, Zhang Ji, Huang Wenbi and others served as supervisors, and the project was under construction Liang Sicheng received specific guidance in terms of design and arrangement of monuments, and the entire architectural form and layout have been used to this day. During this renovation, a special room will be built for display of 387 epitaphs from the Western Jin Dynasty, Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties (i.e., "Yuanyang Qizhi Zhai Stone Collection") donated by Youren with high historical materials and calligraphy value. These epitaphs have greatly enriched the forest of steles. The collection system is Yu Youren's important contribution to Xi'an Forest of Steles and Shaanxi cultural undertakings.
In the 27th year of the Republic of China (1938), the Stele Forest Management Committee was established.
In the 33rd year of the Republic of China (1944), the Shaanxi Provincial History Museum was established on the basis of the Forest of Steles in Xi'an.
In the 37th year of the Republic of China (1948), 38 square steles in the small forest of steles in the new town that were dismantled by the Shaanxi Provincial Government, including the "Remnant Stele of the Prefect of Wudu in the Han Dynasty" and the "Stele of the Ceremony of Yan Qin of the Tang Dynasty" were moved to the forest for preservation.
In 1950, the "Shaanxi Provincial History Museum" was renamed the "Northwest Historical Relics Exhibition Hall".
On September 15, 1951, the Northwest Military and Political Commission
issued the "Decision on Implementing the Decree on the Protection of Cultural Relics and Preparing for the Establishment of the Northwest History Museum and the Northwest Revolutionary Cultural Relics Exhibition Hall." The "Decision" pointed out: "The northwest is the birthplace of ancient Chinese culture and an important hub for exchanges and communication with brother ethnic cultures and Western cultures since the Han and Tang Dynasties. It has many cultural relics and historical sites. And some peasant uprisings in the past dynasties originated from In the northwest, some gathered or passed through the northwest. The Red Army went north to resist Japan and traveled through most of Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia and Qinghai. In particular, the New Democratic Revolution once used the Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia border areas as its foothold and starting point, and its historical relics are the most widely circulated. , and the largest number of cultural relics left behind, which must be properly protected.
"The "Decision" requires that a demonstration history museum and a revolutionary cultural relics exhibition hall should be established first. Accordingly, the Northwest Ministry of Culture decided to expand the "Northwest Historical Relics Exhibition Hall" in Xi'an and change it into the "Northwest History Museum" (Stele Forest). Museum).
In 1952, the "Northwestern Historical Relics Exhibition Hall" was changed to the "Northwestern Historical Museum".
In 1955, the "Northwestern Historical Museum" was renamed the "Shaanxi Provincial Museum". .
In 1961, the State Council announced that "Xi'an Forest of Steles" was among the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units (No. 1 in the stone carving category).
In January 1993, the "Shaanxi Provincial Museum" "Officially changed its name to "Xi'an Forest of Steles Museum".