Xi 'anbeilin is located in the famous ancient city Xi 'an Sanxue Street (named after the Chang 'an School, Fu Xue School and Xianning School in Qing Dynasty are all located here). It was established in the second year of the Northern Song Dynasty (A.D. 1078) to preserve the "stone-breaking". In the past 900 years, nearly 3,000 stone tablets have been collected, expanded and carefully protected. There are six stele corridors, seven stele rooms and eight stele pavilions, and the 1087 square stele is on display. In the exhibition room with famous monuments, there are a vast number of stone classics of Confucian scholars and philosophers; The simple legacy of Qin and Han literati; Hua Ying in the Epitaphs of Wei, Jin and Northern Dynasties: peerless calligraphy by famous people in Tang Dynasty, natural and unrestrained pen and ink by famous people in Song and Yuan Dynasties. The brushstrokes of Wang Xizhi, the master of calligraphy and painting, and Wu Daozi, the cool breeze of Wang Wei's bamboo shadow, both of which are excellent in poetry and painting, add luster to the forest of steles. Xi 'an Stele Forest has become an important part of China's treasure house of historical relics with its unique characteristics, and was announced as the first batch of key cultural relics protection units in China on 1962.
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. In addition, the "Trony Classic Mansion of China and Nepal" in the Tang Dynasty is a model of friendly exchanges between the Chinese and Nepalese people in the Tang Dynasty. Don Guang Zhi's Sanzang Tablet records the life experience of an Indian monk in China and the relationship between Tantric Buddhism and Japanese Buddhism. Wait, these are precious materials for studying cultural exchanges and religious history between China and foreign countries.
The inscription "Mingde Ji Shou Monument" is engraved with the words Dashun and Yongchang. This is a relic of the peasant uprising led by Li Zicheng in the Ming Dynasty, which recorded the tragic scene of drought in Shaanxi, high food prices, 224 yuan a barrel of wheat and 226 yuan a barrel of rice, and cannibals eating 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.
There are many patriotic figures in the forest of steles, such as Confucius, who is known as a great master, Lisi, who unified China characters, Guan Yu, who was loyal to Shu Han, Zheng Banqiao, a clean and honest man, Wen Tianxiang, a national hero who died generously, Lin Zexu, who shocked China and foreign countries by banning smoking in Humen, Wang Xizhi, Yan Zhenqing and Yu Youren, the calligraphers of all ages, Deng Tingzhen, who vigorously promoted the new law, and so on. Their spirit of worrying about the country and the people and perseverance has inspired generations of Chinese sons and daughters.
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. The Book of Stones was written in regular script by Ai Juhui and Marco at the suggestion of imperial academy Qin Zheng in the fourth year of Tang Wenzong Taihe (AD 830), and it took about seven years to carve the Book of Stones in the second year of Kaicheng (AD 837). 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. Famous monuments such as Shitai Xiaojing and Kaicheng Dajing were originally erected in the imperial academy courtyard of Wubenfang (now outside Xi 'an Annan Gate) in Chang 'an in the Tang Dynasty. After the late Tang Dynasty (Duke Xu Guohan) descended to Chang 'an, these monuments were scattered outside the city together with other famous monuments. Tang Zhaozong and the Houliang Dynasty moved these stone tablets to the western corner of Shangshu Province in the Tang Dynasty. Yuan You During the period of Song Zhezong (A.D. 1086- 1093), all the stone tablets were moved to the north of the institution of higher learning, which is where the forest of steles stands today. In addition, Xing Xue Bei, Embroidered Qu Ji, Embroidered plank road Ji Cheng Ji and Miao Xiu Ji in Ming and Qing Dynasties also have important historical value.
The forest of steles in Xi 'an is not only a treasure house of oriental stone history and culture, but also a treasure house of calligraphy art, enjoying the reputation of hometown of calligraphy art, which makes overseas people yearn for it. The early stone carvings in the forest of steles include the stone carvings of Qin Fengshan in the Song Dynasty. The original tablet was written by Li Si, the prime minister of Qin State. Cao Quanbei was carved in the second year of Zhong Ping in the Eastern Han Dynasty (A.D. 185), with exquisite official script. It is a well-preserved inscription with clear font among the Chinese steles, and it is a fine work among the Chinese steles. Han Xi leveled the remains of the Book of Changes and preserved the earliest sentence of the Book of Changes in China. According to legend, Cai Yong, a famous scholar and great calligrapher at that time, wrote in official script, which was quite neat and was a model of Han Li.
The forest of steles can be completely preserved to this day, which is inseparable from the contribution of Bi Yuan, the governor of Shaanxi Province during the Qianlong period in the Qing Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, due to nobody's management, some precious Han and Tang steles were used as bricks, and some were used to repair bridges and were destroyed. By the Yuan Dynasty, all the stone tablets in the forest of steles had fallen down twice. In the thirty-fourth year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1555), an earthquake of magnitude 8 occurred in Shaanxi, and a large number of stone tablets in the forest of steles were broken due to falling and touching. In the thirty-seventh year of Qing Qianlong (A.D. 1772), Bi Yuan led his colleagues to inspect the forest of steles, only to find that the house collapsed and the steles were lying among the rubble in Jingzhen. Looking around, there was desolation everywhere, which made him very shocked and sad. He and his colleagues agreed to rebuild and protect the forest of steles by repairing houses, sorting out stones, cataloguing records, organizing exhibitions of stone carvings, and establishing management institutions and storage systems. He said in the book "The Story of the Stone in Guanzhong": The front and back halls are all new and different, spinning in the soil, and dozens of old engravings have been found. So he took the "Stone Story" and the capital before the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and lined it up. In the Ming dynasty, close people kept the best instead of building three rafts to raise them. Its key is in the palm of your hand, trying to protect it so as to make it permanent. Bi Yuan has a strong interest in epigraphy, and the restoration of the forest of steles lies in ordinary archaeologists, who can enjoy it. (Bi Yuan's Contribution to the Protection of Ancient Sites in Guanzhong, No.2 of Cultural Relics World, 1983) He has made important contributions to the protection of precious cultural relics, which is very commendable.