Xi'an Forest of Steles

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Displayed steles in the stele forest of Xi'an
Stone abrasion : Kuixing , the god of exams (a companion of Wenchang , the god of literature)

The Stele Forest ( Chinese  西安碑林 , Pinyin Xī'ān Beilin , english Xi'an Stele Forest Museum ), in short: Stele Forest or Xi'an Beilin-Museum is a museum for steles and stone sculptures in the city of Xi 'on , China .

The name “ stele forest ” comes from the fact that the stelae stood here in large numbers like trees in the forest.

history

The forest of steles began with the Kaicheng Shijing steles (Kaicheng shijing at 开 成 石 经 klassische "Classical works from the Kaicheng reign engraved in stone") and Shitai Xiaojing steles (石台 孝经 碑), two groups of steles, both from the time of the Tang Dynasty were engraved in stone and exhibited in the Temple of Confucius in Chang'an . In 904, Chang'an was destroyed in a rebellion and the two steles were evacuated to the inner city. In 962 they were brought back to the newly built Confucius Temple. In the Song Dynasty ( 1087 ) a special hall was built to display the two groups of stelae. It was during the Ming Dynasty in the 1556 Shaanxi earthquake damaged.

The stele forest of Xi'an ( Xi'an beilin ) has been on the list of monuments of the People's Republic of China (1-125) since 1961 .

Steles

Today, a total of over 3000 steles (from the Han period to the beginning of this century) are kept in the museum. It is the largest museum of steles in China. More than 1000 stones are exhibited in seven halls, six galleries and a pavilion. Most of the steles in the collection date from the Tang Dynasty. Rubbed stones from the steles can be purchased. The museum is a treasure trove of Chinese calligraphy as well as many important classical works and documents.

The oldest stele, the Cao Quan stele (曹 全 碑), comes from the Han dynasty . The Sima Fang stele (司马 芳 碑) from the Jin dynasty is also significant . In the first hall, steles with twelve Confucian classics are presented, which are spread over 114 stone tablets. They were commissioned by Emperor Tang Wenzong in 837. They were intended to serve as standard texts so that errors could be avoided in future copies. They are known as the Kaicheng Shijing Stele (开 成 石 经 碑) and have more than 650,000 characters on them.

In the second hall there is the Nestorian stele (大秦 景教 流行 中国 碑, Tang Dynasty ), which was created in 781 and is crowned with a cross. It commemorates the arrival of the Nestorian Christians in Xi'an in 635. In the third hall is a map of Chang'an showing the extent of the city at its peak of glory. In the fourth hall there are works of poetry on steles, including calligraphic versions of the poems by Su Dongpo (1037–1101), but also etchings by the founder of Zen Buddhism Bodhidharma . History materials are displayed in the fifth hall, and religious and historical artefacts in the other hall.

Reliefs

The Six Horses of Zhao Mausoleum (Chinese: 昭陵六駿; pinyin: Zhāolíng Liùjùn) had six stone wall reliefs from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) depicting horses on the outside. The mausoleum was built for Emperor Tang Taizong (599–649), so that the 200 by 170 centimeter works of art can be dated to his reign (from the year 626), especially since they are directly related to him. The horses shown were the ruler's war horses and all have their own names, which are not Chinese, but transliterations from other languages. It is believed that they are gifts from neighboring tribes and peoples. Since Tang Taizong rode them during individual campaigns, they also symbolize his policy of reunification of China. The names are Shifachi (什 伐 赤), Baitiwu (白 蹄 乌), Telebiao (特勒 骠), Qingzhui (青 骓), Quanmaogua (拳 毛 騧) and Saluzi (飒 露 紫). In 1914, smugglers tried to get the historical witnesses out of the country, which they also succeeded in doing with the last two plates, which are now on display in the Penn Museum of the University of Pennsylvania in the USA. The remaining four are in the stele forest along with copies of the stolen specimens . Etchings of the reliefs are exhibited in St. Louis (Missouri, USA).

literature

Web links

Commons : Forest of Steles of Xi'an  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Author collective, Vis-à-Vis China , new edition 2015/2016, p. 168.
  2. ↑ Chinese museum demands return of horse sculptures from Pennsylvania , China Daily, January 15, 2017 - Taizong Horses , Penn Museum - East Asian Library Special Collections: Rubbings of Taizong Horses , Washington University, St. Louis, all accessed October 31, 2018 .

Coordinates: 34 ° 15 ′ 17.6 ″  N , 108 ° 56 ′ 53.4 ″  E