The largest cliff carving in western Beijing

The largest cliff carving in western Beijing

The largest cliff carving in western Beijing is a cultural tourism attraction.

At the highest point of Xianlong Mountain near the Hot Spring Village, there is a huge blackish-gray rock wall inscribed with four large characters: “水流云在” (Water Flows, Clouds Linger), forming the renowned largest cliff carving in western Beijing. Each character of “水流云在” spans 4 square meters, standing majestically and radiating grandeur. Below the inscription is a note that reads: “Ying Lianzhi, together with his wife Shuzhong and their young son, traveled here from afar, and casually borrowed a line from Du Fu to express our feelings. This was during the first lunar month of the year following the abdication of the Xuantong Emperor.” Each character of the note is also over 0.3 square meters, with the total area covering about 30 square meters. The stone is a large piece of bluestone, hard and resistant to weathering. After more than ninety years of wind and rain, the inscriptions remain clearly visible.

This site, acclaimed as the largest cliff carving in the Beijing area, was calligraphed by Ying Lianzhi. Ying Lianzhi, whose given name was Hua and courtesy names were Anjian and, later, Wansong Yesen, was a native of the Zhenghongqi Banner of Beijing. Ying was a renowned educator, social activist, and an honest and patriotic Catholic leader in modern Chinese history. In 1902, he founded the Tianjin-based newspaper “Ta Kung Pao,” from which he resigned in 1912. He then retired to the Western Hills of Beijing, establishing the Furen Society, and later co-founded Furen University with Ma Xiangbo.

According to Li, one of Ying Lianzhi’s students, Mr. Ying was an open-hearted and noble man who often gave away books from his personal collection to friends and students. He sometimes visited villages at the foot of the Western Hills, chatting with local commoners. In February 1913, Ying Lianzhi visited his mother’s relatives in the Hot Spring area with his wife and children. During his leisure time, he climbed to the top of Xianlong Mountain to look into the distance. Although it was winter, the hot spring water below gushed out and flowed slowly, steaming with heat, causing the mountain to be enveloped in misty clouds, a vast white expanse. Moved by the scene, Ying was filled with emotion and spontaneously recited lines from Du Fu’s poem: “Lying bare-chested on the riverside pavilion in warmth, I chant long verses while gazing into the distance. Water flows but my heart does not race; clouds linger as my thoughts move slowly.” After some contemplation, Ying picked up his brush and wrote the bold characters “水流云在” (Water Flows, Clouds Linger). These four characters are derived from the first two characters of the third and fourth lines of Du Fu’s poem, constructing a phrase that seems to suggest: Oh water, you may flow incessantly day and night, but my heart remains as calm and unhurried as the white clouds above. It reflects the author’s serene detachment and leisurely state of mind.

An elderly man surnamed Liu, a longtime resident of the Hot Spring area, once described how Ying Lianzhi hired stonemasons to carve “水流云在.” Ying employed more than ten stonemasons and it took them half a month to complete this magnificent work. During the Cultural Revolution, attempts were made to deface it with hammers and axes, but all failed to destroy it. Today, the numerous tool marks on the rock face remain as historical imprints.

In recent years, the Cultural Relics Management Office of Haidian District has undertaken restoration work on the cliff carving. Firstly, the inscribed characters were repainted with red lacquer, and additionally, the entire stone surface was sprayed with waterproof coatings such as silicone to ensure effective preservation of this cultural relic.

Hot Spring Area: The Hot Spring Town is located in the northwestern suburbs of Beijing, in the southern part of the new northern district of Haidian. Blessed with a prime location surrounded by mountains and water, it has historically been rich in scenic landscapes and dotted with gardens and villas.

Historical records indicate that the area now known as Hot Spring Town was largely part of Changping County (formerly Junzhou County) before the Ming Dynasty, with its southwestern region possibly belonging to Yuhexian County from the late Tang Dynasty to the early Jin Dynasty. In the late Ming period, roughly along the current path from Baiwang Mountain to the Hot Springs, the area north of this road—including Taizhouwu, Yangjiazhuang, and Dongbutou—belonged to Changping County (or Prefecture), while the southern parts including Baijiatuan, the Hot Springs, Gaolizhang, and Xinzhuang were part of Wanping County. By the early Qing Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Kangxi… More detailed information on the Hot Spring area++