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Inscriptions at the First Mountain

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Inscriptions at the First Mountain, located within the First Mountain Park in Xuyi County, were historically known as the South Mountain because they lie to the south of the Huai River. Later, during the Northern Song Dynasty, the calligrapher and painter Mi Fu traveled south from Kaifeng. After sailing thousands of miles across the plains, he finally caught sight of the South Mountain through the misty Huai River while on the Bian River. He then composed a poem: “After a thousand-mile journey through the dusty roads of the capital, the green screen of mountains emerges from the Bian River’s bow—forget about the towering Heng and Huo mountains, for this is truly the foremost mountain in the southeast…” He also inscribed the three characters “第一山” (First Mountain). Since then, scholars and literati of successive dynasties have visited and composed poems expressing their emotions here, carving their writings into stone. Originally, there were 172 inscriptions scattered across sites within the First Mountain area, including the Jingyi Academy, Examination Hall, Confucian Temple, Ruiyan Taoist Temple, and the County Office. Today, 139 inscriptions remain. By type, there are 99 cliff inscriptions and 40 stele inscriptions; chronologically, the earliest date back to the Northern Song Dynasty, and the latest to the Republican era. Among these inscriptions are records left by high-ranking officials, such as Yu Ruili of the Southern Song Dynasty’s Ministry of Personnel, Zeng Kao Yun, a scholar of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion, and Lü Jiajian, prefect of Kaifeng. There are also works by literary figures, such as two inscribed stone tablets by Mi Fu at the Xiuyan (Elegant Rock) site of the First Mountain. He Zhu wrote “Poem on Mooring Near Guishan Mountain on the Evening of Shangsi Festival” and “Poem on Mooring Near Guishan Mountain in the Seventh Year of Yuanfu.” Yang Wanli authored “Poem on the Foremost Mountain in the Southeast” and “Poem on Glass Spring.”

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The Inscriptions at the First Mountain are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Inscriptions at the First Mountain, located within the First Mountain Park in Xuyi County

Because they lie to the south of the Huai River, they were historically known as the South Mountain. Later, during the Northern Song Dynasty, the calligrapher and painter Mi Fu traveled south from Kaifeng. After sailing thousands of miles across the plains, he finally caught sight of the South Mountain through the misty Huai River while on the Bian River. He then composed a poem: “After a thousand-mile journey through the dusty roads of the capital, the green screen of mountains emerges from the Bian River’s bow—forget about the towering Heng and Huo mountains, for this is truly the foremost mountain in the southeast…” and inscribed the three characters “第一山” (First Mountain). Since then, scholars and literati of successive dynasties have visited and composed poems expressing their emotions here, carving their writings into stone. Originally, there were 172 inscriptions scattered across sites within the First Mountain area, including the Jingyi Academy, Examination Hall, Confucian Temple, Ruiyan Taoist Temple, and the County Office. Today, 139 inscriptions remain. By type, there are 99 cliff inscriptions and 40 stele inscriptions; chronologically, the earliest date back to the Northern Song Dynasty, and the latest to the Republican era. Among these inscriptions are records left by high-ranking officials, such as Yu Ruili of the Southern Song Dynasty’s Ministry of Personnel, Zeng Kao Yun, a scholar of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion, and Lü Jiajian, prefect of Kaifeng. There are also works by literary figures, such as two inscribed stone tablets by Mi Fu at the Xiuyan (Elegant Rock) site of the First Mountain. He Zhu wrote “Poem on Mooring Near Guishan Mountain on the Evening of Shangsi Festival” and “Poem on Mooring Near Guishan Mountain in the Seventh Year of Yuanfu.” Yang Wanli authored “Poem on the Foremost Mountain in the Southeast” and “Poem on Glass Spring.”