Boundary Stone of the Eastern Sea Langya Commandery at Dongliandao

Boundary Stone of the Eastern Sea Langya Commandery at Dongliandao

The Boundary Stone of the Eastern Sea Langya Commandery at Dongliandao is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Boundary Stone of the Eastern Sea Langya Commandery at Dongliandao is located on the sandy beach of Sumawan by the sea in Dongliandao Village, Liandao Town, Lianyungang District, Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province. Discovered in 1987, there are two such boundary stones at Dongliandao. One is situated at Sumawan at an elevation of about 5 meters; the other is at Yangwetou at the eastern tip of Liandao, facing the northern sea at an elevation of about 8 meters. The Yangwetou stone has now been weathered and broken into two pieces, with only over 20 characters remaining. In contrast, the Sumawan stone retains all 60 characters clearly legible, reading: “The boundary between Quxian of the Eastern Sea Commandery and Guixian of the Langya Commandery starts here. All areas south of Zhushan Mountain belong to Quxian, and those north of the water belong to Guixian, extending west directly to Kuangqi. Quxian and Guixian divide the high peak as their boundary, each claiming unbounded lands to the east. On the first day of the fourth month in the fourth year of the JianGuo era, this was inscribed and created under the order of the Governor of Xuzhou.” It is the only well-preserved Han Dynasty boundary stone in China with clear content and an exact date.

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units