Yulin Temple Stone Carvings

Yulin Temple Stone Carvings

The Yulin Temple Stone Carvings are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Yulin Temple Stone Carvings are located at the foot of "Lion Rock" in Feiquan Village, Huaguoshan Subdistrict, Haizhou District, Lianyungang City. A total of 16 stone carvings are distributed along the nearby cliffs, among which eight are particularly notable. One of them is the "Inscription on the Eastern Cliff of Yulin Temple in Donghai County," carved in the seventh year of the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty (719 AD) on a large rock in front of the "Feiquan" waterfall. It was composed by Cui Yi, son of Cui Weiping, the Sima (magistrate) of Haizhou, with the name of the calligrapher not recorded. The text consists of 24 lines, each with 17 characters, each character about 10 cm in size, written in clerical script. It is an elegantly written travelogue describing the scenic beauty of Mount Yuntai. Its calligraphy style closely resembles that of the "Stone Gate Inscription," but with a more square and structured form. It has been included in the "Records of Metal and Stone," and has long been valued by epigraphers throughout history. Another notable piece is the three-character poem inscription by Zu Wuzhi, written in seal script and carved in the Jiashen year (1041 AD) of the Qingli era during the Northern Song Dynasty. The poem was composed by Zu Wuzhi, calligraphed by Su Tangqing, and engraved by Wang Junzhang. Other carvings include poems by Tan Henfu, inscriptions by the Four Scholars of the Song Dynasty, Liu Jushi, and Wang Bangmei, as well as inscriptions from the Ming Dynasty by Wang Tong and the Qing Dynasty by Huang Daochuan.

This collection of stone carvings is a heritage of ancient calligraphy art and holds significant material value for the study of the history of Chinese calligraphy. In particular, the "Tang Clerical Script and Song Seal Script" carvings are extremely rare and are considered treasures of ancient calligraphy. In 1982, the "Inscription on the Eastern Cliff of Yulin Temple in Donghai County" was designated as part of the third batch of cultural relics protection units in Jiangsu Province. In 2002, over ten stone carvings from the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties, including the "Three-Character Poem Inscription by Zu Wuzhi," were incorporated into this protected unit, which was then renamed the "Yulin Temple Stone Carvings." In 2013, it was listed as part of the seventh batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Protected Area:

East to the Spraying Water Cliff, south to the Mountain Stream Gully, west to the Zhuoying Spring, and north to 50 meters north of the Tang Clerical Script Carving.

Construction Control Zone:

East to 50 meters above the Spraying Water Cliff, south to 50 meters south of the Mountain Stream Gully, west to the western boundary of the Feiquan Reservoir and the ruins of Yulin Temple, and north to 120 meters north of the Tang Clerical Script Carving.

Feiquan Village: Located on the west side of Huaguoshan South Road. … More details about Feiquan Village++

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units