Tang and Song Dynasty Cliff Carvings on Guzhu Mountain

Tang and Song Dynasty Cliff Carvings on Guzhu Mountain

The Tang and Song Dynasty Cliff Carvings on Guzhu Mountain are a cultural tourism attraction.

[Tang and Song Dynasty Cliff Carvings on Guzhu Mountain] During the mid-Tang Dynasty’s Dali era, the Zisun tea and Jinsha Spring produced on Guzhu Mountain were designated as tribute items. The emperor had a particular fondness for Zisun tea and decreed that the governors of Huzhou and Changzhou must come to the production area every spring to “oversee the tribute” and establish a Tribute Tea Office. This practice continued for over 80 years, attracting literati and poets who composed poems and inscribed their calligraphy. As a result, three groups of nine cliff carvings remain on Guzhu Mountain to this day: one inscribed in the fourth year of the Tang Kai Cheng era (839) by Yang Hangong, governor of Huzhou; three others by Wang Zao, Academician of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion and governor of Huzhou during the Southern Song Dynasty, and Governor Han Yinyin. One group is located at Baiyang Mountain in Jinshan Village, featuring inscriptions by Huzhou Governor Yuan Gao, Yu?, and Du Mu, dated respectively to the first year of the Tang Xingyuan era (784), the eighth year of the Zhenyuan era (792), and the fifth year of the Dazhong era (851). Another set is found at Zhuoshe... (three inscriptions), including those by ... and ... from the 784 period and the Guihai year of Tang (843). These carvings have been listed as county and provincial-level cultural heritage protection units and are well preserved. (Excerpt from Volume 23, Culture, of the Changxing County Annals)