Anchang Ancient Town Stone Carving Museum

Anchang Ancient Town Stone Carving Museum

The exhibition hall of the Stone Carving Museum was originally the Chen Family Residence, whose owner once served as an official in charge of salt transportation. This Qing Dynasty building is divided into eastern and western sections, with four courtyards in total, covering a construction area of 2,500 square meters and comprising over 70 rooms.

The museum showcases over 200 exquisite stone artifacts ranging from the Tang Dynasty to the modern era. These include stone lions, stone windows, stone pools, mills, tables, pedestals, mortars, and other stonework from different periods. There are also 13 epitaphs from the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties inlaid into the walls, a stele from the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty documenting the restoration of an ancient elementary school in Shaoxing Prefecture, and more than 10 other items such as the “Tomb of Master Zong Junzixiu and His Wife Lady Chen” inscribed by eminent scholar Cai Yuanpei. These stone objects feature unique designs, diverse forms, powerful calligraphy, and craftsmanship that is truly remarkable.

The great poet Lu You was a native of Shanyin in Yuezhou, present-day Shaoxing. Regarding where his ancestors, the Lu family, came from and where their descendants later scattered, there are two stone tablets in a corner of the exhibition hall. The inscriptions on these tablets detail the origins of the Shanyin Lu family, the process of building their ancestral temple, and the temple’s properties—serving as first-hand materials for studying ancient clan temple systems, as well as providing insights into the study of Lu You.

Location

Anchang Ancient Town, Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province