Kuaiji Stone Carvings

Kuaiji Stone Carvings

The Kuaiji Stone Carvings were erected when Emperor Qin Shi Huang toured Kuaiji (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang). To commemorate Yu the Great and proclaim his own achievements, he ordered the Chancellor Li Si to inscribe a commemorative text on a stone stele. This inscription, titled "Kuaiji Stone Carvings," was later recorded by Sima Qian in the "Records of the Grand Historian."

Shaoxing, Zhejiang, has a rich cultural legacy, with numerous historical stone carvings and tablets that serve as valuable historical materials for studying the region’s social, political, and economic development. Among them, the earliest surviving example is the Kuaiji Stone Carvings, erected during Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s eastern tour.

In 210 BCE (the 37th year of Qin Shi Huang’s reign), Emperor Ying Zheng of Qin toured the southern regions and paid homage to Yu the Great at Kuaiji. He ascended Mount Qinwang (originally called Tianzhu Peak) to gaze toward the East Sea. To promote his achievement of unifying China, he ordered Chancellor Li Si to inscribe a commemorative text on a stone stele, which was then erected atop Mount Qinwang (some say it was on E’bi Mountain). This became the historically renowned "Kuaiji Stone Carvings." Since it was both written and inscribed by Li Si, it is also commonly known as the "Li Si Stele." The inscription follows a three-line rhyme scheme, with each character measuring four square inches, written in Small Seal Script. It consists of 289 characters and primarily praises Emperor Qin’s accomplishments in unifying China and outlines the key policies of his dynasty. Later, Sima Qian included the full text in the "Records of the Grand Historian – Annals of Qin Shi Huang."

The Kuaiji Stone Carvings have always been highly regarded, with numerous historical records documenting them. The Eastern Han Dynasty text "Records of Yue" states: "(Emperor Qin Shi Huang) in Kuaiji—obtained bluestone from Qiantang and Zhejiang. The stone measured fourteen feet in length and sixteen inches in width on its north and south faces, with an inscription of sixteen feet carved on the eastern mountain of Yue." The Northern Wei Dynasty’s "Commentary on the Water Classic" notes: "Emperor Qin Shi Huang climbed Kuaiji Mountain and inscribed a stele to commemorate his achievements, which still stands beside the mountain." The "Book of the Southern Dynasties – Biography of Fan Yun" records: "On Kuaiji’s Qinwang Mountain, there is a stone inscription by Qin Shi Huang, all written in Large Seal Script, which most people cannot read." The Southern Dynasties’ "Records of Kuaiji" states: "In the past, Emperor Qin Shi Huang ascended this mountain and had Li Si carve an inscription, and the stele is still there." This stele and its inscription existed at least until the Liang Dynasty.

Due to long-term exposure in the wild and erosion by wind and rain, by the Shaoxing period of the Southern Song Dynasty (1131–1162), although the stone remained, the inscriptions had been almost completely worn away. The currently preserved Kuaiji Stone Carvings are not the original but have been reproduced multiple times. In 1341 (the first year of the Zhizheng era of Yuan Emperor Huizong), Shen Tu? (name unclear), a judicial officer of the Shaoxing Provincial Administration Commission, used a treasured old version from his family collection to create a rubbing and recarved the stele. It was installed in the Jiugu Pavilion of the Confucian Academy and an additional Qin seal script inscription, the "Yishan Stele," was added on the reverse side. During the Qing Dynasty’s Kangxi era (1661–1722), the front side of the stele, featuring the Kuaiji Stone Carvings, was worn down by stoneworkers, while the Yishan Stele text on the back remained intact. In 1792 (the 57th year of the Qianlong era), Li Hengte, the magistrate of Shaoxing, instructed Qian Yong to trace the Shen Tu version onto the stone using double tracing, and Liu Zheng recarved it. It was then reinstalled at its original location in the Confucian Academy, with Li Hengte’s personal colophon and inscriptions by Qing scholars Weng Fanggang, Ruan Yuan, and Chen Zhuo added afterward. In 1887, the stele was moved from the original Confucian Academy site (now Shaoxing Jishan Middle School) and placed in the Stele Corridor at the Mausoleum of Yu the Great. The stele stands 2.2 meters tall and 1 meter wide, with 12 rows of Small Seal Script, 24 characters per row. The inscription content differs slightly in some characters from that recorded in the "Records of the Grand Historian," and includes three lines of clerical script annotations totaling 60 characters. Despite multiple reproductions, the essence of the Qin seal script can still be appreciated. The Qin-era Kuaiji Stone Carvings caught the attention of Japanese scholars. As early as 1885 (the 11th year of the Guangxu era of the Qing Dynasty), the Japanese used a double-traced version owned by Takamichi Chiba to recarve it in Japan. In 1901 (the 27th year of the Guangxu era), Qian Yong’s version was again replicated on Mount Jiaoshan.