Stone Carvings on Qiyun Mountain

Stone Carvings on Qiyun Mountain

The stone carvings on Qiyun Mountain are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The stone tablets and cliff inscriptions of Qiyun Mountain are all located on Qiyun Mountain in Xiuning County, Anhui Province.

Qiyun Mountain originally had over 1,400 stone tablets and cliff inscriptions, but only 462 remain today, including 206 stone tablets and 256 cliff inscriptions. Small quantities are also distributed in other scenic areas. They are spread all over the mountain, with a higher concentration around the Arhat Cave, Zixiao Cliff, and Shiqiaoyan areas. The earliest ones are cliff inscriptions from the Daguan era of the Northern Song Dynasty. Most of them are from the Ming and Qing dynasties, accounting for over 80% of the total. Many of the inscriptions are carved on steep cliffs and precipices, some with characters over ten feet tall and others as small as a fist. Among them, the regular script character “Shou” (longevity) carved at the Shouzi Rock has a character diameter of 230 centimeters. The scripts used in the tablets and cliff inscriptions include regular, running, cursive, seal, and clerical scripts, showcasing a variety of styles and schools, all with exquisite carving craftsmanship.

The cliff inscriptions are located on the steep cliffs of Jiguan Mountain in the northwest. Covering an area of about 60 square meters, they are naturally divided into three tiers by their concave and convex surfaces. From top to bottom are imperial edicts bestowed upon three imperial censors—Zhang Xu, Zhang Kui, and Zhang Xue—issued in the second year of the Zhengtong era (1437), the fifth year of the Tianshun era (1461), and the seventh year of the Chenghua era (1471) of the Ming Dynasty, respectively. All are in regular script, with larger characters spanning over a foot and smaller ones over an inch. The fonts are upright and elegant, though somewhat faded. The original cliff also featured a poem inscribed by Xie Jin, unfortunately destroyed long ago when villagers quarried stones to build houses. Behind the mountain stand two upright rocks resembling ceremonial tablets, known as the Shuanghu Stone.

The “Imperially Commissioned Stele of the Xuantian Taisu Palace on Qiyun Mountain” is 300 cm tall, 120 cm wide, and 20 cm thick. It is carved from bluish limestone from western Yixian, with a relief of two dragons playing with a pearl at the top and cloud-dragon-phoenix floral patterns around the edges, all exquisitely carved. At the base is a stone turtle carrying the stele. The inscription is in elegant and free-flowing regular script and was erected in the first hall of the Taisu Palace in the thirty-seventh year of the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty (1558 AD), standing majestically. It was destroyed in August 1967.

There were numerous cliff carvings from various dynasties, and 48 Buddhist niches and 2,492 statues from the Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties still remain today. The Tang Dynasty carvings are the most numerous. They are mainly concentrated along the cliffs accessed through the “Jieyin Pavilion,” stretching along the line of the “Niutou Cave,” “Arhat Cliff,” “Reclining Buddha Grotto,” “Immortal’s Bed,” and “Jade Spring Cliff,” collectively known as the “Thousand Buddha Corridor.”

The Reclining Buddha Grotto statues are located halfway up the Thousand Buddha Corridor, carved directly into the cliff. The niche is 340 cm tall, 710 cm wide, and 200 cm deep. At the center of the niche sits a central Buddha flanked by two bodhisattvas. The central Buddha is seated in a full lotus position, while the two bodhisattvas on either side hold ritual implements. On the right side of the niche, a Buddha rides a peacock, though its head is missing; on the left is a scene of the “Nirvana Transformation,” where Sakyamuni lies on his right side, resting his head on his right hand and holding a flying apsara in his left, gazing peacefully with closed eyes.

The Immortal’s Bed statues are located in the perilous cliffs on the left side of the Thousand Buddha Corridor. Within the cave is a rock shaped like a bed, 700 cm long, 325 cm wide, and 200 cm thick. Its concave surface resembles a place where immortals once lay, hence the name. As recorded in Volume Twelve of “Records of Scenic Spots in Shu”: “On the steep cliffs, thousands of Buddha statues are carved, with the rock overhanging like a roof, bearing traces of where immortals once lay.” There are three niches on the Immortal’s Bed cliff, containing over 2,100 Buddha statues. The statues are scattered throughout, each with different expressions, though most are now weathered and eroded. In 1982, during an on-site assessment by the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics Survey team, they were unable to determine the exact period due to the steep and inaccessible cliffs.

The Jade Spring Cliff statues are located at the end of the Thousand Buddha Corridor on the left side. The cave is 1,220 cm high, 3,200 cm wide, and 1,200 cm deep, making it the largest grotto on the entire mountain. The cave’s lintel bears four legible regular script characters: “Xi Hua Kai Guang” (Opening Light Painted by the Emperor). The inscriptions above and below are weathered and illegible. Inside the cave are several cliff carvings and sculptures, including the “City Patrol Scene” (a relief sculpture of a cart with figures), depicting a large-wheeled cart carrying a seated Buddha with a staff in a full lotus position on a lotus throne, driven by a man whipping an ox, with several people surrounding them as if praying—hence it is also called the “People Praying to Buddha for Disaster Relief Scene.” Below the relief is a surviving inscription, though weathered and blurred, which can still be identified from rubbings as describing the act of “praying to Buddha for disaster relief.”

In 2006, the stone carvings of Qiyun Mountain were included by the State Council in the sixth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Protected Area: A 4-meter radius around all individual tablets on the mountain and a 5-meter radius around all individual cliff inscriptions.

Construction Control Zone: A 50-meter buffer zone extending outward from the protected area on the east, south, west, and north sides.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Sixth Batch of Major National Historical and Cultural Sites