Jade Crab Spring Cliff Inscriptions

Jade Crab Spring Cliff Inscriptions

The Jade Crab Spring Cliff Inscriptions are a cultural relic protection unit of Anhui Province.

The Jade Crab Spring Cliff Inscriptions are located in Yinjian Town, Fengyang County, and date back to the Tang, Song, and Qing dynasties. These cliff inscriptions are carved on the rocks near Jade Crab Spring. According to research, there are a total of 17 inscriptions: 4 from the Tang Dynasty, 7 from the Song Dynasty, and 4 from the Qing Dynasty. These carvings are mostly travel writings, or consist of poems, lyrical verses, and inscriptions. Their calligraphy styles vary, with different schools represented, including regular script, cursive script, clerical script, seal script, running script, and Wei stele script—truly forming a treasure trove of calligraphic art.

The Cliff Inscriptions at Crab Spring are inscriptions left by visitors from the Tang to the Qing dynasties. They are located on the surrounding cliffs of Jade Crab Spring in Sānfēng Mountain within Sòngjí Township. There are a total of 27 inscriptions. Some are as high as 5 meters above ground, some are near the clear spring water’s edge; some are directly carved on the rock surface, while others are etched after slight modification of the rock face. Some are small, just a few inches in length and width, while others are several feet square. Among them, seven inscriptions have had their characters eroded by wind and rain or destroyed by human activity, leaving no legible text; twenty inscriptions still have all or most of their text recognizable. These include five from the Tang Dynasty, seven from the Song Dynasty, three from the Qing Dynasty, and five with undated inscriptions. All the carvings are incised, with the shortest containing only two characters and the longest up to a hundred. Some are poetic verses, others are inscriptions or records. The scripts include regular, cursive, clerical, seal, running, and Wei stele styles, all present with diverse styles and schools. The earliest inscription is a record from the third year of the Tang Yuanhe era (808 AD): “Cui Chang, Zheng Zong, Sun Hua, Gao Jundu, Zheng Xuan, Guan Kanghou, inscribed on the eighth day of the tenth month in the third year of Yuanhe, Tang Dynasty.” The latest is a record from the 29th year of the Qing Kangxi era (1690 AD): “From the fifth year of the Tang Huichang era (845 AD) to the 29th year of the Qing Kangxi era (1690 AD), spanning 882 years. The ancient stone inscriptions have faded over time due to the distance of the past. I gathered workers to chisel them anew so that future viewers may, hopefully, share my aspiration. Signed: Zhu Tong’an.” However, he mistakenly recorded the earliest one as from the “fifth year of the Tang Huichang era (845 AD),” though the noted span of “882 years” is accurate. Among the faded inscriptions, two are remnants of steles by the Song Dynasty’s Su Shi. One is recorded in the Kangxi-era “Fengyang Prefecture Records,” citing a poem by the Qing-era Cheng Yufeng with introduction: the spring produces white crabs as pure and translucent as jade, which inspired Su Zizhan (Su Shi) to name it “Jade Crab Spring.” Although the stone stele remains, its characters have been eroded by wind and rain. Another is an unsigned inscription on the right wall of the spring that reads: “Recorded in the □ year of the Shunzhi era. On the right side of the cave, a few surviving lines of Su Dongpo's poetry in the 'Hui' rhyme scheme—though the full piece is fragmented, the legacy of esteemed scholars still enhances the scenery. Regrettably, it was defaced by an uneducated person, reducing an engaging dialogue through history to laughter.”

Yinjian Town: Yinjian Town is located 20 kilometers south of Fengyang County and governs 11 villages and 168 villager groups, with a total population of 28,000 and a town area of 208 square kilometers. Provincial Highway 101 is nearby. The Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway runs through the town. The Fengyang Mountain National Geological Park within the town is part of the "Southern Nature" tourism zone—one of Fengyang County’s three major tourist areas—along with the "Eastern Red" and "Northern Culture" zones, together forming a golden tourism triangle. It is recognized as one of Anhui Province’s Best Tourism Townships.

In 2012, the town achieved a gross regional product of 380 million yuan, fiscal revenue of 2.03 million yuan, and an average rural income of 7…… More detailed information about Yinjian Town++