Stele Inscription of the Haifang Office in Hanjiang

Stele Inscription of the Haifang Office in Hanjiang

The Stele Inscription of the Haifang Office in Hanjiang is a cultural relic protection unit of Fujian Province.

Stele Inscription of the Haifang Office in Hanjiang

The Stele Inscription of the Haifang Office in Hanjiang is a cultural relic protection unit of Fujian Province. It is located in the inner courtyard of the former Qing Dynasty Haifang Office in Hanjiang Town, Shishi City, southeast of Quanzhou. Commonly known as the “Hanjiang Ferry Stele,” it was erected in the 11th year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty (1806). Made of granite, it is rectangular with a guiform head, measuring 2.34 meters in height and 0.86 meters in width. The stele’s top is inscribed in intaglio seal script with ten large characters reading “Stele Inscription of the Newly Built Haifang Office in Hanjiang.” The main text is inscribed in intaglio regular script, recording the maritime defense facilities in Hanjiang during the Qing Dynasty and the ferrying activities between Hanjiang and Lukang in Taiwan. It was composed by Zheng Kui, the maritime defense judge of Quanzhou Prefecture, and calligraphed by Xu Wenqi, a candidate instructor. During the early Cultural Revolution, the stele was cut into two pieces and placed on a toilet wall and a canal wall respectively, but later cultural relics management authorities collected and reattached them, restoring the stele to its original site. Located at the mouth of Quanzhou Bay, Hanjiang was designated in the 49th year of the Qianlong reign (1784) as the sole port for ferrying to Taiwan, making this stele a valuable cultural relic for studying Qing Dynasty maritime defenses and cross-strait relations.

The location of the Stele Inscription of the Newly Built Haifang Office in Hanjiang is Shishi City, Quanzhou, Fujian Province. It is categorized as a grotto temple and stone carving, with the designation number 35050033, and is specifically situated in Qian’an Village, Hanjiang Town, Shishi City.

Hanjiang, located along Quanzhou Bay, was a thriving hub for port trade during the Tang and Song dynasties. In the Qing Dynasty, ports allowed to ferry to Taiwan were strictly controlled, and in the 49th year of the Qianlong reign (1784), Hanjiang was designated as an important mutual ferrying port between Quanzhou and Lukang in Taiwan.

In 1996, it was listed as part of the fourth batch of provincial-level cultural relic protection units by the People’s Government of Fujian Province.