The Cliffside Stone Carvings of Lengceng Cave at Huxi Rock

The Cliffside Stone Carvings of Lengceng Cave at Huxi Rock

The Cliffside Stone Carvings of Lengceng Cave at Huxi Rock are a cultural relic protection unit of Xiamen City.

Huxi Rock, also known as Yuping Mountain, is a traditional moon-viewing spot on the island. The mountain features rugged cliffs, and legend has it that a cave within the mountain was once a tiger’s den. A spring inside the cave gushes out to form a stream, hence the name “Huxi” (Tiger Stream), which eventually became the name of the mountain. In the 42nd year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty (1614), the scholar Lin Maoshi, who had a passion for rocks, came here to develop the rocky area and carved out a stone chamber called “Lengceng Cave,” where he enshrined the Tiger God.

The “Lengceng Cave” at Huxi Rock is also known as the “Moonlit Night Cave.” When the full moon rises in the east, moonlight shines directly into the cave, making the image of the Tiger God appear vivid, creating the scenic wonder known as the “Moonlit Night at Huxi,” which is one of Xiamen’s “Eight Great Scenic Spots.” On Yuping Mountain, where Huxi Rock is located, there used to be Yuping Temple, and less than a hundred meters away on the other side of the mountain lies White Deer Cave. As a result, this area became a popular destination for literati and scholars throughout history, who left behind many poetic inscriptions and historical cliff carvings, possessing high historical, cultural, and calligraphic value.

Around the “Lengceng Cave,” there are nearly twenty stone carvings from the Ming and Qing dynasties as well as modern times, among which those by Lin Maoshi, Nan Juyi, He Qiaoyuan, Deng Hui, and Huang Riji are the most renowned. They include: 1. In the 44th year of the Wanli reign (1616), Lin Maoshi inscribed the two large characters “Lengceng” (Layered Crag) himself above the cave entrance. The characters are in regular script, each measuring 1.2 meters in diameter. 2. During the Tianqi era of the Ming Dynasty (1621–1627), Nan Juyi and two others inscribed five-character regulated verse poems in running regular script. Nan Juyi served as the Fujian governor in the 3rd year of the Tianqi reign (1623) and once commanded anti-Dutch resistance along the coast of Xiamen. 3. Two five-character regulated verse poems in running script by He Qiaoyuan, a Ming Dynasty Wanli-era imperial examination graduate, renowned local historian, and compiler of the Minshu (Book of Fujian). 4. A seven-character regulated verse poem by Huang Riji, a famous poet of Xiamen during the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty, and a five-character regulated verse poem in running script by Venerable Taixu, a renowned modern Buddhist monk and abbot of Nanputuo Temple.

In addition, there is a seven-character quatrain in running script by Deng Yu, a military officer under Zheng Chenggong of the Southern Ming, as well as numerous stone carvings from the Ming and Qing periods (including works by Ming Dynasty figures such as Cai Qianguang, Lin Zupeng, Zhu Kangxian, Wang Yonglin, and Qing Dynasty figures such as Ni Hongfan, Wu Qi, Yang Zhongliu, Zhao Zaitian, Cheng Rongchun, Gong Xianzeng, and Zhou Kuaiyuan).

It was designated as a cultural relic protection unit of Xiamen City in 1982.

Protected area: The entire rock surface where the “Lengceng” inscription and the stone carvings to its left are located.