Port Pu Cliff Carvings

Port Pu Cliff Carvings

The Port Pu Cliff Carvings are a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangxi Province.

The Qingjiang Cliff Carvings are located beneath the independent rock at Port Pu, about six li northwest of Chexia Village in Qingjiang Township. In front of the rock lies white sand and green water, with open and tranquil surroundings facing Heitan Village in Chuantan Town. The independent rock is composed of reddish sandstone and has a flat appearance. Two meters in front of the rock, there is a silt-formed terrace that acts as a natural barrier shielding the carvings from wind and water, which is the main reason why these carvings have remained largely clear after more than 700 years. The entire rock face is about 30 meters long and 20 meters wide, featuring cliff inscriptions and drawings from the Song and Yuan dynasties approximately ten meters from the top. The cliff carvings are arranged in a — style, with characters in regular script, incised in intaglio and aligned vertically from right to left, spanning approximately 3.75 meters in length, with varying sizes of text and poetry. One inscription reads: “On the nineteenth day of the seventh month in the first year of Jiatai, the Xinyou era, Jiang’s family repaired a boat here. The craftsman Wu Jianmang noted this.” It consists of three vertical lines of regular script, with characters five centimeters square, carved in the Southern Song Dynasty (1201). Another reads: “The sixth day of the fifth month in the third year of Jiading, the Bingyin era.” It consists of two vertical lines of regular script, with characters five centimeters square, from the Yuan Dynasty (1326). Yet another reads: “Amidst the heat and cold of Yuzhuo Rock Cliff, I built a stone chamber by the river. For thousands of years, who has owned these mountains and rivers? My notes will be passed down through the ages.” It is written in four vertical lines of regular script, with characters ten centimeters square. Another reads: “On the first day of the good month in the third year of the Zhi Zheng era of the Great Yuan, the lunar year of Guihai, Jianxuan Song Zijinglong built a stone chamber facing the northern mountains across the river and left this inscription here.” It is written in five vertical lines of regular script, with characters eight centimeters square. There is also a drawing of a “horse,” 16 cm high and 23 cm wide; two drawings of “lotus,” one 11 cm high and 20 cm wide, the other with a diameter of 18 cm; a drawing of a “warrior carrying a spear”; a drawing of a “tower,” 28 cm high and 10 cm wide; and the character “Buddha.”

People once lived here and built houses taking advantage of the favorable terrain. It is believed that there was a temple here during the Song and Yuan dynasties, but it was relocated due to the diversion of the Xiu River, rising water levels, and silt accumulation in the riverbed. These cliff carvings were listed as a key cultural relic protection unit of Wuning County in 1984.

Qingjiang Township: A township under the jurisdiction of Wuning County. It belonged to Qingjiang Township in 1950, was renamed Shidu Commune in 1958, then Qingjiang Commune in 1962, and reinstated as Qingjiang Township in 1984. Located in the southwestern part of the county, it is 29.9 kilometers from the county seat. The township covers an area of 120.5 square kilometers, with a population of 14,000, predominantly Han Chinese. The township government is located on Qingjiang Street. It governs 11 village committees: Longshi, Datian, Hanqiao, Tongbu, Piantou, Qingjiang, Luodong, Chexia, Zhangtan, Maotian, and Dianxia. The Xiu River flows through the township and is navigable all year round. The road from Qingjiang to Wuning runs east-west. The township-run enterprises mainly engage in the mining of antimony ore and the processing of antimony... More detailed information about Qingjiang Township ++

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units