Cliffside Rock Carvings of Nanshan

Cliffside Rock Carvings of Nanshan

The cliffside rock carvings of Nanshan are a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangxi Province.

The cliffside rock carvings of Nanshan include the character "Buddha" and mantras written by Huang Tingjian, as well as inscriptions such as "Shimen (Stone Gate)," "Dragon-Hiding Cave," and "Record of the Dragon-Hiding Cave" by Lin Chunze of Yanqifeng from the Ming Dynasty's Jiaqing era, plus steles along the Nine-Bend Corridor.

Nanshan Cliff faces Xiushui County across a river. Ancient trees tower on the cliff, interspersed with pavilions and towers, making it a great spot for sightseeing. Even more eye-catching is a huge, flat stone wall by the river that is 2.68 meters high and 2.28 meters wide, on which a majestic "Buddha" character measuring 1.84 meters in height and 1.20 meters in width is carved. Despite enduring a thousand years of wind and rain, the powerful strokes of the character remain striking and are highly regarded in the Chinese calligraphy world.

Legend has it that Huang Tingjian’s inscription of the “Buddha” character here has an interesting backstory. One early summer, Huang Tingjian was returning to his hometown of Xiushui and traveling upstream. When he reached the area near the strange rocks of Nanshan Cliff, a sudden strong wind arose, and the jagged rocks posed a danger as his boat nearly hit them and sank. Knowing the rocks were the cause, Huang stepped out of the cabin, bowed to the sky in prayer, and immediately afterward, the waves calmed, the wind stopped, the rocks disappeared, and the water became as smooth as a mirror. The passengers were full of admiration, and the boatman was deeply grateful. Huang Tingjian, a lifelong devotee of Buddhism, thought, “The Buddha is compassionate and delivers all beings—why not use the power of the Buddha to suppress demons and evil, bringing blessings to the people?” So, he spontaneously wrote the character “Buddha” on the boat. But because the boat was swaying and rocking, when he was writing the final vertical stroke of the character, he noticed that its center of gravity was slightly off to the left. Being a master calligrapher, Huang held his breath, gathered all his strength, and added the last stroke with a slight rightward lean, thus saving the balance of the entire character. After finishing the “Buddha” character, he also inscribed a series of Sanskrit characters in the upper left and right corners—their meaning remains undeciphered to this day. When the boat docked at Nanshan Cliff, he asked someone to carve the character onto the cliff face.

Amazingly, ever since Huang Tingjian inscribed the “Buddha” here, there have been fewer accidents involving boats capsizing or rafts overturning around Nanshan Cliff. Later generations also say that Huang Tingjian was the Star of Literature reincarnated, so naturally, his “Buddha” character possessed the power to subdue demons.

Though the “Buddha” character on the cliff has been washed by the tides of history and the waves of the Xiushui River for nearly a thousand years, it still stands proudly on the rock face, befriending Nanshan Cliff and keeping the Xiushui River company. It gazes over the scenery of Nanshan Cliff and listens to the roar of the Xiushui River. Many cliff inscriptions on Nanshan Cliff have been listed as provincial-level cultural relic protection units.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units