Pingxiang Daguan Shengzuo Stele

Pingxiang Daguan Shengzuo Stele

The Pingxiang Daguan Shengzuo Stele is a cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province.

The Daguan Shengzuo Stele was created in the first year of the Daguan era (1107) of the Northern Song Dynasty, when Zizheng Hall Scholar Zheng Juzheng “petitioned to have the imperial eight-point decree inscribed on stone, first erected in the palace school, then in the Imperial College, regional schools, and throughout all counties.” The following year, the stele was carved and erected inside the Confucian school of the old town of Pingxiang County (now Pingxiang Town). The stele stands 5.14 meters tall, is 1.38 meters wide, and 0.38 meters thick. The stele head is 1.40 meters tall and 1.50 meters wide, featuring relief carvings of seven dragons coiled around the top. The inscription on the stele head, “Daguan Shengzuo Stele,” was written by the powerful prime minister Cai Jing. The main body of the stele is 2.94 meters tall, with the front side engraved with Emperor Huizong of Song’s decree outlining the “eight virtues” — filial piety, fraternal submission, harmony, affinity, responsibility, compassion, loyalty, and peace — used as criteria for selecting scholars, totaling 1,021 characters. Currently, 729 characters remain. These were copied in the “slender gold” script of Emperor Huizong by Li Shiyong, a Doctor of Calligraphy, under imperial order, showcasing elegant brushwork. The reverse side of the stele is inscribed with “Dazhong Master Chai Ruyi Sister Daniang.” The sides of the stele also bear inscriptions, but these were engraved after the third year of the Dian’an era of the Jin Dynasty, 103 years after the stele’s initial erection. The turtle-shaped base is 0.80 meters tall, 1.50 meters wide, and 2.70 meters long, and was made from two joined halves.

Though damaged, the stele holds significant historical and artistic value, and was designated as a cultural relic protection unit by the People's Government of Hebei Province in 2007.

Historical Background According to historical records, on September 18, 1107 (the first year of Daguan during the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty), Zizheng Hall Scholar Zheng Juzheng “petitioned to have the imperial eight-point decree inscribed on stone, first erected in the palace school, then in the Imperial College, regional schools, and throughout all counties.” On August 29, 1108 (the second year of Daguan), Minister of Rites and Lecturer Zheng Jiuzhong “ordered the granted stone to be erected,” thus following the imperial decree and having the stele installed inside the county Confucian school’s Temple of Confucius.

When initially erected, the Daguan Shengzuo Stele bore inscriptions only on the front. Later, after the third year of the Dian’an era of the Jin Dynasty, additional texts were inscribed on the back and sides of the stele. The right side of the stele bears the inscription “Dian’an Third Year, Year of Xinwei” (1211 AD), over a century after the stele’s original erection. The inscriptions in this section are not fully legible. At some unknown year, the stele broke 40 centimeters below the stele head.

In 1984, during a countywide cultural relics survey conducted by the Pingxiang County Bureau of Education and Culture, the “Daguan Shengzuo Stele” was listed as a key cultural relic protection unit of Pingxiang County. The upper broken section of the stele was moved to the County Cultural Center, and in 2001 it was relocated to the County Culture and Sports compound. In early 2002, the remaining broken sections of the stele from the Wenmiao (Temple of Literature) in Pingxiang Town and the turtle base were also moved to the County Culture and Sports Bureau compound. In 2006, the stele was moved again to Ping’an Park. In March 2007, the stele was reassembled and erected on the park’s eastern side.

Historical Value On September 18, 1107 (the first year of Daguan during the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty), Zizheng Hall Scholar Zheng Juzhong petitioned to have the imperial eight-point decree inscribed on stone, first erected in the palace school, then in the Imperial College, and throughout all regional schools. On August 29, 1108 (the second year of Daguan), Minister of Rites and Lecturer Zheng Jiuzhong “ordered the granted stone to be erected” in the Temple of Confucius. The stele contains Emperor Huizong’s decree outlining the “eight virtues” — filial piety, fraternal submission, harmony, affinity, responsibility, compassion, loyalty, and peace — used to select scholars. In essence, it was the supreme imperial decree that established feudal educational policies and school regulations. It serves as an important historical source for studying the school system and imperial examination system of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Artistic Value The Daguan Shengzuo Stele was initially carved in the second year of Daguan (1108) from a single piece of bluish-white stone. The body of the stele is a monolithic carving, featuring high-relief carvings of seven dragons coiled around the top. The turtle base, together with the stele, stands 5.14 meters tall, with the stele body itself being 4.34 meters tall and 0.38 meters thick. The front of the stele head bears six seal characters in regular script reading “Daguan Shengzuo Stele,” inscribed by the powerful prime minister Cai Jing. The text of the stele was composed by Emperor Huizong Zhao Ji and copied in the “slender gold” script by Li Shiyong, Doctor of Calligraphy, under imperial order. The brushwork is elegant and rigorously structured, making it a fine example of calligraphic artistry. The stele’s sophisticated carving craftsmanship and exquisite calligraphy are relatively rare, making it a valuable historical record for the study of Song Dynasty stone carving techniques and calligraphy.

Currently, the Pingxiang Daguan Shengzuo Stele has been designated as a cultural relic protection unit in the fifth batch by the People's Government of Hebei Province.

Address: Ping’an Park, Fengzhou Town, Pingxiang County

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Hebei Province