The Wordless Stele

The Wordless Stele

In front of the Jade Emperor Temple at the summit of Mount Tai's Jade Emperor Peak stands a stone stele that is 6 meters high, 1.2 meters wide, and 0.9 meters thick. The top of the stele is covered with a stone slab, which is yellowish-white in color, giving the structure a simple and robust appearance. Strangely, there is not a single word inscribed on the stele, which is why it is called the "Wordless Stele of Mount Tai." Precisely because it bears no inscriptions, questions remain as to when and by whom it was erected.

Various speculations have been made about this stele. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, many believed it was erected by Qin Shi Huang, with the intention of symbolizing the burning of books. These views were expressed in poems and verses. For example, Wang Zaijin of the Ming dynasty wrote: “The stones of the East Sea flow long and never dry, / The mountain spirits cherish treasures, hiding prime symbols. / Even if fierce flames burn the classics and histories, / Why should the Qin stele be left without a single word?” Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty went even further, asserting: “Its original intent was to burn the books, hence the stele has no words; / Though claimed to set an example, it was a most imprudent act.” However, when examined against historical facts, this view is hard to substantiate. According to *Records of the Grand Historian: The Basic Annals of Qin Shi Huang*, in the 28th year of Qin Shi Huang’s reign (219 BCE), during his second imperial tour, he discussed the Fengshan (Mountaintop Sacrificial) ceremonies with Confucian scholars from the former state of Lu, and then “ascended Mount Tai, erected a stele, performed the Feng ritual, and conducted sacrifices. … Inscriptions were carved on the erected stele, which read: ‘The Emperor ascends the throne, establishes laws and regulations, and his ministers follow with rectitude. In the 26th year, the realm was first unified, yet not all submitted. Personally inspecting the distant people, ascending this Mount Tai, and surveying the eastern extremity.’” It is clear that the stele Qin Shi Huang erected on Mount Tai bore inscriptions and was not wordless. Moreover, the act of book burning was carried out in the 34th year of his reign (213 BCE) following the suggestion of Chancellor Li Si, making it unlikely that plans for book burning had existed six years prior, prompting the creation of a wordless stele.

Another theory suggests that the stele was originally inscribed, but over time, wind and rain eroded the text, wearing it away completely and leaving behind a wordless stele. However, this view also has issues. The existing Wordless Stele shows no severe signs of erosion. Furthermore, it was already referred to as a wordless stele during the Song dynasty. Inscribed steles from the Qin dynasty erected on Mount Tai still had 146 characters legible during the Song dynasty. If the Wordless Stele had also been erected during the Qin dynasty, it would be unlikely that by the Song dynasty not a single character remained.

Since both of the above theories are difficult to support, some have speculated that the stele was likely erected by Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty. According to *Records of the Grand Historian: The Fengshan Sacrifices*, in the first year of the Yuanshou era (110 BCE), Emperor Wu of Han visited Mount Tai for the Fengshan ceremony. “He traveled east to Mount Tai, where the plants and trees had not yet sprouted leaves, so he ordered stones to be brought up and erected at the peak of Mount Tai.” This shows that Emperor Wu did indeed erect a stone stele at the summit of Mount Tai, and historical records do not mention him “carving inscriptions,” so it is not unreasonable to say that the “Wordless Stele” was erected by Emperor Wu of Han.

Gu Yanwu of the Qing dynasty, in his *Supplementary Records of Shandong Archaeological Investigations: Arguing the Wordless Stele is a Han Dynasty Stele*, refuted the claim that the Wordless Stele was a Qin stele and strongly advocated that it was erected by Emperor Wu of Han. He argued that *Records of the Grand Historian* always recorded Qin Shi Huang first erecting a stele and then carving inscriptions on it, clearly noting both the “erection” and the “inscription.” If Qin Shi Huang had erected a separate wordless stele without any inscriptions on Mount Tai, *Records of the Grand Historian* would not have failed to mention it. Similarly, if Emperor Wu of Han had erected a stele and then carved inscriptions on it, *Records of the Grand Historian* and *Book of Han* would not have omitted such an event. Gu Yanwu’s argument is quite convincing, but doubts still linger. Why would the ambitious Emperor Wu of Han erect only a wordless stele and not take the opportunity to carve inscriptions on it to glorify himself? This seems somewhat out of character for Emperor Wu. Clearly, until conclusive evidence is found, the mystery of the Wordless Stele remains unsolved.

Location of the Attraction

Located under the main gate of the Jade Emperor Summit, to the north of the Fengding Platform