Stele of the Lishui Stone Bridge

Stele of the Lishui Stone Bridge

The Stele of the Lishui Stone Bridge is a cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province.

The Stele of the Lishui Stone Bridge is located within the campus of Donghan Village Primary School, about 2.5 kilometers north of Nanhe County. The stele was carved in the 11th year of the Kaihuang reign during the Sui Dynasty (591 AD). It stands 2 meters tall, 0.92 meters wide, and 0.29 meters thick, resting on a tortoise-shaped pedestal, though the tortoise’s head has been broken off. The semi-circular top of the stele features a carving of four dragons, and the title tablet is inscribed in relief seal script reading “Great Sui? Hold [Rest obscured]”. The stele is a provincial-level protected cultural relic. Its lower section bears an inscription by Yi Zongzhou, the magistrate of Nanhe County in the 11th year of the Zhizheng reign of the Yuan Dynasty (1353), who composed a poem about the Sui stele. The top of the stele also includes a small seal script note by Yi Zongzhou’s son, describing the stele as having “majestic characters and exquisite clerical script, worthy of being emulated.”

The lower part of the stele body has become partially illegible due to weathering and erosion, and both sides have been chipped and damaged, leaving uneven edges. In 1976, the local government built a pyramidal-roofed stele pavilion to protect the stele. In 2008, the government constructed a new pyramidal-roofed stele pavilion to further protect it, enclosing the stele with iron railings.

The Stele of the Lishui Stone Bridge records the flooding of the Lishui River during the Sui Dynasty, geographical changes, and the efforts of local people to build the bridge to facilitate transportation. It provides detailed historical documentation and holds significant scientific value for research on the historical evolution of the Lishui River. In 1982, it was designated as a provincial-level key cultural relic protection unit.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Hebei Province