Stone Carvings on Jiliang Mountain

Stone Carvings on Jiliang Mountain

The Stone Carvings on Jiliang Mountain are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Stone Carvings on Jiliang Mountain

Jiliang Mountain, also known as Sili Mountain, was renamed in recent years as Liangshan gained increasing fame, in an effort to develop the area. It is located in Daimiao Township, 50 kilometers west of Dongping County, Tai’an City, Shandong Province (originally 10 kilometers north of the former Liangshan County, within Daimiao Township). According to inscriptions: the mountain was covered with thorny bushes, hence the name “Jiliang Mountain” (Thorny Good Mountain). By the Song Dynasty, a patrol inspection office was established here “to secure the region,” and it was then renamed “Sili Mountain.” Though not large, since the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it has been a renowned religious mountain in northern China where the “Three Teachings” (Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism) converge. It also gained legendary status as the place where Song Jiang, Chao Gai, and others first gathered.

The mountain originally housed temples and shrines representing Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, dating back about 1,400 years to the Northern and Southern Dynasties period: at the front was the “Wenchang Pavilion,” a Confucian structure consisting of three rooms and one courtyard, with a statue of Confucius inside; in the middle was the “Goddess Hall,” with four rooms and a statue of the Goddess; there were also three rooms each on the east and west corridors. According to the Ming Chongzhen-era “Inscription on the Reconstruction of the Golden Mountain Temples and Gilding of Statues on Jiliang Mountain” and the “Inscription on the Completion of the Jade Emperor Pavilion” erected around the same time: in Dongyuan Prefecture (the former name of Dongping), fifty patrol stations west of the city, Jiliang Mountain once had a Grand Buddha Hall, Wenchang Pavilion, Bixia Temple, Goddess Hall, and Zhenwu Temple.

Daimiao Town: Daimiao Township is the westernmost township in Tai’an City, located at the border between Henan and Shandong, bordered by the Yellow River to the west and Dongping Lake to the east. It covers a total area of 110 square kilometers, with a population of 34,000, including 1% Hui people. With a long history, numerous historical sites, profound cultural heritage, and simple folk customs, it is known as a pearl on the land of southwestern Shandong. According to records, during the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty, a family surnamed Dai built a village here and constructed a temple nearby, hence the name Daimiao (Dai’s Temple).

It enjoys a superior geographical location and convenient transportation. Daimiao is only 30 kilometers from Liangshan Station on the Beijing-Kowloon Railway, and National Highway 220 runs north-south through the township... More details about Daimiao Town++

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units