Cloud Peak Mountain and Tianzhu Mountain Cliff Inscriptions

Cloud Peak Mountain and Tianzhu Mountain Cliff Inscriptions

The Cloud Peak Mountain and Tianzhu Mountain Cliff Inscriptions are designated as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Together with the Tianzhu Mountain inscriptions, they are collectively known as the “Cloud Peak Cliff Carvings.” There are 16 extant Northern Wei Dynasty cliff carvings and one from the Northern Qi Dynasty. Above the mountainside, you can find the “Zheng Wengong Lower Stele,” “Poem on Studying Scriptures,” “Poem on Viewing the Sea,” “Poem on Singing of the Flying Immortal Chamber,” and inscriptions by Geng Funu. At the mountaintop, there are inscriptions such as “Inscription on Cloud Peak Mountain,” “Inscription on the Names of the Nine Immortals,” “Chisongzi,” “Wangzi Jin,” “Anqi Zi,” “Fúqiū Zi,” and “Xiànmen Zi.” The eastern and western peaks also feature inscriptions and steles (such as “Left Pavilion,” “Mountain Gate,” and “Record of Revisiting Cloud Peak Mountain”). At the southern end of the mountain pass, on a massive rock, there are the “Sitting Stone at the Gate” and “Right Pavilion Inscription.” Among them, the most precious stele is the “Zheng Wengong Lower Stele.” The “Zheng Wengong Stele” was inscribed by Zheng Daozhao, who served as the Governor of Guangzhou (later transferred to Qingzhou) during the Northern Wei Dynasty. It is one of the representative works of Wei stele calligraphy. Its calligraphic style is noted for its natural beauty, inheriting the traditions of seal and clerical scripts while paving the way for the Sui and Tang styles. It holds an important place in the history of Chinese calligraphy.

Cloud Peak Mountain has a total of 40 cliff inscriptions (including four newly discovered inscriptions of the Four Immortals in 2000), among which 21 are from the Northern Dynasties, 8 from the Song Dynasty, 2 from the Ming Dynasty, 2 from the Qing Dynasty, and 7 of undetermined periods. Except for one Ming Dynasty inscription located on the sunny side of the mountain, the rest are distributed on the shady side and the mountaintop. Among these, the inscriptions by Zheng Daozhao, Governor of Guangzhou during the Northern Wei Dynasty, have the greatest influence and highest value.

Most of the cliff inscriptions from the Northern Dynasties on Cloud Peak Mountain bear inscriptions dating to the fourth year of the Yongping era (511 AD), remnants from Zheng Daozhao’s tenure as Governor of Guangzhou. There is also the “Record of Revisiting Cloud Peak Mountain” by his son, Zheng Shuzu, inscribed in the third year of the Heqing era during the Northern Qi Dynasty. Later, literati from the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties also left inscriptions here.

The documentation and study of the Cloud Peak Cliff Carvings began with Zhao Mingcheng of the Northern Song Dynasty. In his work “Jinshi Lu” (Records of Metal and Stone), he included seven items such as the “Zheng Xi Lower Stele,” “Climbing Cloud Peak Mountain Poem” (“Poem on Studying Scriptures”), and “Zheng Shuzu’s Record of Cloud Peak Mountain.” The “Tongzhi” by Zheng Qiao of the Southern Song Dynasty and “Baoke Congbian” by Chen Si also documented the Cloud Peak Cliff Carvings. Afterward, the Cloud Peak Cliff Carvings faded into obscurity until the rise of stele studies during the Qianjia period of the Qing Dynasty, when their fame soared and many scholars documented and researched them. From that time on, the calligraphy theory community commonly refers to the Northern Dynasties cliff inscriptions on Laizhou’s Cloud Peak Mountain, Daji Mountain, Pingdu’s Tianzhu Mountain, and Qingzhou’s Linglong Mountain collectively as the “Cloud Peak Cliff Carvings.”

Wenfenglu Subdistrict: Wenfenglu Subdistrict is located in the southern part of Laizhou City, bordering Wenchang and Yong’an to the north, connecting to Zhashan Town to the east and south, and adjacent to Hutouya Town to the west. Its maximum north-south distance is 6.5 kilometers, and the maximum east-west distance is 8 kilometers, covering a total area of 39.9 square kilometers. It has 2,066 hectares of arable land, governs 51 administrative villages, and has a population of 19,000. The subdistrict office is located in Nanshilipu Village, about 5 kilometers from the city center. This information is sourced from Baidu Maps, and the final results are subject to Baidu Maps data.

Historical Evolution

Human activity in this area dates back to the Neolithic Age. In the mid-Ming Dynasty, the Xia family migrated here from Sichuan… For more detailed information about Wenfenglu Subdistrict ++

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units