Tomb and Temple of Cangjie

Tomb and Temple of Cangjie

The Tomb and Temple of Cangjie is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Tomb and Temple of Cangjie are located in Yangwu Village, Shiguan Town, Baishui County, Shaanxi Province.

Cangjie, originally surnamed Hougang, named Jie, and also known as Shihuangshi, was born on Niaoyu Mountain in Yangwu Village, Baishui County, Shaanxi Province (another account claims he was from Linfen, Shanxi). He lived to be 110 years old and served as the Left Historian under the Yellow Emperor, Xuanyuan. He is the creator of China’s original pictographic script and one of the earliest architects of China’s official system and surnames. Legend says he looked up at the heavens and studied all things on earth, creating the “Bird Track Script” that stunned the world — earning him the title of the “Progenitor of Human Civilization.” The Yellow Emperor, deeply impressed by his achievements, bestowed upon him the surname “Cang,” which means “one person above the ruler, and one ruler below the people.” Because Cangjie’s act of creating writing moved heaven, the Jade Emperor sent a “Grain Rain” down to Earth as a reward for his sacred work — this is now known as the solar term “Grain Rain.”

The Baishui Cangjie Temple covers an area of 17 mu (approximately 1.13 hectares) and is roughly rectangular in shape. The structures within the temple are arranged along a central axis from south to north and include a screen wall, main gate, east and west theater stages, front hall, bell and drum towers, reporting hall, main hall, rear hall, and east and west side rooms — totaling 70 rooms. Adjacent to the rear hall lies Cangjie’s tomb mound and the surrounding tomb garden. Most of the existing buildings in the temple date back to the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, characterized by elaborate decorations and strong local flavor. The temple houses numerous stone steles from various dynasties, many of which have been lost over time due to wars, but 18 still remain and are displayed in the front hall. Among them, the Cangsheng Bird Track Script Stele remains well-preserved in both script and stone. The steles date from the Eastern Han Dynasty through the Wei, Sixteen Kingdoms, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing, and Republican periods. The temple grounds are shaded by ancient cypresses, lush and thriving. There are a total of 46 ancient cypress trees and over 10 ancient locust trees, all of considerable age — the youngest cypress is over 2,800 years old. The cypress branches spread wide, their gnarled forms twisting in unique poses, each given its own name, and celebrated for their peculiar shapes. Together with the ancient cypress groves of Huangling in Shaanxi and the Confucius Temple in Qufu, they are known as one of China’s three great ancient temple cypress clusters.

The tomb mound is enclosed by an octagonal wall, with entrances on the east and west sides. There are 18 stone steles within the temple. The original construction date of the temple is unknown. Legend says the mound was built during the Han Dynasty, and repairs were made to both the tomb and temple during the Jiayou era (1056–1063) of the Northern Song Dynasty.

In 2001, the Tomb and Temple of Cangjie were listed in the fifth group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units by the State Council as ancient architecture from the Ming and Qing periods.

Cangjie, surnamed Hougang, named Jie, and also known as Shihuangshi, commonly referred to as Cangjie or Cangjie, has uncertain birth and death dates. He was from Nanle County. As the historian of the Yellow Emperor, he is the creator of Chinese characters and is revered as the “Sage of Character Creation” for his legendary role in inventing writing. Today, in the northwest of Liangcun Township, Nanle County, lies Wucun Village (originally called Wulou Village, anciently known as Shiguan Village, named after Cangjie’s hometown), where the Tomb of Cangjie, the Temple of Cangjie, and the Script Creation Platform are located. Historians believe that Cangjie was born here and was buried here.

Legend says that Cangjie “first created written characters to replace knotted cords.” Before this, people used knots to record events — tying a large knot for major events, and… More detailed information about Cangjie ++

Further reading:

· Fifth Group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units