Stele of the Mulberry Slope Charter

Stele of the Mulberry Slope Charter

The Stele of the Mulberry Slope Charter is a cultural heritage protection unit of Nanzhao County.

Cave Temples and Stone Carvings Category Qing Dynasty, Guangxu Reign, 10th Year (1884 AD)

The Stele of the Mulberry Slope Charter is located inside the Goddess of Silkworms Temple, west of Guozhuang Village Primary School in Huanghou Township.

This site was among the first batch of county-level cultural heritage protection units announced by Nanzhao County in March 1980.

The Stele of the Mulberry Slope Charter stands 1.5 meters tall, 0.65 meters wide, and 0.2 meters thick, and bears an inscription dated to the 10th year of the Guangxu reign (1884). The text was composed and inscribed by a local scholar, and contains 460 characters in regular script. It outlines the natural landscape of Nanzhao and the importance of sericulture and farming in the county’s fiscal revenue: “Nanzhao has barren land and poor people, and relies especially on silkworm breeding to support livelihoods.” To this end, it was deemed necessary to “establish regulations for permanent observance.” The charter required all local gentry and commoners to strictly follow its provisions, “without paying lip service while harboring dissent,” warning that violators would be “reported by local guards and punished by officials,” while those who “formed gangs to extort or stole opportunistically” would be “punished as thieves under the law.”

The reverse side of the stele, with over 270 characters, reviews the historical development of sericulture in China.

This stele holds certain scientific value for researching the historical development of oak silkworm production in our county.

Guozhuang Village: Guozhuang Village is located 7 kilometers northwest of the township government, encompassing 27 natural villages, with 520 households and a population of 1,980. It sits on the western bank of the Huanghou River in a hilly area, higher in the northwest and lower in the southeast. The village has 1,415 mu of arable land and 1,060 mu of forested land, characterized by yellow sandy soil. Agriculture is the main industry, producing crops such as wheat, corn, rice, and sweet potatoes. There is one small Type I reservoir with an effective irrigation area of 345 mu. The village has two health clinics, one veterinary station, and one primary school. The highway from Huanghou to Tianqiao passes through the village.

… Detailed information about Guozhuang Village++