Ancient Brick Cave in Daziyng Camp

Ancient Brick Cave in Daziyng Camp

The ancient brick cave is located in the southern part of Daziyng Village, Xiyán Township, within the former Xiaohan Ancient Road. The cave runs east-west, measuring 12.4 meters in length, 4.1 meters in height, and 6.8 meters in width. It is constructed from blue bricks, with stone foundations below and white hemp stone slabs forming the base. The upper structure consists of horizontally laid blue bricks arranged in staggered joints, with white lime used to seal the gaps between them. The flat-laid blue bricks start to arch at the 33rd layer, transitioning to side-laid blue bricks to form an arched structure. This is then followed by another layer of flat-laid blue bricks, and the process of side-laying is repeated—three times in total, creating three layers of flat bricks, three layers of side-laid bricks, and finally finished with a side-laid surface.

At the top center of the western entrance of the cave, there is a horizontal stone lintel made of grayish-white stone, measuring 0.8 meters in length (partially surviving) and 0.3 meters in width. It bears an inscription in intaglio reading “三藩要地” (“Strategic Land of the Three Feudatories”), though the character “地” (land) is missing, leaving only “三藩要x.” On the central upper part of the eastern gate, there is a stone plaque made of bluestone, 1.2 meters long and 0.5 meters wide, inscribed in intaglio with the characters “中土首镇” (“Foremost Town of the Central Plains”). The character “土” has a dot added to its upper right, turning it into “圡.” On the right side, there is a vertical intaglio inscription reading “天啟四年冬立” (“Erected in the Winter of the 4th Year of the Tianqi Era”).

Above the cave entrance, there was once a Guan Yu Temple, which has since been destroyed. Today, two stone steles and a front gate tower of the temple remain.

Stone Steles: There are two steles. One is intact, featuring a stone lintel carved in relief with two dragons playing with a pearl, their heads and tails aligned. Below is a turtle pedestal, 1 meter long, 0.74 meters wide, and 0.44 meters high. The overall stele pedestal is 3 meters tall and 0.15 meters thick. The inscription on the stele reads “重修关圣帝庙落成碑记” (“Record of the Completion of the Rebuilt Temple of the Divine Emperor Guan”), and it was erected in the 7th year of the Chongzhen era. The second stele has a damaged lintel. It is a rectangular prism with a turtle pedestal below; the turtle is depicted raising its head as if walking, with clear carvings on its shell. The turtle measures 1 meter in length, 0.57 meters in width, and the overall pedestal is 2.07 meters tall, with the stele being 0.7 meters wide and 0.16 meters thick. This stele was also erected in the 7th year of the Chongzhen era. Both steles were erected at the same time and document Guan Yu’s protection of the villagers, as well as activities of Li Zicheng in the area.

Gate Tower: The gate tower is 5.3 meters tall, 3.3 meters wide, and 2.28 meters deep. The gate itself is 3.1 meters high and 1.55 meters wide, and it served as the main gate of the original Guan Yu Temple. The gate tower is located about 10 meters north of the stone steles. Most of its surface is coated with white lime. It features a traditional hip-and-gable roof with upturned corners. Around the eaves are rows of flying rafters. Below the rafters on the front façade is a plain brick-carved horizontal lintel, beneath which are four sets of carved brick brackets. Between the brackets are bas-reliefs of peony flowers, and below that are four sets of floral brick carvings—two central ones depicting a deer and plum blossoms, and two side ones showing chrysanthemums. On the lower parts on both sides are brick carvings of human figures. Further down is a brick-carved arched gateway, with lotus patterns on either side of the gate. Within these lotus patterns are brick-carved couplets, now partially illegible. The visible parts read: 僣窃特尊王口人，甲冑巾慎囗擉子.

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