Shao Gong Stele Pavilion

Shao Gong Stele Pavilion

Shao Gong Stele Pavilion is a cultural relic protection unit of Henan Province.

Shao Gong Stele Pavilion is located in Dongli Village, Sucun Township, approximately 17 kilometers southeast of Lingbao City. It was erected in the 15th year of the Daoguang reign during the Qing Dynasty (1835), making it 175 years old. The inscriptions on the stele recount how brothers Shao Zixing and Shao Ziqiang built it to honor their father, Shao Quanren, for his magnanimity and acts of charity in supporting orphans and aiding the poor. In 1978, it was announced as a key cultural relic protection unit by the Lingbao County Revolutionary Committee, and in January 2016, it was included in the seventh batch of Henan Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units.

According to the *Lingbao Cultural Relics Annals*, the Shao Gong Stele Pavilion is a brick structure built in the hip-and-gable roof style. The roof consists of three imitation ancient ridges, with the central one being taller and the two side ones lower, all in the hip-and-gable roof architectural style. The four vertical ridges rise sharply and are adorned with standing beasts. Each of the three eaves is decorated with brick carvings: the central one features the “Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity” design, the left one the “Wealth and Honor” design, and the right one the “Pine and Crane” design. Inside is a stone stele measuring 1.03 meters in height and 0.70 meters in width, with a circular top. Both sides of the stele are inscribed in intaglio regular script: the front reads “Shao Gong Spirit Way Stele, Erected in the 15th Year of the Daoguang Reign of the Great Qing,” and the back reads “Record of the Shao Gong Spirit Way Stele.”

The stele features 20 carved floral patterns, the largest of which is one square chi (approximately 1 meter) in size, and the longest stretches six chi (about 2 meters). These include motifs such as “Three Friends of Winter,” “Five Blessings Descend Upon the Door,” “Evergreen Pines and Cypresses,” “Prosperous Peonies,” “Soaring Dragons and Dancing Phoenixes,” and “Cranes and Deer Extending Life.” The embedded stele has the characters “Leave a Lasting Fragrance Through the Ages” inscribed on its front top, flanked by engraved cloud motifs. The central vertical inscription reads “Spirit Way Stele of Shao Gong, Posthumously Honored as Xiu-Zhi-Lang, Nature-Heaven Shao,” with decorative thread-carved cloud patterns on the sides. The main body of the stele vertically inscribes 12 characters: “Spirit Way Stele of Example-Gifted and Virtue-Sky Shao Gong.” The top of the stele bears the date “In the Summer Month of the Yi-Wei Year, 15th Year of Daoguang,” and is signed by “Son: Zixing, Ziqiang, and Grandsons: Luo, Wu, Hai, Xi, Han.” On both sides of the stele are carved couplets: the upper line reads “The Model Remains, But Descendants Must Uphold Ancient Virtues,” and the lower line reads “Virtuous Deeds Linger, Teaching Generations to Embrace Noble Customs.” The back top of the stele vertically inscribes “Eternal Fortune and Blessings,” beneath which is the intaglio title “Record of the Shao Gong Spirit Way Stele.” The inscription consists of 14 lines, each containing up to 41 characters.

After nearly 200 years of weathering, the Shao Gong Stele Pavilion still stands majestically. Over the past two centuries, rain and wind erosion, as well as a flood, carved out a ditch over 10 meters wide and 5 meters deep on the pavilion’s northern side, leaving only 20 centimeters between the northeast corner of the stele base and the edge of the ditch—putting the entire structure at risk of collapse. In March 2006, the Shao Gong Stele Pavilion conservation project commenced. The ditch was reinforced, slopes were shored up, perimeter walls were added, a gatehouse was constructed, and since then, the pavilion has been effectively protected.

Dongli Village: Dongli Village…… More information about Dongli Village++

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Henan Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units