Dao Guan Ji Cliff Carvings

Dao Guan Ji Cliff Carvings

The Dao Guan Ji Cliff Carvings are a protected cultural heritage site of Hubei Province.

Dao Guan Ji Cliff Carvings

Located in Huangshi Gang Village, Longchiqiao Subdistrict, Macheng City, these are cliff carvings from the Song and Yuan dynasties. The carvings are etched into fine-grained marble, featuring a smooth and flat surface that extends about 20 meters in length and roughly 15 meters in height. According to the 1670 (Kangxi 9th year) edition of the Macheng County Annals, the Dao Guan Ji Cliff Carvings were first created during the Northern Song Dynasty. Originally, there were five stone inscriptions. However, after enduring over a millennium of wind and rain erosion as well as scouring by mountain streams, some parts of the inscriptions have become blurred and are no longer clearly legible. Currently, the following can still be identified: “Li Zhi□ visited here, inscribed on the 19th day of the ninth month in the fourth year of Shaosheng,” with characters about 0.7 meters in size; “On the Shangsi Day of the third month in the year Renxu, Kang Bo visited here with his family”; “Yuanyou …”; “Daguan … Tingchuan”; “Tai Ding of the Great Yuan … Zhengshi …”, all carved in intaglio regular script. The inscriptions feature vigorous calligraphy and distinct characteristics of their respective eras. With detailed historical records and rich cultural connotations, they provide valuable material for the study of local history in Macheng from the Song to the Yuan dynasties.

Source: Hubei Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau