Jade Seal Rock

Jade Seal Rock

Jade Seal Rock is a cultural relic protection unit of Hubei Province.

Jade Seal Rock may not be large in size, but it enjoys great fame. From Nanzhang County to Xunjian, the bus ride covers 75 kilometers and takes about 100 minutes. Surrounded by mountains, the towering cliffs of Jade Seal Rock rise hundreds of feet high, their steep faces standing like a screen—hence it is also called “Bao Pu Rock.” Legend has it that during the Spring and Autumn Period, Bian He, a man from the State of Chu, found an uncut jade here and presented it to the Chu king, only to be rejected and falsely accused of offering a stone, for which he was punished by having his feet cut off. Bian He wept bitterly over the jade here, eventually moving the Chu king who then ordered the rock to be split open. A precious jade was found inside and carved into a jade bi, named the “Heshi Bi” (Jade Disk of He). The rock thus got its name. Jade Seal Rock stands several zhang tall, with a hollow cave area of about 100 square meters. It houses multiple stone carvings, one of which is a poem by Wang Shou, an ancient poet from Jingmen: “Two feet cut off, truly pitiful; ten cities’ worth, its value shines. Jade and stone will finally part—yet people then could not tell.” Just twenty short characters clearly recount the full story of the Heshi Bi.

The inscriptions inside are excellent. The characters “玉印岩” (Jade Seal Rock) are carved on the rock face, each character spanning three feet, with vigorous and powerful strokes. Below is a natural stone chamber, six zhang high, five zhang wide, and four zhang deep. It originally housed a statue of Bian He (now the head is damaged), in front of which stand over ten stone tablets, the earliest dating back to the 23rd year of the Ming Chenghua era (1487). On the right wall of the chamber is a square stone niche, said to be the spot where Bian He once extracted the jade. About a hundred steps up from this rock is a cave that can accommodate over 200 people. At the top of the cave is a pool about 40 zhang in circumference, beside which stands the Temple of Bian He, believed to be the site of his former residence. To the east of the rock lies Bian He’s tomb. Since the Tang and Song dynasties, many literati have visited and left poetic inscriptions here.

Location

Banqiao Town, Nanzhang County, Xiangyang City, Hubei Province

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Hubei Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units