Stele of "Petition to Open the Hall by the Criminal Investigation Prefectural Official"

The stele titled "Petition to Open the Hall by the Criminal Investigation Prefectural Official"

The stele titled "Petition to Open the Hall by the Criminal Investigation Prefectural Official" is a protected cultural relic of Hunan Province.

The stele titled "Petition to Open the Hall by the Criminal Investigation Prefectural Official"

Dating back to the Song Dynasty, this stele is housed in the Changde Museum in Hunan Province. Its elegant and finely carved inscriptions on stone preserve Buddhist stories.

Originally located in the ancient Qianming Temple on Deshan, the stele was moved to Binhu Park in 1979 with the approval of the Changde Municipal People's Government, and then relocated to the Changde Museum in 1994. The ancient Qianming Temple where the Song Dynasty stele was originally housed was first built during the Tang Dynasty, underwent multiple restorations over the years, and was destroyed during the Sino-Japanese War in 1943. The remaining structures were demolished in 1958, leaving only the Song Dynasty stele. The "Petition to Open the Hall by the Criminal Investigation Prefectural Official" stele measures 198 cm in length, 126 cm in width, and 13 cm in thickness, and is made of sandstone. It was created in the first year of the Shaoding era of the Song Dynasty (1228), with the front bearing an inscription in intaglio regular script reading "Petition to Open the Hall by the Criminal Investigation Prefectural Official." The sides of the stele are adorned with intaglio decorative patterns. The main text is written in neat and elegant regular script, documenting the opening of the temple hall and the ordination of monks. The reverse side lists details of the temple’s land holdings. The signature reads “Lin, Criminal Investigation Commissioner and Magistrate of Changde.” According to the "Official Register," the text was authored by Lin Zhongwen, who served as the Magistrate of Changde at the time. This stele holds significant historical value for the study of Buddhism in the Song Dynasty and the system of temple land ownership.

On January 24, 1959, it was designated as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit by the People's Committee of Hunan Province, with the reference number 114.

Source: Overview of Cultural Relics in Hunan