Ancient Battlefield Steles at Bangshuiya

Ancient Battlefield Steles at Bangshuiya

The Ancient Battlefield Steles at Bangshuiya are designated as a cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province.

The Ancient Battlefield Steles at Bangshuiya are located in Xiaobangshui Village, Funing County, and are Ming Dynasty stone carvings.

In September of the first year of the Longqing era (1567) during the Ming Dynasty, tens of thousands of cavalry from the Tümed tribe of Mongolia invaded through the Beijielingkou section of the Great Wall north of Funing, plundering several counties including Funing, Lulong, Changli, and Leting. In October, Brigadier General Zhang Chen led his cavalry force of three thousand men and completely annihilated the invading Tümed forces at Bangshuiya. This battle is considered a rare instance of a smaller Ming force defeating a much larger enemy. To commemorate this great victory, a Guan Yu Temple was built on the original battlefield site, with a statue of Zhang Chen placed beside that of Guan Yu, and a stele was erected to record the event. Today, there are still several surviving battlefield commemorative steles from the Longqing and Wanli eras of the Ming Dynasty, as well as multiple temple restoration steles from the Wanli, Chongzhen, and Daoguang eras of the Qing Dynasty.

On July 15, 1993, the Ancient Battlefield Steles at Bangshuiya were announced by the People's Government of Hebei Province as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units in Hebei Province