Eastern Cliff Cliffside Carvings

Eastern Cliff Cliffside Carvings

The Eastern Cliff Cliffside Carvings are a protected cultural relic site of Guangdong Province.

The Eastern Cliff Cliffside Carvings are located at the southern foot of Dongshan Mountain in Chengnan Subdistrict, Chaoyang District. They form one of the more concentrated and sizable groups of cliff carvings still extant in Guangdong Province.

Dongshan in Chaoyang is the area with the highest concentration of cliff carvings, with over 200 existing inscriptions. Among them, the oldest date back to the Tang Dynasty, such as the inscription that reads “A single pillar holds up the sky, majestic through the ages; A lone vase hangs on the cliff, fresh for ten thousand years,” signed “Changjiang Qiao.” Next to it are reliefs of a pillar and a vase, and the calligraphy is vigorous and elegant. According to the *Chronicles of Chaoyang County*, “In the early years of the Dali era of the Tang Dynasty, Chen Baotong became a monk at Dongyan Temple, studying under Master Huizhao, and inscribed the couplet ‘A single pillar holds up the sky,’ which was then carved into the stone.” On the roof of Zhuosuo Temple on Dongshan, there is a large natural boulder inscribed with the two bold characters “Feiyun” (Flying Clouds), displaying powerful and majestic brushwork with a sweeping momentum. Beside these characters is a smaller line that reads: “Spring of Dingwei Year, Zhizheng Era, inscribed by Wang Yongwen of Lingwu, Lingxia.” Wang Yongwen, from Lingwu, Ningxia, was a renowned poet and calligrapher of the Yuan Dynasty. During the Zhizheng era of Emperor Shundi of the Yuan Dynasty, he served as Prefect of Chaozhou Road. When he visited Dongshan, looking up at the emerald peaks, gazing over the vast plains and rivers below, with distant misty waters and swirling clouds nearby, he was deeply moved and enthusiastically wrote the two characters “Feiyun.” In the stone wall of Jinding Temple on Dongshan, four characters—“Zhuosuo Ancient Temple”—are inscribed, handwritten by Xiao Duanmeng, a scholar from the Ming Dynasty’s Jiajing era and an imperial inspector of Jiangxi. On another stone wall of Dongyan Temple, there is a poem titled “A Tour of Dongshan” by Tang Zhongyue, a literary figure of the early Qing Dynasty. Both the calligraphy and poetic content of this cliff carving are excellent. In the northern section of Dongshan, there are the Great North Cliff Temple and Small North Cliff Temple, built in the Gengwu year of the Ming Longqing era (1570 AD). On the mountain at the Great North Cliff Temple is the inscription “Lansheng” (Enjoying the Scenery), written by Yang Xueli, a calligrapher from the late Qing and early Republican period. His calligraphy is vigorous, with strokes as strong as copper hooks and iron strokes. Yang Xueli was a selected scholar at the end of the Qing Dynasty, served as principal of Shantou Guocui School in the ninth year of the Republic of China (1920 AD), and after the liberation, became a member of the Guangdong Provincial Institute of Culture and History. His grandson, Yang Kai, is also a well-known calligrapher in Shantou.

In 2012, the People's Government of Guangdong Province announced it as part of the seventh batch of cultural relics protection units in Guangdong Province.

Address: Southern Foot of Dongshan, Dakeng Community, Chengnan Subdistrict, Chaoyang District, Shantou City

Chengnan Subdistrict: Chengnan Subdistrict is located in Chaoyang District, Shantou City, Guangdong Province. It governs:

440513003001 111 Xingong Neighborhood Committee

440513003002 111 Wuxiang Neighborhood Committee

440513003003 111 Xinhua Neighborhood Committee

440513003004 111 Longjing Neighborhood Committee

440513003005 112 Houshuangyuan Neighborhood Committee

440513003006 111 Koumei Neighborhood Committee

440513003…… Detailed information about Chengnan Subdistrict++

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Cultural Relics Protection Units in Guangdong Province