Gourd Mountain Cliff Inscriptions

Gourd Mountain Cliff Inscriptions

The Gourd Mountain Cliff Inscriptions are a cultural relic protection unit of Guangdong Province.

The Northern Song Dynasty–Modern Times Chaozhou Gourd Mountain Cliff Inscriptions are situated on Gourd Mountain in Chaozhou City. Originally called Gen Mountain, it is also known as Lake Mountain or West Lake Mountain because of the nearby West Lake. Gourd Mountain is both a scenic tourist attraction and a site rich in cliff inscriptions. The mountain has many jagged rocks and peculiar stones, some rising straight from the earth, others jutting out sharply, some forming sheer cliffs, and others hugging the water’s edge — making it an ideal place for literati to carve their poetic inscriptions. It can be said that every rock bears engravings and no stone goes unmarked. Since the Song Dynasty, inscriptions have accumulated over the dynasties, creating an impressive collection. Despite historical upheavals, 138 inscribed pieces remain today, including 16 from the Song Dynasty, 1 from the Yuan Dynasty, 24 from the Ming Dynasty, 28 from the Qing Dynasty, 18 from the modern and contemporary periods, and 48 of undetermined age. The content of these inscriptions includes praises of the lake and mountain scenery, expressions of personal sentiments, records of travels, significant historical events, imperial examination name listings, and official government notices. The scripts used include regular script, cursive script, clerical script, seal script, and running script. Notable examples include the Song Dynasty inscriptions “Release of Life,” “Inverted Scenery,” “Yv Xianqing’s Epitaph for His Wife,” “Record of the Reopening of West Lake,” and the massive cliff inscription “Picture of Lake and Mountain” with characters nearly two meters tall.

In July 1962, it was designated as a cultural relic protection unit by the People’s Government of Guangdong Province.

West Lake Subdistrict: Located at the junction of the old and new urban areas, West Lake Subdistrict is named after the nearby scenic West Lake.

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Jurisdiction

It governs six community neighborhood committees: Shangxiping Road, Xinghua Lane, Jiangxi Lane, Zengcuo Lane, Xirong Road, and Yueyuan. The total area of the subdistrict is 0.63 square kilometers, with a population of 26,944 at the end of 2003.

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Major Roads

The subdistrict contains major roads such as Xiyuan Road, Xima Road, Kaiyuan Road, West Ring Road (West), North Ring Road, Xihé Road, Shangxiping Road, Dayin Street, and Xirong Road.

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Honors

The subdistrict... More details about West Lake Subdistrict ++

Further Reading:

· First Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units in Guangdong Province