Goose Character Pavilion

Goose Character Pavilion

The Goose Character Stele in Jingxi, Guangxi, is housed in the Wangjiang Pavilion by Longtan River in the urban area of the city. It is a stone carving of the single-character "goose" (鹅), replicating the continuous cursive script style of Wang Xizhi from the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The "goose" character is written in one flowing stroke of cursive script, originally penned by Lianghaimen Dannren. In the 20th year of the Jiaqing reign during the Qing Dynasty (1815), it was traced and replicated by Song Qinghe, the magistrate of Guishun Prefecture, and carved by Wei Fan, a county-level scholar-official (a local government clerk). The character stands 2.2 meters tall and 1.35 meters wide, with bold and vigorous strokes, a stable structure, and a free-flowing, uninterrupted brushwork that exemplifies the pinnacle of calligraphic artistry. Above the stele is an inscription titled "Longtan," and on both sides are matching couplets in cursive script by the Ming Dynasty’s Wang Yangming: “Lofty thoughts take flight with the wind, soaring beyond the clouds; harmonious radiance mingles with spring mist, crisp air fills the high autumn sky.” The Goose Character Stele is a key cultural relic protection unit of Jingxi County.