Biluo Stele

Biluo Stele

The Biluo Stele is a cultural tourism attraction.

Located within Longxing Temple in Xinjiang County, Shanxi. The temple was originally built during the Tang Dynasty and was initially named Biluo Guan (Green Void Temple). The stele was situated inside the temple, hence its name. Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty stayed here and renamed it Longxing Palace; later, when monks occupied the site, it was changed to Longxing Temple. The calligraphy on the stele is ancient in style, with exquisite brushwork, and is renowned for its large seal script. The *Shan You Jin Shi Cun Lüe* states that a Taoist priest prayed for the stele to be carved, then shut the door, closed his eyes, and meditated for three days. When he opened the door and looked out, a pair of cranes were dancing, and the inscriptions on the stele had appeared as if by magic. The stele is 2.26 meters tall, 1.03 meters wide, and 21 centimeters thick. The inscriptions were carved in the third year of the Zongzhang era of the Tang Dynasty (670 AD), commissioned by Han Wang (King of Han), Yuanjia, and Jiasheng—sons of Emperor Gaozu. It consists of twenty-one lines, each containing thirty-two characters, totaling six hundred and thirty characters after accounting for blanks. The content relates to Han Wang, Yuanjia, and their sons Li Xun, Li Yi, Li Zhuan, and Li Zhan, who commissioned the carving as a prayer for their mother (Lady Fang, née Yuanning) during her period of mourning. Twenty years later, in the eleventh year of the Xiantong era of the Tang Dynasty (870 AD), Zheng Chenggui was ordered to inscribe an explanatory text on the lower part of the stele’s reverse side. The original text has suffered slight damage, traditionally believed to have been caused by...

Tang Dynasty’s Li Yangbing, who reportedly struck it with a hammer. Later generations made a rubbing of the original and re-carved a new stele, which stands beside the original and is referred to as the “new stele.” The reverse side of the new stele bears the inscription “Jin Dading 23rd Year.” Longxing Temple features Buddhist halls, towering pagodas, statues, and a forest of ancient steles, all of which are deeply captivating.