Xishan Stele

Xishan Stele

The Xishan Stele is a cultural relic protection unit of Chongqing Municipality.

The Xishan Stele is located in Gao sun Tang Subdistrict, Wanzhou District, Chongqing. Carved in the first year of the Jianzhong Jingguo era of the Northern Song Dynasty (1101), the inscription on the stele is the essay “Record of Xishan” by Huang Tingjian—one of the “Four Masters of the Song Dynasty”—documenting his visit to Nanpu’s Xishan Mountain. It seamlessly blends narrative, scenery description, and emotional expression, achieving remarkable naturalness and conciseness while lavishly praising the scenery of Wanzhou. The text, consisting of 173 characters, was inscribed on a rock face. It measures 1 meter in height and 2.6 meters in width, with 21 lines, and most characters are about 10 cm in size. It is a grand masterpiece among Huang Tingjian’s running script works and has been known as the Xishan Stele ever since.

Inscription Text:

I, Tingjian, was granted grace and returned eastward. On my way through Nanpu, Magistrate Gao Zhongben hosted a banquet at Xishan, and his aide Tan Chudao also joined us. Xishan is located to the west of the district. Crossing a large ravine and ascending halfway up the mountain, one finds a dense grove of bamboo and cypress trees, with springs gathering into a large lake, surrounded by pavilions and terraces. There are five monk dwellings, collectively called “Lefengyuan.” The towers and pavilions overlap, appearing and disappearing amid the mist, with light and shadow shimmering on the water. The locals here hold their annual purification rites here. Throughout the entire Kuizhou region, stretching east to the Wu Gorge and west to [characters], no place rivals Nanpu in scenic beauty of forests and springs. The monks of the temple, led by Wen Zhao, who enjoys hosting events, built an eastern and a western hall amidst lush woods and tall bamboos. Zhongben found them neither extravagant nor shabby—warm in winter and cool in summer—perfect for sightseeing. Jianzhong Jingguo Year One, the second month, day Xinyou. Written by Huang Luzhi of Jiangxi.

Creation Background

In the second month of the first year of the Jianzhong Jingguo era of the Northern Song Dynasty (1101), the poet and calligrapher Huang Tingjian, after being demoted to Fuzhou (now Fuling, Chongqing) and Rongzhou (now Yibin, Sichuan), encountered Emperor Huizong’s amnesty and was returning east. Passing through Nanpu (now Wanzhou, Chongqing), he was invited by Magistrate Gao Benzhong to visit Nanpu’s Xishan Mountain. He wrote “Record of Xishan,” which was later engraved on stone, becoming the famous Xishan Stele.

Artistic Appreciation

The Xishan Stele preserves an authentic specimen of Huang Tingjian’s running script. The inscription includes the line: “Throughout the entire Kuizhou region, stretching east to the Wu Gorge and west to Yuyu, no place rivals Nanpu in scenic beauty of forests and springs.” The brushwork is vigorous, dynamic, and transcendentally elegant, with a free and graceful charm. It has been hailed by later generations as “the finest surviving example of Huang’s calligraphy in the world.” In the Qing Dynasty, a hexagonal pavilion was built to cover and protect the stele. Nearby is the “Wanzhou Xishan Pavilion Record” written by the local magistrate in the third year of the Ji Ping era of the Northern Song Dynasty (1066).

In 2000, the Xishan Stele was designated by the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government as part of the first group of Chongqing Cultural Relics Protection Units.