Stone Archway of Yunxia Ancient Temple

Stone Archway of Yunxia Ancient Temple

The Stone Archway of Yunxia Ancient Temple is a Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The stone archway of Yunxia Ancient Temple was built in the 24th year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1844) and was designated as a Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit on June 15, 2007. The archway is well-preserved, with an elegant design, intricate dougong (bracket sets), rich illustrations, and exquisite carvings.

The Yunxia Ancient Temple Archway faces south and is made of red sandstone. The entire structure is built from more than 50 stone blocks, featuring three gates, four pillars, and five stories, with a total height of 10 meters and a width of 8 meters. The bases of the four pillars at the front and back are adorned with a pair of stone lions and a pair of stone elephants respectively. The main beam of the central gate bears the raised inscriptions "Yunxia Ancient Temple" and "Blessings upon the Buddhist Sect" in running regular script. At the top of the archway is a plaque inscribed with the word "Imperial Edict." The archway features a total of 11 inscriptions, 4 pairs of couplets, 15 poems, as well as 20 relief carvings and openwork carvings depicting theatrical scenes, animals, and floral patterns. The authors of these poems and texts include local officials and literati of the time, such as Wang Guo, a Jinshi (advanced scholar) of the seventh year of the Jiaqing reign (1802), who inscribed the couplet on the side gates: “Stone dragons coil around meandering waters; wild cranes perch upon drifting clouds.” The side gate plaques are inscribed with “Breeze Fresh” (left, by Wang Guo) and “Moon White” (right, by Xie Rongting, a Jinshi). The main gate’s pillar couplet—“A humble official, bearing an undeserved fame, is fortunate to exchange it for fields green with crops, dogs napping in flower villages, and a secluded mountain home akin to scholarly chambers,” was inscribed by Mao Junzhang, magistrate of Neijiang County and Zhizhou of Cangxi County. Other contributors include Jinshi Li Tianwu, scholar-official Pan Dengying, associate Jinshi Gao Tingjun, successful examination candidate and county magistrate Liu Zhiman, Liu Yuchan, Zhang Yunya (a selected magistrate), Liu Jingbo (a Confucian scholar and magistrate), as well as students, scholars, and members of the Wenchang Society including Chen Wenxuan, Pan Yuben, and You Qinguang. This distinguishes it from typical civilian merit archways, filial piety archways, or chastity archways—it can be described as a "poetry archway."

In addition, the carvings of flowers, plants, birds, beasts, figures, and battle scenes on the archway are all done in deep relief or openwork carving, showcasing exquisite craftsmanship. Despite nearly 200 years of weathering, they remain largely intact. Even more surprising to the author and fellow travelers were the names of the craftsmen who built the archway, carved on the side gates: on the left side are the names of the builders Tang Xianfang, Tang Guangxing, Zhou Zuen, Zhou Zupéi, Zhou Shouyong, Liu Chaozhào, and Yi Xianfu; on the right are the names of stonemasons Ding Xinggui, Ding Xinglun, Ding Xingsui, and carving artisans Zhou Zuxue, Zhou Zuyan, and Zhou Xiaomo. It is rare for the names of craftsmen to be recorded on archways of this kind, and on this one, the artisans are given a place of honor.

Protective zone: 10 meters beyond the outer edge of the archway foundation.

Construction control zone: 5 meters beyond the protective zone.