Stele Commemorating Monk Yugong’s Virtuous Deeds

Stele Commemorating Monk Yugong’s Virtuous Deeds

The Stele Commemorating Monk Yugong’s Virtuous Deeds is a cultural relic protected at the provincial level in Shanxi Province.

Stele Commemorating Monk Yugong’s Virtuous Deeds

Stele Commemorating Monk Yugong’s Virtuous Deeds (Second Batch of Provincial Protected Monuments)

Era: Yuan Dynasty

Location: Inside the old city, Chengguan Town, Yicheng County

According to inscriptions on the side of the stele and the 1929 Yicheng County Annals, it was originally erected in Jinxian Temple at the southeast corner of Tongyingfang in the old city of Yicheng County. After the temple was destroyed, it was moved in the first year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty to the Temple of the Goddess of Earth (Houtu Shengmu) located on a high terrace to the east of the old city. In 1938, the Goddess of Earth Temple was burned down by Japanese invaders, but this stele alone survived. In 1992, a hexagonal stele pavilion, enclosing wall, and gate were newly built to protect it.

The stele is made of bluish-gray limestone. Its head is square, carved with two dragons playing with a pearl, and the stele’s top is inscribed in seal script with three lines of nine characters: “Stele Commemorating the Virtuous Deeds of Monk Yugong of Jinxian.” The body of the stele stands 2.54 meters tall, is 1.14 meters wide, and 0.34 meters thick. The text is mainly in regular script, interspersed with some running script, with characters over an inch in size. The inscription primarily describes the virtuous deeds and talents of Monk Yugong, and was both composed and calligraphed in seal script by Zhao Mengfu, the great painter and calligrapher of the Yuan Dynasty.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Provincial Cultural Relics Protected Monuments in Shanxi Province