The Xiaoxie Stone Cliff Inscription

The Xiaoxie Stone Cliff Inscription

The Xiaoxie Stone Cliff Inscription is located in front of the Canhua Pavilion, outside the mountain gate of the Lingguang Temple on Mount Yinna in YanYang Town, Meixian District. The stone is approximately 1.5 meters high and 2.5 meters wide, and bears a poem inscribed by Li Shijun. The inscription is carved in intaglio, using regular script, with each character covering about 0.12 square meters. The text reads: “Beyond the Iron Bridge lies the Peach Blossom Spring; peach blossoms on the stone mark no year. To those journeying from the Central Plains in horse-drawn carts, pause your dusty ride here a moment.” Li Shijun, also known as Erhe, was a native of Jiaying Prefecture (now Meixian District). During the Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty, he served as an editor in the Hanlin Academy and was a loyalist of the fallen Ming regime, harboring anti-Qing sentiments. In the second year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1645), he secretly returned and went into seclusion at the Lingguang Temple on Mount Yinna. Behind the stone inscription is the “Iron Bridge,” which was funded by Li Shijun.

YanYang Town: Located in the northeast of Guangdong Province, YanYang Town in Meixian District lies at the foot of the Wuzhi Peak in the Lotus Mountain Range. It is under the jurisdiction of Meixian District, Meizhou City, and is the hometown of Marshal [Yedan]. The town governs 27 villages, 2 neighborhood committees, 279 villager groups, and has a population of 31,852. As the hometown of Marshal [Yedan], YanYang Town is situated at 116°20′ east longitude and 24°50′ north latitude, in the northeastern part of Meixian District. It borders Yingya of Dapu to the east, Sanxiang of Meixian to the south, Bingcun to the west, and Baibu and Songnan Towns to the north. It is 33 kilometers southwest of downtown Meizhou, 9 kilometers from Bingcun Town, and 16 kilometers from Songkou Town. In ancient times, YanYang was mostly low-lying lakes and wetlands… More detailed information about YanYang Town++