Luofu Mountain Cliff Inscriptions

Luofu Mountain Cliff Inscriptions

The Luofu Mountain Cliff Inscriptions are designated as a Cultural Relics Protection Unit of Guangdong Province.

The Luofu Mountain Cliff Inscriptions are located on Luofu Mountain in Boluo County. Originally, Luofu Mountain had nine Taoist temples and eighteen Buddhist monasteries, with many of the inscriptions distributed around these religious sites. According to a cultural relics survey, there are over 130 inscriptions dating from the Song Dynasty onwards, found at locations such as Wulong Pool, Baihe Temple, Baoji Monastery, Huanglong Cave, Huashou Terrace, Chaoyuan Cave, Sulong Temple, Zhuming Cave, and the Stone Cave. The content primarily relates to the historical development of ancient architecture, celebrity inscriptions, local regulations, official notices, and forest management. The inscriptions feature various script styles including seal, clerical, running, regular, and cursive scripts. The “Luofu” cliff inscription is one of the earlier and artistically valuable pieces on Luofu Mountain, located on the rock cliff beside Wulong Pool behind Baihe Temple. It is an intaglio seal script, measuring 1.50×1.20 meters. On the right are the eight characters “淳熙己亥良月望日” (Chunxi Year, Ji Hai, Fine Month, Full Moon Day), and on the left “郡守睢阳吴裒男有书” (Written by Wu Piu, Prefect of Suiyang, and his son). This is a Southern Song Dynasty inscription. Nearby is a Northern Song Dynasty inscription reading “长寿涧” (Longevity Stream), accompanied by the text “圣宋皇祐二年润十月二十七日，提点诸州刑狱太常博士范阳祖无择题” (27th day of the 10th month, 2nd year of Huangyou, Sacred Song; inscribed by Fan Yang’s Zuowuzhuo, Doctor of Grand Temple and Inspector of Penal Affairs in Various Provinces), also in seal script, sized 0.15×0.20 meters. Zuowuzhuo, styled Zexuan, was from Fan Yang. A successful imperial scholar, he once served as Inspector of Penal Affairs in Guangdong and frequently visited Luofu Mountain. “The Record of Escaping the Dark” (《逃暗记》) is the largest and historically significant Ming Dynasty cliff inscription on Luofu Mountain. It is located on the steep cliff of a large rock at the former site of Shidong Mountain House, two li to the right of Jiutian Temple. Covering approximately 40 square meters, it features the full text of “The Record of Escaping the Dark,” consisting of 118 characters in clerical script arranged vertically, each character about 0.17×0.15 meters. The text was written by Ye Chunji and calligraphed by Zhu Wan from Nanhai. It mainly describes how Ye Chunji, disenchanted with officialdom, retreated from the secular world to Luofu, where he established a retreat called “Escaping the Dark” (also known as Shidong Mountain House) and referred to himself as the “Stone Cave Hermit.” Ye Chunji, styled Huafu, was from Guihui (now Huiyang). In the early Longqing era of the Ming Dynasty, he was appointed as Instructor of Fuqing but did not take up the post. He later served as Magistrate of Hui’an County, where he achieved notable governance. He was later promoted to Prefect of Binyang but resigned to return to Luofu. Recommended by Sichuan Governor Ai Mu, he was transferred to serve as Langzhong in the Ministry of Revenue. Zhu Wan, a native of Nanhai, was a renowned Ming Dynasty painter and calligrapher from Guangdong, skilled in poetry, seal and clerical scripts, and particularly known for his bamboo paintings. Other notable inscriptions on Luofu Mountain include those by the Ming Dynasty’s Three Departments Minister Zhan Ruoshui, the Qing Dynasty patriotic poet Qiu Fengjia from Taiwan, and modern calligraphy master Qin Esheng from Guangdong, among others.

In June 1989, the People's Government of Guangdong Province designated them as a Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Luofu Mountain Management Committee: Since the Qin and Han dynasties, Luofu Mountain has been known as the “Mountain of Immortals.” It has long held reputations such as “One of China’s Ten Great Taoist Mountains,” “The First Mountain of Lingnan,” and “Ancestor of the Hundred Yue Mountains,” and is revered in Taoism as the “Seventh Great Grotto-Heaven and Thirty-Fourth Blessed Land.” The great Han Dynasty literary figure Sima Qian regarded Luofu Mountain as a famous mountain second only to the Five Great Mountains, referring to it as “Yue’s Mountain” (粤岳).

Luofu Mountain is a National Scenic Area and a National 5A-level Tourist Attraction, covering a total area of 214.82 square kilometers. It has 432 peaks, including over 80 peaks over 1,000 meters high, with the main peak Feiyun Summit... More details about Luofu Mountain Management Committee++

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units