Iron Stone Path Cliff Inscriptions

Iron Stone Path Cliff Inscriptions

The Iron Stone Path Cliff Inscriptions are located in Songgang Village, Songtang Town, Wengyuan County. They document three instances of mountain path construction: an inscription from the 22nd year of the Yongle era in the Ming Dynasty (1424) reads: “At Tiejiajing in Chang’an Township, Wengyuan County, Shaozhou Prefecture, initiators Zhang Deyu and Qiu Fukuan encouraged people from all walks of life to donate funds. They commissioned craftsman Xiao Cheng to carve out a stone path, hoping that all donors would gain karmic merit and great good fortune. This was completed in the first ten days of winter, the 22nd year.” (Note: This refers to the last year of Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di’s reign, hence the term "former completion" or 昔成). An inscription from the 3rd year of the Hongzhi era (1490) states: “Wang Xiufang of Shangshui, Xingning County, donated land for cultivation; in the 3rd year of Hongzhi, Zeng Lin contributed to the repair and maintenance of the road.” An inscription from the 18th year of the Wanli era (1590) says: “Carving through the mountain to open a path: Ye Gao, commander of Sanhua Town, donated ten taels of silver; Ye Xiangfeng, a scholar, along with his nephew Ye Fen, donated four taels; Ye Yifeng, a scholar, donated three taels. Additional donations are recorded on the reverse side of the stele. In the year of Gengyin during the Wanli era, the initiator, scholar Guo Zhao, oversaw the project.” All inscriptions are carved in regular script relief.