Inscription of Hongti Pass

　　Inscription of Hongti Pass (Second Batch Provincial-Level Protected Cultural Relics)

　　Era: Ming Dynasty

　　Location: In Beitan Village, Hongti Pass Township, approximately 25 kilometers east of Pingshun County

　　The Inscription of Hongti Pass is a large stone stele. The village of Beitan derives its name from this stele. It was carved in the eighth year of the Jiajing reign during the Ming Dynasty (1529). The inscription was engraved by Xia Yan, who served as the Minister of Rites and an imperial censor of the Board of War during the Jiajing era. Originally called “Hongti” (洪梯), the name was changed to “Hongti” (虹梯, meaning “Rainbow Ladder”) because Xia Yan described it as looking “like a rainbow or aurora when viewed from afar.”

　　The Pingshun County was established in the eighth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1529), along with the establishment of Hongti Pass and Yuxia Pass. Xia Yan personally composed the “Inscription of Hongti Pass” and had it engraved on stone and erected as a stele. The stele of the Inscription of Hongti Pass stands 4.6 meters tall, 2.7 meters wide, and 0.36 meters thick. The inscription consists of 199 characters, each about half a foot square, written in vigorous and forceful regular script with exquisite carving.