The Baoxie Plank Road Stone Gate and Its Cliff Inscriptions

　　　　China has a well-known idiom: “Openly repair the plank road while secretly marching through Chencang.” The story goes that after Liu Bang captured Hanzhong, in 206 BC, following the strategy of General Han Xin, he sent a small number of people to repair the plank road to divert the attention of Ying Wang Zhang Han, who was guarding the western part of Guanzhong. Secretly, he advanced along the treacherous Chencang Road (i.e., the Qin Plank Road) from the west, exited through the Daxue Pass, captured Chencang City, and marched on to Xianyang.
　　The phrase “The road to Shu is harder than climbing to the blue sky,” praised by the poet Li Bai, refers to this section of the Baoxie Plank Road.

　　History

　　　　The Baoxie Plank Road is located 50 kilometers north of Hanzhong City and was an important ancient route connecting Guanzhong and Hanzhong. It got its name because it passed through the valleys of the Bao River and the Xie River, traversing the Baoxie Valley. Starting from the Bao Kou of Baozhong County (now at the border between Hanzhong City and Mian County in Shaanxi Province) during the Han Dynasty, it passed through Sanjiao City and Chiya, went upstream along the Bao River, exited the Xie Valley to Meixian County, spanning a total distance of 235 kilometers. The Baoxie Plank Road was opened during the reign of King Zhao of Qin. At that time, people chiseled through rocks and erected wooden beams to construct the plank road, which was expanded and repaired many times in subsequent dynasties. The opening and completion of the Baoxie Plank Road connected the regions north and south of the Qinling Mountains, enhancing economic, cultural, and cooperative exchanges between the Central Plains and the southwestern regions. In 206 BC, Liu Bang traveled via the Baoxie Plank Road to Hanzhong to assume the title of King of Han.
　　The Stone Gate is located at both ends of the Baoxie Valley. The northern end is the Big Stone Gate in Meixian County; the southern end is the Small Stone Gate, about 17 kilometers north of present-day Hanzhong City. The Small Stone Gate, simply called the Stone Gate, was roughly chiseled during the Warring States period for the construction of the Baoxie Plank Road. After successive renovations over the dynasties, it was finally completed. The Stone Gate tunnel is 13.6 meters long and 4.2 meters wide, with the southern opening 3.45 meters high and the northern opening 3.75 meters high. The construction at the time used the ancient fire-setting and water-quenching method to break through the rock, making it one of China’s earliest artificial tunnels.

　　Cliff Inscriptions

　　　　The cliff inscriptions are found on the walls of the Stone Gate tunnel and on the cliffs along the Bao River south of the Stone Gate. There are over a hundred stone inscriptions left by literati and scholars from the Han and Wei dynasties onwards, collectively known as the “Stone Gate Inscriptions.” Among them, the “Thirteen Han-Wei Inscriptions,” “Inscription of Li Jun,” and “Inscription of the Stone Gate” are the most famous. In 1969, when the Stone Gate reservoir was built, since the inscriptions were located below the water storage level, Hanzhong City carefully cut out the “Thirteen Stone Gate Inscriptions” in their entirety. They are now preserved and displayed at the Hanzhong Museum. They are currently a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.
　　The Baoxie Plank Road Stone Gate is located within the Baohe Reservoir, 17 kilometers north of Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province.
　　The Baoxie Plank Road is a famous ancient passage across the Qinling Mountains. It runs through the mountain range, with its southern opening, the “Bao Valley,” located in Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province, and its northern opening, the “Xie Valley,” situated in Meixian County, Shaanxi Province. The entire valley stretches 250 kilometers and is collectively referred to as the “Baoxie Plank Road.” Since the Warring States period, the Baoxie Plank Road had been intermittently constructed with stone chiseling and wooden beams to build the plank road, which was later continuously expanded and renovated over the dynasties until it became fully passable. There are stone gates at both ends of the road: the “Big Stone Gate” at the northern end and the “Small Stone Gate” at the southern end. The current Baoxie Plank Road Stone Gate refers to the Small Stone Gate.
　　The Baoxie Plank Road Stone Gate is a tunnel located at the southern end of the valley plank road. It was originally excavated during the Han Dynasty and rebuilt in the second year of the Yongping era of the Northern Wei Dynasty (509 AD). The tunnel is 16.3 meters long and 4.2 meters wide, with the southern opening 3.48 meters high and the northern opening 3.75 meters high. The Stone Gate features numerous inscriptions and poems left by famous figures from the Han and Wei dynasties onwards, collectively known as the Stone Gate Inscriptions. In 1970, due to the construction of the Baohe Reservoir near the Stone Gate, all the inscriptions were relocated to the Hanzhong Museum, where they were restored and exhibited.

　　Masterpieces of Stone Inscriptions

　　　　The Baoxie Plank Road cliff inscriptions preserve a large number of poetic inscriptions, the most famous of which are the “Thirteen Han-Wei Inscriptions.” Among them, the “Inscription of the Stone Gate,” carved in the second year of the Jianhe era of the Eastern Han Dynasty (148 AD), is the most precious. The inscription’s heading reads: “Eulogy of Yang Jun of Jianwei (Qianwei), Former Colonel-Director of Retainers, Erected by Wang Sheng, Prefect of Hanzhong,” praising Yang Mengwen’s achievement in opening the Baoxie Plank Road Stone Gate. The “Inscription of the Stone Gate” is a clerical script stone carving, with vigorous and powerful calligraphy, considered a masterpiece of Han Dynasty calligraphy. The “Inscription of the Stone Gate,” carved on the eastern wall of the Stone Gate in the second year of the Yongping era of the Northern Wei Dynasty (509 AD), records the deeds of Yang Zhi, Governor of Liang and Qin prefectures, in reopening the ancient Baoxie Plank Road. The inscription is in regular script, written by Wang Yuan, with smooth, elegant, and graceful characters.
　　The earliest among the inscriptions is the “? Jun Opened the Baoxie Plank Road Stele,” established in the sixth year of the Yongping era of the Eastern Han Dynasty (63 AD), which describes how ? Jun, the Prefect of Hanzhong Commandery, and his subordinates opened the Baoxie Plank Road. The stele’s script is a blend of seal and clerical styles, exuding a majestic and archaic aura.