Nanie Water Stone Carvings Museum

　　The Nanie Water Stone Carvings Museum, also known as the "Erlang Mountain Stone Carvings Museum," is located on Erlang Mountain in the southern part of Qinxian County. It is a provincial-level cultural heritage protection unit. In 1959, over 1,100 stone carvings were unearthed in Nanie Water Village, located 30 kilometers northeast of Qinxian County. According to inscriptions on the carvings, these artworks were accumulated by folk artisans from the Yongping era of the Northern Wei Dynasty (510 AD) to the Tian Sheng era of the Northern Song Dynasty (1031 AD). These pieces predate the Yungang and Longmen Grottoes, making them historically significant. To properly preserve this collection, the government allocated special funds to begin constructing the "Nanie Water Stone Carvings Museum" in 1984, which was completed and opened to the public in 1989, bringing these artistic treasures back to life. It is currently the largest thematic exhibition hall for folk stone carvings in China, boasting the greatest quantity, longest history, and richest content nationwide. The collection features diverse schools and styles, mostly carved from white sandstone, exuding a strong folk art character and considered true artistic masterpieces.

　　Arriving at West Lake Reservoir at the foot of Erlang Mountain, a gentle breeze rustles across the shimmering lake surface, with lush pine and cypress trees reflected in the water, creating a stunning landscape painting. Standing in front of the museum, you’ll see a group of classical-style pavilions and towers. The museum’s name, inscribed by the renowned Buddhist scholar Zhao Puchu on the cliffs of Erlang Mountain, adds further charm. The museum faces south and covers an area of 30,000 square meters, with a built-up area of 50,130 square meters. It consists of three courtyards: the Bronze Tablet Forest, the Buddha Palace, and the Ten Thousand Statues Hall, totaling 250 halls, chambers, rooms, and buildings. First, enter the northern courtyard, the Bronze Tablet Forest (where "Bronze" refers to the ancient name of Qinxian County). In this arched corridor, over 100 stone tablets and inscribed stelae collected from various temples and tombs across Qinxian County are displayed. Please pay attention to this hand-carved stone inscription—it is the "Tao Tie Precious Engraving." "Tao" refers to Tao Yuanming, a famous poet and essayist of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, whose works such as "Peach Blossom Spring" and "The Biography of Mr. Five Willows" remain widely celebrated, though very few of his original manuscripts have survived. In 1741 (the sixth year of the Qianlong reign), Zhang Xiaoniao, a native of Qinxian and an imperial censor touring the south, obtained twelve poems handwritten by Tao Yuanming titled "Imitations of Ancient Miscellaneous Poems." Impressed by their "ancient vigor and smooth brushstrokes," he commissioned skilled artisans to engrave them on white marble and published them under the title "Calligraphy from Zhiyuan Hall," which garnered significant attention in the calligraphy world.

　　Research confirms that these poems were handwritten by Tao Yuanming in 416 AD (the twelfth year of the Yi Xi era of the Eastern Jin Dynasty) and addressed to "Monk Yun Kan." In 699 AD (the second year of the Shengli era of the Tang Dynasty), Empress Wu Zetian personally added a colophon. Additionally, inscriptions by Di Renjie and Shen Yue can be found. This highly regarded set of nine stone engravings, each 35 cm high and 110 cm wide, contains all twelve poems totaling 810 characters. From "Luxuriant orchids beneath the window, dense willows before the hall" to "The sorrowful find words hard, the spring night stretches long," the poems are fresh and natural, celebrated through the ages, while the characters are vigorous and precise, truly timeless masterpieces.

　　These precious carvings were treasured heirlooms of the Zhang family. After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937, the Zhang descendants buried them underground. The Japanese army searched for them three times but failed to find them. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Zhang family donated the intact carvings to the state, a deed of great merit. Ascend the two-story pavilion "Wangchun Tower" in this courtyard, with its red walls and yellow tiles, supported by dougong brackets, to enjoy a panoramic view of the ancient city of Qinxian. Next, we’ll visit the central courtyard, the Buddha Palace. Built on a high platform, the Grand Buddha Hall features a single-eave hip-and-gable roof, spanning seven bays in width and three in depth. Other facilities include the Premium Hall, Calligraphy and Painting Hall, and Guest Reception Hall, displaying over 400 stone Buddha statues and heads from various dynasties in Qinxian, along with more than a hundred calligraphy works, stone rubbings, and inscriptions. If you’re a fan of calligraphy and painting, you’re in for a visual feast today.

　　The southern courtyard houses the Ten Thousand Statues Hall, which includes seven exhibition rooms such as the Stupa Forest Hall, Stone Buddha Hall, and Statue Stele Hall. It prominently displays over 1,600 stone carvings and related images, primarily featuring Nanie Water stone sculptures, including many national first- and second-class relics. The stupas exhibited here are mostly stacked tower-shaped structures, formed by layering square stone blocks with Buddha niches carved on four sides. Some consist of nine layers, others five. Each block features exquisitely carved niches adorned with Buddhas, lotus flowers, and lions, bringing Buddhist tales to life through vivid, tangible forms. The artistic conception is profound. Additionally, there are relief carvings depicting lively folk performances, such as pole balancing, acrobatics, and qigong.

　　Among the Nanie Water stone carvings, individual statues are the most numerous, particularly those from the Northern Qi, Sui, and Tang dynasties. The most distinctive and stylistically unique are the carved stone slabs. These feature reliefs of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, pedestals, halos, as well as the names of patrons and donors, and the carving dates—all intricately crafted into compact, self-contained artworks. In short, the Nanie Water stone carvings hold both aesthetic and scientific research value. They vividly present Buddhist scriptures in the most authentic manner, resembling a magnificent art palace that is both grand and awe-inspiring.

　　Wu Dian (1637–1705), courtesy name Bomei, commonly known as Elder Wu, was a native of Qinxian. During the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty, he entered officialdom as a scholar and rose to the position of Grand Secretary of the Baohe Hall and Minister of Justice. Known for his "kindness, integrity, and incorruptibility," he earned the deep trust of Emperor Kangxi. Kangxi once bestowed upon Wu Dian his own calligraphy copies of a regulated verse by Song Dynasty’s Mi Fu, the "Thousand Character Classic," along with two personal prefaces and postscripts. Wu Dian personally selected fine white marble and commissioned skilled artisans to engrave and preserve these works. After Wu Dian’s death, his son Wu Shiqian built the "Chenhan Tower" in the Wu family ancestral hall in Qinxian County, embedding all the stone carvings into the walls, which came to be known as the "Imperial Calligraphy Tower." The ancestral hall was later destroyed, but the Imperial Calligraphy Tower survived. In 1988, it was relocated to the county cultural relics museum.

　　The courtyard is now the Qinxian County Cultural Relics Museum, which has been renovated into the Wu Dian Memorial Hall. The site is dotted with stone inscriptions and adorned with flowers and trees. The Imperial Calligraphy Tower we’re about to visit is located here. Facing south, it spans five bays and has two stories, with bright interiors. The walls are inlaid with 48 stone tablets of Emperor Kangxi’s calligraphy, each 35 cm high and 100 cm wide, uniformly sized, containing a total of 1,246 characters in Kangxi’s handwriting. All are written in a semi-cursive style, embodying the vigorous and expressive brushwork of Mi Fu. Notice the five special seals used in these inscriptions, including "Yuanjian Han" at the beginning of the Thousand Character Classic and "Kangxi Chenhan" at the end—rare features that enhance their preciousness. Qinxian not only boasts rich cultural heritage but also produces many renowned local specialties, the most famous being "Qinxian Yellow" millet. Grown in the Tanshan area of Cicun Township in Qinxian, this premium millet is round, golden, and grows more fragrant with each chew. Legend says it was cultivated over 300 years ago by a young monk and later presented as a tribute to the imperial court by local officials, who named it "Qinxian Yellow." Nutritionally, this millet has higher fat and protein content than regular rice or flour. With today’s emphasis on "green food," "Qinxian Yellow" is truly a natural, organic product. It thrives only in the poor, dry mountain soil of Qinxian—if fertilized with phosphorus or potassium, yields and quality decline. Moreover, it can only be cultivated on 16,000 acres of land in Cicun Township; attempts to grow it elsewhere result in degeneration the following year. Scientists are now conducting experiments to expand its cultivation and increase yields, so more people can enjoy authentic "Qinxian Yellow."

　　Contact number: 0355-7023657

　　Address: Nanie Water Village, 30 kilometers northeast of Qinxian County