With
900 years of history, this treasure house holds a large collection
of the earliest stone steles of different periods, from the Han Dynasty
to the Qing Dynasty.The exhibition areas includes two sections: Forest
of Steles and Stone Sculpture. Forest of Steles house over 3,000 pieces
of steles from the War Kingdoms to Qing Dyasty time. The simple figure
of the stone sculpture shows vigorous strength.
The
contents of the Forest Steles can be divided into four groups: works
of literature and philosophy, historical records, calligraphy and
pictorial stones.
All together, there are 3,000 steles and the museum is divided into
seven exhibitions halls.Hall one mainly displays "the Kaicheng
Stone Classics", which contains twelve lections caved on 114
steles. The lections include "the Book of Changes", "
the Book of History" , "the Book of Songs", "the
Analects of Confucius" and some others of this kind. These are
the must-read books for the intellectuals of the feudal society. At
that time the printing was under development. In order to well preserve
these lections, the rulers ordered to engrave them on the stone steles.
Hall two mainly display The stone tablets written by the calligraphers
during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It has the collection of the masterpieces
of the famous calligraphers, such as Ou Yangxun, Yan Zhenqing, Wang
Xizhi and Liu Gongquan. Nestorian Tablet is the most useful material
for experts to study the cultural exchanges between the Tang Dynasty
and the other states.
Hall three houses the calligraphy-collection. Collections here are
also of high value for exploring Chinese calligraphy history.Chinese
calligraphy has a long history, and in general has evolved from the
complex to the simple. It has five basic script forms, namely: seal
script, clerical script, regular script, running script and cursive
script. Through more than 5,000 years of creative work various forms
have constituted the abundant treasure and unique traditions of Chinese
calligraphy. For example, the Cao Quan Stele, written in Han clerical
script in the 2nd year of Zhongping ( 185 AD) in the Eastern Han Dynasty,
is famous for its elegant, ingenious and clear inscription, as well
as its completeness.The Tang Dynasty witnessed the prosperous period
of our art of calligraphy. Ouyang Xun, Yu Shinan,Zhu Suiliang, Yan
Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan developed their own distinctive styles of
regular script, while Ouyang Tong, Xu Hao, Shi Weize, Huai Su, Zhang
Xu and Li Yangbing were celebrated calligraphers of different script
forms. The most distinguished Tang stele is "the Preface to the
Holy Buddhist Scriptures" in the handwriting of Wang Xizhi, a
famous Jin calligrapher. The valuable poems and works of calligraphy
of such famous post-Tang calligraphers as Su Shi, Huang Tingjian,
Mi Fei, Zhao Mengfu, Dong Qichang and Zhu Yongming are also collected
in the Forest of Steles. Through these tablets, you could learn much
about the evolvement of the Chinese characters.
Hall four displays painting Stones engraved with historical records.
The portraits of Confucius and Bodhidarma and the allegorical pictures
and texts were written here.
In ancient times, the rulers of different dynasties preferred to build
temples and solidify the city wall. Some records of this form of Song,
Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties engraved on the steles are preserved
in Hall five.
Hall six exhibits the poetic inscriptions.
Hall seven shows some of inscriptions left by Emperors, noted ministers
and well-reputed calligraphers of various dynasties.
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The
contents of the Forest Steles can be divided into four groups: works
of literature and philosophy, historical records, calligraphy and
pictorial stones.