The forest of steles has a vast collection of books, exquisite calligraphy art and rich cultural connotations. It is known as the "treasure house of oriental culture", "cradle of calligraphy art", "palace of fine stone carvings in Han and Tang Dynasties" and "the oldest stone carving library in the world". Forest of Steles is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction, and it is also one of the historical tourist attractions with China 18 characteristics. It has been included in the preparatory list of China's application for world cultural heritage and has become an important part of the world cultural treasure house. As one of the most valuable cultural relics in Xi, it has attracted many tourists from home and abroad and become an important window to popularize and carry forward the classic culture of China. In terms of historical value, many stone inscriptions have precious historical value, some of which can be used to supplement and correct the mistakes recorded in historical books, and some are precious materials for studying the history of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries and local history. For example, the China Monument of Daqin popular Nestorianism, which was unearthed in zhouzhi county, Shaanxi Province and moved into the forest of steles in the 33rd year of Guangxu (1907), is 353cm high and103cm wide. It was carved in the second year of the founding of Tang Dezong, and recorded the introduction of Nestorianism, a school of Christianity in the Tang Dynasty, from Central Asia into China and Syria. In addition, Tang's "classic architecture combining China and Nepal" is a model of friendly exchanges between Chinese and Nepalese people in the Tang Dynasty. Don Guang Zhi's Sanzang Tablet records the life experience of an Indian monk in China and the relationship between Tantric Buddhism and Japanese Buddhism. Wait, these are precious materials for studying cultural exchanges and religious history between China and foreign countries.
The words "Dashun" and "Yongchang" are engraved on the "Mingde Ji Shou Monument". This is a relic of the peasant uprising led by Li Zicheng in the Ming Dynasty, which recorded the tragic scenes of drought in Shaanxi at that time, high food prices, "wheat is 224 yuan a barrel, rice is 226 yuan a barrel" and "people eat dogs and eat people"; The Qing Dynasty carved "Hualong Zhang Monument", praising Hualong Zhang, who led the peasants in Fufeng and Qishan areas of Shaanxi Province to rebel against the government at that time; The Song of Famine carved in the Qing Dynasty also recorded the miserable life of some peasants who were oppressed and exploited by bureaucratic landlords. Rebuilding the Temple Monument of Niu Shan Tuzhu Zhonghui King in Yuan Dynasty, the Tombstone in Qing Dynasty, and the tablet of Pingli religious case all recorded the fact that the Red Scarf Army uprising at the end of Yuan Dynasty and the broad masses of working people resisted exploitation and oppression and imperialist foreign aggression at the end of Qing Dynasty from different aspects.
There are also many figures in the forest of steles, such as Confucius, who is known as a generation of famous teachers, Lisi, who unified China characters, Guan Yu, who was loyal to Shu Han, Zheng Banqiao, a national hero who died generously, Lin Zexu, a calligrapher who shocked China and foreign countries by putting out opium in Humen, Wang Xizhi, Yan Zhenqing, Yu Youren and Deng Tingzhen, who worked hard to govern the country, and Kang Youwei, who promoted the new law. Their spirit of worrying about the country and the people and perseverance has inspired generations of Chinese sons and daughters.
A large number of stone classics in the forest of steles are important documents in ancient times. "Shitai Xiaojing" was engraved in the fourth year of Tang Tianbao (745). Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, made a preface and annotation, and wrote it himself in official script (The Book of Filial Piety is a question and answer of Confucius' students, and its main content is filial piety and filial piety). This monument is composed of four fine stones, with a dark color and a light height of 590 cm, which is the highest in the forest of steles. A square forehead is added to the monument, and the beast cloud relief is engraved on the forehead; There is a stone on his forehead, and the edge of the stone is carved with beautiful cirrus clouds, and the top is like a mountain; There are three stone steps under the monument, so it is called "stone platform filial piety"; The three-story stone platform is carved with lifelike lines on all sides, with lush creeping weeds and mighty lion-shaped monsters. Two kinds of uncoordinated animals and plants are portrayed harmoniously, and the whole composition gives people a vigorous and lively feeling, which is the artistic essence of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
"Opening Stone into Classic" is the most complete set of stone carving books in China preserved in the forest of steles. It was written in regular script by Ai Juhui and Marco at the suggestion of imperial academy Qin Zheng in the fourth year of Tang Wenzong Taihe (830), and it took about seven years to carve it into a stone sutra in the second year of Kaicheng (837). Including six volumes of Zhouyi, Shangshu 13, Book of Songs 20, Zhou Li10, Book of Rites 17, Book of Rites 20 and Chunqiu Zuozhuan 30. This classic is the best preserved one among the seven ancient seal engravings in China, and it is a large stone vault. Before the invention of printing in China, it played an important role in the preservation and dissemination of culture. In addition, Xing Xue Bei, Embroidered Qu Ji, Embroidered plank road Ji Cheng Ji and Miao Xiu Ji in Ming and Qing Dynasties also have important historical value. The forest of steles is not only a treasure house of oriental stone history and culture, but also a treasure house of calligraphy art, enjoying the reputation of "hometown of calligraphy art". Among the early stone carvings in the forest of steles, there are the stone carvings of Yishan in the Song Dynasty, and the original tablet was written by Li Si, the prime minister of Qin State. In the second year of Zhong Ping in the Eastern Han Dynasty (185), the inscription "Cao Quanbei" was exquisite in official script, which was a relatively complete inscription with clear font in Chinese Han steles and a fine work in Chinese Han steles.
Shi Pingjing's Canshi preserved the earliest sentence of Zhouyi in China. According to legend, Cai Yong, a famous scholar and great calligrapher at that time, wrote neatly in official script, which was a model of Han Li.
The Tang Dynasty was the heyday of China's calligraphy art. In the hundred gardens of the Tang Dynasty, there were many famous artists and sometimes excellent works. Truth, grass, official script, seal script and flowers compete for beauty, just like bright stars, radiating eternal glory. Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang, Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan all wrote regular script, and Ouyang Tong, Shi and Huai Su were also famous writers. Ouyang Tong's Monument to Master Daoyin is very similar to his father Ou Yangxun's Monument to Huangfushengchen, which is a famous calligrapher's monument with rigorous structure and dangerous calligraphy. Yan Zhenqing's Yan Liqin Monument, Yanjia Temple Monument and Multi-tower Induction Monument are magnificent and standard "Yan Ti". Liu Gongquan's Mysterious Pagoda Monument is the most typical masterpiece of Liu Style, with exquisite brushwork, such as cutting bamboo, neat structure and full charm. The Preface of Tang Sanzang, selected by monk Huairen from the ink left by Wang Xizhi in the Jin Dynasty, is even more famous. Huai Su, a famous cursive writer, wrote thousands of words with bold and unrestrained brushwork, fluent and free and easy, which is treasured by the world. In addition, Song Qi's Grand View Monument (in fine gold) and Song Chunhua's Secret Pavilion Post reprinted in the Qing Dynasty are also rare treasures.
In addition to calligraphy, a large number of exquisite patterns with artistic value were preserved on the inscriptions in the Northern Wei, Tang and Song Dynasties. For example, on both sides of the Tang Dynasty's "Monument to the Great Wisdom Zen Master", the patterns of line engraving and land restoration are decorated with creeping weeds, phoenixes and figures, which make people feel colorful, vivid, wonderful and lively; The cirrus clouds and lions embossed on the headstone of Shitai Xiaojing, and the exquisite creeping weeds and beasts carved on the pedestal also show the unique rich style of sculpture in the Tang Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, two groups of figures were carved on both sides of the pedestal of the Taoist master monument, with smooth lines. * * * At that time, there were more than a dozen people dressed in strange clothes, with deep curly hair, leading horses and dogs, ready to travel. This is a rare masterpiece of line carving. The four sides of Yuan Yun's epitaph in the Northern Wei Dynasty are engraved with the images of four gods, namely, Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu. The gap is full of flowing water, showing a unique artistic conception of elegance and harmony. Like the green forest, they set off colorful calligraphy art, making the forest of steles, a treasure house of calligraphy art, even more magnificent.
The relatively complete preservation of the forest of steles is inseparable from the contribution of Bi Yuan, governor of Shaanxi Province, during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, due to nobody's management, some precious Han and Tang steles were used as bricks, and some were used to repair bridges and were destroyed. By the Yuan Dynasty, all the stone tablets in the forest of steles had fallen down twice. In the thirty-fourth year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1555), an earthquake of magnitude 8 occurred in Shaanxi, and a large number of stone tablets in the forest of steles were broken due to falling and touching. In the thirty-seventh year of Qing Qianlong (1772), Bi Yuan led his colleagues to inspect the forest of steles, only to find houses collapsed and steles lying across the rubble of Jingzhen. Looking around, there was desolation everywhere, which made him very shocked and sad. He and his colleagues agreed to rebuild and protect the forest of steles by repairing houses, sorting out stones, cataloguing records, organizing exhibitions of stone carvings, and establishing management institutions and storage systems. He said in the book "The Story of the Stone in Guannei": "Both the front hall and the back hall are innovative, spinning in the soil, and there are dozens of old engravings. Therefore, we choose the Shijing and the capital before the Song and Yuan Dynasties, with rows A and B, columns and shields in the week. In the Ming dynasty, close people kept the best instead of building three rafts to raise them. The key to the lock is in your palm, so please protect it forever. " Bi Yuan has a strong interest in inscriptions, and the restoration of the forest of steles lies in "making archaeologists enjoy it", which has made important contributions to the protection of precious cultural relics.