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Stealing a march on history - men (and one woman) of stele
By Pan Zhang |
May 28, 2009, Thursday
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CHINESE emperors and literati steeled themselves against the decay of rice paper and bamboo and left their inscriptions for immortality on stone steles. Pan Zhang visits the Stele Forest.
Stone steles were used by ancient Chinese to record their history and their hearts, and as stone endures while rice paper rots many an emperor and literati committed themselves to stone. Thus, they hoped their ideas and deeds would live on.
Rare are the "blank" imperial steles, inviting history to judge, but they do exist.
The Stele Forest in Hangzhou's Confucius Temple is a collection of 500 exceptional steles dating from the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) to the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The temple is near Wushan Plaza and Hefang Street.
A towering white stele ordered by the Kangxi Emperor is blank, standing in the garden, the first to greet visitors to the Stele Forest.
Steles are upright stones or slabs that carry inscriptions, engraving, carving or painting and are often used as monuments and records.
The forest features the Dacheng Palace, stele pavilions and stele corridors exhibiting the calligraphy of emperors, statesmen, and literati - the poets, artists and master calligraphers.
All the steles are of high artistic value, and the collection includes what is believed to be the oldest astrological chart in the world and the sculptures of 16 luohans (arhat), those who vanquish their foes.
The highlights of the forest are the steles bearing calligraphy of emperors, men (and one woman) who wielded absolute power and wanted to live on, at least in memory.
Among the most famous are the 85 steles of Tai Xue (the Imperial Academy) written by Zhao Gou, the first emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). They are the only preserved collection of Tai Xue steles that were written by emperor himself.
But there are rare emperors' steles that are "blank" and bear no calligraphy, thus, more humbly, inviting history to judge their reign.
The first stele that greets visitors is a huge, 4.8-meter-high white stone planted in the garden. It was made by order of the Kangxi Emperor, one of the legendary and greatly successful rulers in China's history.
It is "blank" and "empty," though he certainly left his calligraphy on other monuments.
It is not the first bare stele in ancient China.
In the early Tang Dynasty, Wu Zetian, China's only female emperor, left a blank stele, inviting following generations to judge her. It is not displayed in this forest.
The Stele Forest also features many masterpieces of calligraphers and painters, such as the "Picture of Confucius and His 72 Disciples," painted by Li Gonglin of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). He knew that wood, paper and bamboo would decay and his work would be lost, so he chose stone.
For whatever reason they were carved, the steles represent a common theme, the struggle with time, the wish for immortality.
Address: 65 Laodong Rd, Shangcheng District
Tel: (0571) 8701-5011, (0571) 8701-2922
Admission: Free
Bus: 25, K25, 35, K35, 38, K38, K404, K850, Y8
Stone steles were used by ancient Chinese to record their history and their hearts, and as stone endures while rice paper rots many an emperor and literati committed themselves to stone. Thus, they hoped their ideas and deeds would live on.
Rare are the "blank" imperial steles, inviting history to judge, but they do exist.
The Stele Forest in Hangzhou's Confucius Temple is a collection of 500 exceptional steles dating from the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) to the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The temple is near Wushan Plaza and Hefang Street.
A towering white stele ordered by the Kangxi Emperor is blank, standing in the garden, the first to greet visitors to the Stele Forest.
Steles are upright stones or slabs that carry inscriptions, engraving, carving or painting and are often used as monuments and records.
The forest features the Dacheng Palace, stele pavilions and stele corridors exhibiting the calligraphy of emperors, statesmen, and literati - the poets, artists and master calligraphers.
All the steles are of high artistic value, and the collection includes what is believed to be the oldest astrological chart in the world and the sculptures of 16 luohans (arhat), those who vanquish their foes.
The highlights of the forest are the steles bearing calligraphy of emperors, men (and one woman) who wielded absolute power and wanted to live on, at least in memory.
Among the most famous are the 85 steles of Tai Xue (the Imperial Academy) written by Zhao Gou, the first emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). They are the only preserved collection of Tai Xue steles that were written by emperor himself.
But there are rare emperors' steles that are "blank" and bear no calligraphy, thus, more humbly, inviting history to judge their reign.
The first stele that greets visitors is a huge, 4.8-meter-high white stone planted in the garden. It was made by order of the Kangxi Emperor, one of the legendary and greatly successful rulers in China's history.
It is "blank" and "empty," though he certainly left his calligraphy on other monuments.
It is not the first bare stele in ancient China.
In the early Tang Dynasty, Wu Zetian, China's only female emperor, left a blank stele, inviting following generations to judge her. It is not displayed in this forest.
The Stele Forest also features many masterpieces of calligraphers and painters, such as the "Picture of Confucius and His 72 Disciples," painted by Li Gonglin of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). He knew that wood, paper and bamboo would decay and his work would be lost, so he chose stone.
For whatever reason they were carved, the steles represent a common theme, the struggle with time, the wish for immortality.
Address: 65 Laodong Rd, Shangcheng District
Tel: (0571) 8701-5011, (0571) 8701-2922
Admission: Free
Bus: 25, K25, 35, K35, 38, K38, K404, K850, Y8
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