Classics of Chinese Stele and Inscriptions -- Shigufont

Author: Compiled by the Press
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-12-01
Features: In the early Tang Dynasty, ten stone carvings resembling drums were discovered in Qi Prefecture, Shaanxi. Each stone carves a four-line poem of six to seven characters praising the emperor's hunting, with a height of about 0.66 meters and a diameter of 1.2 meters. Due to their shape being close to that of steles, scholars in the early Tang Dynasty called them "Hunting Stele Inscriptions." However, because their shapes resemble drums more, they were also referred to as "Seal Drum Inscriptions" by epigraphers. As they were pre-Qin relics, scholars and literary figures of the time were greatly excited by them and praised them extensively, such as Chu Suiliang, Ouyang Xun, Yu Shinan, Han Yu, and Wei Yingwu. Han Yu's line, "Birds soaring and phoenixes descending, the immortals descend," vividly captures the ancient charm of the Seal Drum Inscriptions. During the reign of Emperor Tahe in the Tang Dynasty, the Seal Drums were discovered and placed in the Confucius Temple in Fengxiang. During the turmoil of the Five Dynasties, the original drums were lost. In the early Song Dynasty, someone found the drums in the countryside, only to find that they had been used as a grain mortar by an old farmer and were in a deplorable state. Fortunately, all ten drums were eventually reunited. During the Great View period of the Song Dynasty, the imperial court ordered the relocation of the Seal Drums to the Imperial Academy in Bianjing, then known as Bixun, and later moved them to the Baohe Hall. Due to the repeated transfers and restrictions on, when the Jin people conquered Bianjing, officials saw that the stones were filled with gold powder and scraped it all out. Later, realizing they were national treasures, they quickly sent people to move them to the residence of Wang Xuanfu in Yanjing. During the Yuan Dynasty, in the year of Huangqing, they were moved to the National Academy. Throughout the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Seal Drums remained in the National Academy. In 1933 (the 22nd year of the Republic of China), they were moved south for the fourth time and transported to Chongqing. After Japan's surrender, they were moved to Nanjing for storage. It was not until the 10th anniversary of the National Day in 1959 that they were finally moved to Beijing and placed in the Arrow Pavilion of the Wenyuan Pavilion in the Forbidden City. According to records, the Seal Drums originally contained over 700 characters. By the Song Dynasty, Ouyang Xiu stated he saw 465 characters on them. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Ni Yunzhen, the author of 《》, recounted the remaining characters on the Seal Drums and found only 322 left. Modern rubbings contain only about 250 characters. It is evident that from the Song to the Qing Dynasty, more than two-fifths of the characters on the Seal Drums were damaged.