Stele Forest

The Stele Forest of Xian (西安 碑林; Pinyin: Xī'ān Beilin, Xi'an Stele Forest Museum engl. ): In short, Stele Forest, or Xi'an Beilin Museum, is a museum for steles and stone sculptures in the city of Xi'an, China.

The term " Stele Forest " comes from the fact that here the stelae were in a large amount, such as trees in the forest.

History

The Stele Forest began with the Kaicheng Shijing stelae ( Kaicheng shijing at开 成 石 经 碑" In stone engraved classic works from the reign Kaicheng " ) and Shitai Xiaojing stelae (石台 孝经 碑), two groups of stelae, both in the time Tang Dynasty were engraved in stone and were exhibited at the Temple of Confucius in Chang'an. 904 Chang'an was destroyed in a rebellion and the two stelae were evacuated in the inner city. 962 they were brought back into the newly established Confucius Temple. In the Song Dynasty ( 1087) a special hall was built to showcase the two steles groups. It was damaged during the Ming Dynasty in the earthquake in Shaanxi in 1556.

The Stele Forest of Xi'an ( Xi'an Beilin ) is on the list of monuments of the People's Republic of China ( 1-125 ) since 1961.

Steles

In the museum are kept (from the Han period to the beginning of this century ) to today over 3000 steles. It is the largest museum of steles in China. Of these, more than 1000 stones in seven halls, six galleries and a pavilion are issued. Most steles from the collection date from the time of the Tang Dynasty. Rubbings of the steles are available for purchase. The museum is both a treasure trove of Chinese calligraphy, and for many important classical works and documents.

• Cao Quan Stele (曹 全 碑, Han Dynasty )
• Sima Fang stele (司马 芳 碑, Jin Dynasty )
• Kaicheng Shijing stele (开 成 石 经 碑, Tang Dynasty )
• Nestorian Stele (大秦 景教 流行 中国 碑, Tang Dynasty )

Stone sculptures

• Six - horses - of - Zhao Mausoleum (Tang Dynasty )