There is an island named Jiaoshan at the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and in the northeast corner of the ancient city Zhenjiang. Jiaoshan is a verdant mountain surrounded by waters along Yangtze River, therefore, it was hailed as “a floating jade on Yangtze” by the scholars in history. As a national key culture relic protection site, Jiaoshan Forest of Steles is composed of cliff inscriptions and forest of steles. It is an important cultural window for the ancient city Zhenjiang to communicate with the outside world and display its charm. Jiaoshan Forest of Steles and Xi’an Forest of Steles are equally well-known in the south and north of China respectively. The former is also called “Jiangnan Forest of Steles”; Jiaoshan is therefore known as "the mountain of calligraphy".
The magnificent cliff inscriptions are on the western mountainside of Jiaoshan. There have been more than 80 square meters of stone inscriptions since the Six Dynasties. The original site of Yi He Ming (Inscription of a Eulogy on the Burial of a Crane), "the origin of Chinese big-character calligraphy", is here. The Diamond Sutra Verse, the cliff inscriptions in the Tang Dynasty as well as Mi Fu’s Titles and Inscriptions and Lu You Walking in the Snow to Appreciate Yi He Ming, the cliff inscriptions in the Song Dynasty, are all the best and precious inscriptions.
Jiaoshan Forest of Steles originates from the Baomo Pavilion built by the governor Qian Yanyuan in the 8th year of Qingli (1048) of the Northern Song Dynasty. It was expanded and renamed Baomo Corridor in the Ming Dynasty. Since the Qing Dynasty, Jiaoshan Forest of Steles has achieved recognition south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. In 1962, Zhenjiang municipal people’s government made great efforts to salvage national cultural heritages. The stone inscriptions around were collected and contributed to the rebuilding of Jiaoshan Forest of Steles at the old site of Baomo Corridor. It was repaired in 1988, expanded in 2002, and went through another rebuilding and upgrading in 2020. The present forest of steles covers an area of 7,000 square meters. The courtyards are scattered and arranged in an orderly manner, and the winding path of the corridor is full of fragrant shades. More than five hundred stone inscriptions are collected in the forest and four hundred of them are displayed. The famous stone inscriptions include Wei Master Stele of the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Min Gravestone Epitaph of the Song Dynasty, reproduction of Mi Fu’s Calligraphy Work Orchid Pavilion Preface of the Ming Dynasty, Chengjian Hall Stone Carving of the Qing Dynasty, and so on. They are all splendid and a feast for the eyes. Yi He Ming, a brilliant calligraphy work of ancient China, stands majestically alone in the center of the hall.
Stone inscriptions are the most authentic and the most solid ancient book treasures passed down by the ancients to future generations. It subtly integrates history, literature, calligraphy and inscription, and is an integral part of the traditional Chinese culture. Jiaoshan Forest of Steles collects the essence of Jiangnan stone inscriptions, demonstrates various styles of successive dynasties, and combines natural and cultural landscapes. It is worthy of the title of a great historical site and a national treasure. If we say Xi’an Forest of Steles is a symbol of the magnificent Yellow River culture, then Jiaoshan Forest of Steles should be called the essence of the quaint and attractive Yangtze River culture. The painstaking efforts and the great works of hundreds of cultural elites over the past 1,000 years contributed to the reputation of this well-known mountain of calligraphy. Countless admirers visit it in big crowds and forget to leave.
