Xi'an Beilin Museum

The Xi'an Beilin Museum is located near Wenchang Gate, consisting of sections such as the stele forest and stone carving art. The stele forest, composed of steles and epitaphs from various dynasties, is the highlight of the museum, including steles by famous calligraphers like Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan, and Huaisu, as well as the "Stone Classics of Filial Pietyand the Kaicheng Stone Classics, two stone tablets from the Tang dynasty.

The collection contains numerous exquisite stone inscriptions

In the Xi'an Beilin Museum, you can appreciate steles and epitaphs from various dynasties, with a collection spanning over 2000 years. Among the treasures are: Yan Zhenqing's "Yan Qinli stele", "Yan family temple stele" and others are standard "Yan style"; Liu Gongquan's "Mysterious Pagoda Stele of Master Dada" is a typical representative work of "Liu style"; the "Stele inscription of the preface to the sacred teachings of the Tang Dynasty's Tripitaka"; the renowned cursive script master Huaisu's "Thousand-character classic" exhibits unrestrained brushwork.

The Classic of Filial Piety on Stone Tablet and the Kaicheng Stone Classics are very popular

Besides the stone carvings by calligraphy masters, the two most popular stone tablets among travelers are the Classic of Filial Piety on Stone Tablet and the Kaicheng Stone Classics. The Classic of Filial Piety on Stone Tablet is a Confucian classic. Its inscriptions were written by two emperors in four scripts: Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (Li Longji) wrote the main text in clerical script and added small annotations in regular script, later adding marginal notes in running script after the tablet was carved. The tablet's heading was written in seal script by Emperor Suzong of Tang (Li Heng). The Kaicheng Stone Classics were carved in the second year of the Kaicheng era (837 AD) during Emperor Wenzong of Tang's reign, comprising twelve classical texts including the Book of Songs, Book of Documents, Book of Rites, Book of Changes, and Spring and Autumn Annals.

You can purchase rubbing copies

When browsing in the Xi'an Beilin Museum, you can also admire exquisite stone carvings such as the tomb gate with four divine creatures, the six steeds of Zhao Mausoleum from the Tang Dynasty, the meeting of Confucius and Laozi, and the azure dragon and vermilion bird in the "Stone carving art gallery". After the visit, you can purchase "rubbings" made from the original steles.