"Ode to the West" is one of the "Three Odes" of Han Li calligraphy in my country and is the best-preserved treasure among ancient cliff carvings.
There is a seal with four characters "Hui'an Xibiao" on the cliff, and the main text is inscribed with 20 lines and 385 words.
Each character is about 4 centimeters square. Throughout the whole text, the original official script of the Han Dynasty is clearly identifiable, which is amazing. You must know that this is definitely a high imitation!
In addition, around the stele there are antique inscriptions by Yuan Fu from the Song Dynasty, Qiandao, Chunxi years, Guangxu years from the Qing Dynasty, and some celebrities from the Republic of China years.
Carved on the right side of the cliff are the nine characters "Ode to the West Narrows on Cliff Carvings of the Eastern Han Dynasty", which were inscribed by Li Keran, a famous contemporary Chinese painting master.
Because the stone carvings are in the middle of the cliff and are covered by wisteria, there are few vertebra extensions in the past. When they were discovered, they were almost intact.
It is said that this cliff carving was discovered by a woodcutter.
Between the sky and the endless sound of waves in the canyon, people feel extremely proud of the treasures of Chinese civilization more than 1,800 years ago. At the same time, they have to admire the talent and courage of the ancients.
"Ode to the West", "Ode to the Stone Gate" in Hanzhong of Western Shaanxi Province, and "Ode to the Yinge Pavilion" from Lueyang are listed as the "Three Odes" of calligraphy in the Han Dynasty. It is also the most complete preserved cliff-engraved stone among the "Three Odes". The words are not damaged, they are especially precious.
The full name of "Ode to the West Gorge" is "Ode to the West Gorge of Hanyang Heyang Li Xi, Governor of Wudu of the Han Dynasty", commonly known as "Yellow Dragon Stele". It was engraved in the fourth year of Jianning, Emperor Ling of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and has a history of more than 1,800 years.
It is carved into a recessed part of the cliff, which protects it from the sun and rain and is well preserved.
Seeing these man-made landscapes, Chen Wenzhe was really amazed.
He really didn't expect that stone sculptures could be played like this.
A large area of the cliff has been replicated here, and the carvings are lifelike.
Even if it is shrunk tens of thousands of times, this is still a miracle, right?
To be able to replicate a landscape, Chen Wenzhe really didn't know how much time and effort it took to complete it.
And how much skill does it contain?
You know, he also has high attainments in stone carving, so can he also create some peerless landscapes?
This time was an opportunity. In this stone carving factory that he saw accidentally, he could learn too many stone carving skills.
With this idea in mind, Chen Wenzhe carefully sorted out the stone carvings here.
Only then did he realize that these stone sculptures were definitely not placed randomly.
They are arranged in an orderly manner according to time, morning and evening. Of course, some categories are different. For example, there are many stone carvings with dragon patterns, and many of them are placed together.
With the idea of learning in mind, Chen Wenzhe slowly started shopping in this seemingly small stone carving factory that actually occupies a vast area.
Our country has a long history. During the long Old and New Stone Ages, stone tool processing was a means for the primitive ancestors of Lingnan to make a living.
In Hong Kong and Macao at the mouth of the Pearl River, many rock carvings were found, all of which are dominated by complex abstract patterns.
Those rock carvings use chiseling techniques, especially the rock carvings on Gaolan Island, Nanshui Town, Zhu City.
The largest one is 3 meters high and 5 meters long, with clearly carved text and clear lines. Figures and ship carvings can also be identified from the complex lines.
According to research, the rock carvings here are about 1000 BC and are works from the Bronze Age.
Of course, Chen Wenzhe was not familiar with these stone carvings. Instead, he was more familiar with the tomb carvings he saw next.
Because these stone carvings seem to come from South Vietnam.
If something from South Vietnam appears in China, it is certainly something from the King of South Vietnam.
The ruins of the Nanyue Royal Palace were discovered a long time ago.
Several octagonal prismatic stone railings with square bases were discovered, which is the earliest known stone railing component in the history of Chinese architecture.
The ruins of the Imperial Garden of the Nanyue Kingdom include stone pools paved with ice cracks on stone slabs, winding stone channels, stone chambers built with huge stone slabs, and a variety of stone components, which are the first to be seen in Qin and Han Dynasty sites in my country.
The tomb of Nanyue King Zhao Mei is the largest stone chamber tomb known to date in Lingnan. The huge stone in the tomb weighs 2.6 tons.
244 pieces (sets) of jade articles unearthed from the tomb.
They include 71 jade walls, two sapphire round sculptures of dancing girls, and a blue and white jade horn cup with relief curling cloud pattern.
There are also jade clothes with silk carvings, jade belt hooks with dragons and tigers, jade pendants with double rings with dragon and phoenix patterns, and animal heads hanging on the wall, all of which can be described as exquisite treasures.
This reflects the superb craftsmanship of jade processing at that time. It can be seen that the South Vietnamese country has mastered cutting, shaping, drilling, cutting, polishing, modification and other techniques as well as inlay techniques.
In the tomb of the King of Nanyue, talc ovens, ear cups, pigs, pillows, stone inkstones and ground stones were also found.
Sharpened stones and finely ground stone axes show that stone carving is also a valued craft.
From the origin of human art, the history of stone sculpture began.
It can be said that among the all-encompassing art forms of mankind so far, none is older than stone sculpture.
Of course, there is no art form that is more loved by people than stone sculpture and will last forever.
The history of stone carving can be traced back to the Middle Paleolithic Age, one to two hundred thousand years ago.
Since then, stone carvings have been passed down to this day.
In this long history, the creation of stone carving art has also been continuously updated and improved.
In different periods, stone sculptures have undergone great changes in type and style;
Different needs, different aesthetic pursuits, different social environments and social systems are all restricting the development and evolution of stone sculpture creation.
The history of stone sculpture is the history of art, a history rich in cultural connotations, and a vivid and realistic human history.
Now that we have seen the imitation stone carvings of the King of Nanyue, the next step must be the stone carvings from the Pre-Qin period.
However, this time Chen Wenzhe did not rush to take a closer look, but continued to move forward. Sure enough, the sense of historical chronology behind them was stronger. These imitations were definitely the rock carvings of ancient ancestors.
About 10,000 years ago, the primitive ancestors bid farewell to the gathering and hunting economy, ended their wandering life, and entered the settled Neolithic Age.
At this time, people began to engage in settlement life based on farming and animal husbandry.
When primitive people bid farewell to the gathering and hunting environment in the mountains and forests, and moved to the plains, river banks and hills, the vivid hunting arts of the past could no longer reappear.
People have discovered that the painted pottery patterns of the Neolithic Age are often simple, abstract, deformed and even geometrically formalized animal patterns.
Therefore, in areas where the Neolithic Revolution flourished, stone carvings and rock paintings have been relegated to secondary importance or even become extinct.
Our ancestors in the Neolithic Age were already able to make pottery around 10,000 years ago, but it was only around 7,000 or 8,000 years ago that they began to enter the era of painted pottery.
In comparison, the technology of grinding stone tools invented by ancient humans in my country was put into use in the Late Paleolithic.
The stone decorations of the cavemen on the top of the mountain were carved and perforated, which is a milestone in the history of ancient Chinese sculpture.
Because only with the invention of grinding technology can stone become an invincible carving material for mankind.