Uncover Steel and Stone Masterpieces in Xi'an's Forest of Stele Museum

Located within close proximity of the City Wall's South Gate on Sanxuejie Street in Xi'an lies an 11th century Confucian temple that houses what has been deemed the largest collection of steles in the entirety of the Chinese Republic. Named the Forest of Stele Museum in the 18th century, the structure was originally built during the Song dynasty as far back as 1090 A.D. Housing classical Confucian classical texts the museum's illustrious collection of artefacts also includes exquisite samples of calligraphy, philosophy, pictorial stones and ancient literature. With over 1000 engraved stones from the Han dynasty to the Qing dynastic period, the museum is a melting pot of Chinese culture, heritage and history.

Spread out over 31,000 square metres the venue is separated into seven halls of exhibition space with the first devoted to twelve Confucian classics that have been carved on to 14 stele pieces.  The literary works include the Books of Songs, the Analects of Confucius and the Books of Changes which were carved nearly 2000 years ago in a period before the invention of the printing machine.

The second hall on the other hand contains calligraphy exhibits from the Tang Dynasty which were set down by the most famous calligraphers of the era.

Inscribed during a period when Chinese classical calligraphy reached its pinnacle, some of the artists who penned the pieces in this quarter include Zhang Xu, Ouyang Xun and Yan Zhenqing. The third hall is also dedicated to calligraphic works which are divided into five varieties, namely official script, seal characters, cursive hand, regular script and running hand script samples. This quarter of the museum traces the evolution of Chinese calligraphy from its initial stages to the status quo of contemporary calligraphers.  Stone sculptures occupy the fourth hall with over 200 works from the Han dynasty to the rule of the Tangs. This include Confucian portraits as well as Tang period Buddhist scriptures while the fifth hall explores  historic annals in stele from the Song dynasty to the Qing era which was known to be  the country's final imperial reign.  Beautiful works of literature including famous poems are displayed in the sixth and seventh halls of the museum.

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