碑林英文导游词Museum of Forest of Stone Tablet1

Museum of Forest of Stone Tablets (1)C O N T E N T O F L E C T U R EG eneral introduction:location, value, what we can see thereJ ingyun Bell and Daxia Stone HorseS tone-base Classics on Filial PietyF orest of Stone Tablets: Exhibition Room One-Three, the Rest four Exhibition RoomsS tone Art GalleryG e n e r a l I n t r o d u c t i o nA history of more than 900 yearsA collection of over 3000 stone tabletsA treasure house of ancient China’s calligraphic masterpiecesA concentration of the best of the Han and Tang Dynasty stone carvings, relieves andsculpturesChina’s largest stone book library of ancient literature and historic recordsOne of the earliest national agencies for the preservation of important cultural relicsL o c a t i o nT he Museum is located on the site of a Confucian Temple on Sanxue Street, Xi’an near the Bell TowerB r i e f H i s t o r yI mperial Ancestral Temple in the Tang DynastyC onfucian Temple in the Song Dynasty.I n 1950, it was extended into the museum that greets us today.L a y o u tS tone TabletsT he Exhibition Hall of Stone Carving Art.F o r e s t o f S t o n e T a b l e t sOriginally set up in 1087Over 3,000 stone tablets from the Han Dynasty through the Qing Dynasty preservednot only a treasure house of ancient calligraphy, but also a rich collection of the ancient Chinese Classics and literature, engraving designs that have represented the historical records between China and other countriesnow seven exhibition rooms, six epitaph corridors and one tablet pavilionS t o n e-b a s e C l a s s i c s o n F i l i a l P i e t y（石台孝经）the largest tablet in the Forest of Stone Tabletsengraved in 745 in the handwriting of Li Longji, the 7th emperor of the Tang Dynasty.compiled by a disciple of Confucius, Zeng Sheng, after attending Confucius’s lecturesE x h i b i t i o n R o o m o n eH ouseing the “Kaicheng Stone Classics”, including 12 Chinese classics witha total of 650,252 characters engraved double-sided on 114 stone tabletsThe room also displays another classic entitled “Mencius” with 30,000 characters, which were engraved on 19 stone tablets in the Qing Dynasty.the compulsory readings for intellectuals of feudal society.T h e12C l a s s i c s《周易》“The Book of Changes”: It predicts and explains through the Eight Diagrams the natural and social development.《尚书》“The Book of History”: It is the earliest compilation of historical documents. It covers the most important historical documents in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, esp. the early Western Zhou.《诗经》“The Book of Songs”: It is the earliest collections of songs and poems which were compiled in the spring and Autumn Period.《周礼》“The Rites of the Zhou Dynasty”《仪礼》“The Book of Ceremonies”《礼记》“The Book of Rites”*The three books above are collections of the laws, rites and ceremonies in Xian Qin.T h e12C l a s s i c s《春秋左氏传》“Zuo Qiuming’s Commentary on Spring and Autumn Annals”《春秋公羊传》“Gong Yang’s Commentary on Spring and Autumn Annals”《春秋谷梁传》“Gu Liang’s Commentary on Spring and Autumn Annals”* The three books are commentaries on the earliest history book “Spring and Autumn Annals”through the points view of historical documents and Confucian philosophy.《论语》“The Analects of Confucius”: a collection of what Confucius said & did《孝经》“The Classics on Filial Piety”:《尔雅》“Chinese Semantics”: It is the earliest dictionary dedicated in explaining the meaning of words Confucius.E x h i b i t i o n R o o m T w oh ousing the most famous stone tablets from the Tang Dynasty. They are of great value in terms Chinese calligraphy and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countriesF a m o u s t a b l e t s i n t e r m s o f c a l l i g r a p h y:O uyang Xun 欧阳询O uyang Tong 欧阳通Y an Zhenqing 颜真卿L iu Gongquan 柳公权M onk Huai Ren 怀仁和尚Z hu Suiliang 褚遂良F a m o u s T a b l e t s i n t e r m s o f c u l t u r a l e x c h a n g e:N estorian Tablet《大秦景教流行中国碑》D a Qin Temple(大秦寺)Jin Sheng Temple(金胜寺)S tory of a Danish man named HalmoreE x h i b i t i o n R o o m T h r e eThis room houses the stone tablets that range from the Han Dynasty to the Song Dynasty. They bear a wide variety of Chinese script forms.Calligraphy is regarded in China as the art of writing, beautiful handwriting with the brush, or the study of the rules and techniques of the art.T h e e v o l u t i o n o f C h i n e s e c a l l i g r a p h yE x h i b i t i o n R o o mF o u rh ousing both special style of calligraphy and paintings on tablets, quite different from other art styles魁星点斗图G od of Literature Selecting Scholars Among Candidates. “克己复礼正心修身”Restrain oneself and return to the rites.魁星点斗，独占鳌头turtle; 魁星: the star at the tip of the Big Dipper; 魁星阁：Kuixing PavilionT h e R e s t T h r e e R o o m sT he rest three exhibition rooms contain the stone tablets carved during the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Most of them recorded the process of building temples, irrigating channels, awarding somebody a merit or conducting geological survey, water conservation, agriculture and management or describing earthquakes and natural disasters. These tablets provide a wealth materials to search the development of Chinese calligraphy andpolitics, economy, culture as well as the social customs of those dynasties.。