Recently, the reporter learned from the Office of the Fourth National Cultural Relics Census in Ruyang County, Luoyang City that during the on-site investigation of the fourth census, a new cliff inscription of the Jin Dynasty in Ruyang County has been discovered. It contains 89 characters and a portrait of a tiger’s head. It has been confirmed as the only existing cliff inscription of the Jin Dynasty in the county. Its inscriptions may be related to the ancient official control of mineral resources.
This cliff inscription is located on a nearly vertical cliff in Baitiegou, Huzhai Village, Xiaodian Town, Huzhai Village. It is more than 260 meters above the bottom of the gully and is rarely visited by people. On the cliff, the regular script characters arranged vertically are clear and neat. The 89 characters are divided into 10 lines, recording the situations of several groups of people entering the mountain six times during the 34 years from the second year of Zhenglong in the Jin Dynasty (1157 AD) to the second year of Mingchang (1191 AD). The complete inscriptions are as follows:
On April 20th, in the second year of Zhenglong (1157 AD), six people went up the mountain.
On March 16th, in the 24th year of Dading (1184 AD), a group of four people.
On April 15th, in the 27th year of Dading (1187 AD), a group of five people, and Doctor Wei opened up the mountain.
On April 25th, in the 28th year of Dading (1188 AD), a group of ten people.
On April 19th, in the 29th year of Dading (1189 AD), a group of six people.
In April of the second year of Mingchang (1191 AD), a group of six people.
“Judging from the written records, this cliff inscription should be the ‘inspection log’ of ancient government officials,” said Chu Jianming, a member of the expert group of the Fourth National Cultural Relics Census Work Team in Ruyang County, to the reporter. Mineral resources were strictly controlled by the government in ancient times. It is said that there were government mining activities in the area around this cliff inscription as early as the Tang Dynasty. There are still remains of ancient mine caves. In addition, the name of the natural village, “Baitiegou,” is also closely related to minerals. Therefore, he speculated that these cliff inscriptions should be the work records of the government sending people to inspect the mountain when winter gives way to spring. These inspection records with varying intervals indicate that the government of the Jin Dynasty had long-term
supervision over the mineral mining activities in Huzhai Village.
It is worth mentioning that, about 2 meters below the right side of the cliff inscription, there is also an intaglio portrait of a tiger’s head. The portrait is 0.3 meters high and 0.45 meters wide, and a majestic tiger’s face is outlined with lines ranging from 2 to 5 millimeters in depth. “This is not a simple decoration,” Chu Jianming pointed at the portrait and explained. Judging from the name of the local administrative village, “Huzhai Village” (literally Tiger Stockade Village), and the records in the Annals of Ruyang County about the local area offering tiger skins to the imperial court, it is speculated that there should have been wild tigers inhabiting the mountains in this area in ancient times. The cliff carving of the tiger’s head is more like a prohibition sign to deter the hunting of tigers, and at the same time, it warns passers-by that tigers may be lurking here.
The relevant person in charge of the Office of the Fourth National Cultural Relics Census in Ruyang County introduced that cliff inscriptions are a way for the ancients to record events, which have rich historical connotations and historical material value. In July last year, after the county released the information for soliciting clues about cultural relics for the fourth census, the county census team discovered this cliff inscription of the Jin Dynasty based on the clues provided by the villagers. In December last year, the team members braved the severe cold to complete the on-site investigation work and confirmed that this is the only existing cliff inscription of the Jin Dynasty in Ruyang County. (Liu Jiayi, reporter from Luoyang Daily Media, Text/Photos)
