When it comes to the art of inscription, it is like a bright wave in the long river of history, carrying a heavy cultural heritage, flowing from ancient times to the present, whether it is the depths of the splendid palace, or the fireworks of the ordinary alleys, the figure of the stele has been all over the land of China, especially when the boat of life slowly sailed to the other side, the stele has become the deepest tribute and remembrance of the deceased's life. The stele, this solidified epic, is usually composed of three chapters: the stele base, the stele body and the stele head, each part of which carries the painstaking efforts and wisdom of the craftsman.
The journey of its birth is like a magnificent symphony of nature and humanity: craftsmen use mountains as paper and stone as ink, first carefully carving the prototype of the stone monument from the majestic mountain, and then, these uncut pieces take the ancient and mysterious transport boat, crossing the mountains, rivers, lakes and seas, to reach their destiny. There, craftsmen carved with knives, and eventually, the cold stones were brought to life and stood proudly between heaven and earth.
At the top of Yangshan Mountain, Tangshan Town, Jiangning, Nanjing, stand three breathtaking boulders, which have been endowed with the prestige of "Yangshan Monument", and the locals more affectionately call it "Filial Piety Monument". These three steles, like giants, stand like giants, its scale is grand, staggering: the stele base is majestic, 13 meters high, 16 meters wide, 30 meters long, weighs more than 16,000 catties, the stele body is like a long dragon lying in the wave, 49 meters long, more than 4 meters wide, 10 meters 7 high, weighing 9,000 tons; As for the head of the stele, it is even more imposing, 10 meters high, 20 meters long, 8 meters wide, weighing about 6,000 tons. Imagine, if this monument is erected according to the type, its height will be close to the sky, like a giant pillar through the sky, more than 20 floors of buildings are also difficult to carry their necks, and the total weight is amazingly reached 30,000 tons, worthy of the reputation of "the first monument in the world".
However, behind this shocking monument, there is an unfinished legend. The stone monument of filial piety, as the name suggests, was erected by Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, but what is puzzling is that such a huge project has not left a trace in the vast "History of the Ming Dynasty". It turned out that it had failed to fulfill its mission. According to the Ming Dynasty Yongle minister Hu Guang's "Youyang Mountain Benye Temple Records", Yongle three years, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di in order to show filial piety, specially ordered to mine stone in the northeast of the capital of Yangshan to build filial piety tombstone. For a time, tens of thousands of craftsmen gathered here, day and night, just for the monument in the heart.
Zhu Di's move is actually meaningful. Although he took the throne by force, he knew in his heart the importance of the name of orthodoxy. Therefore, he chose to use the stele as a medium to declare his filial piety and orthodox status to the world. Under his orders, the craftsmen were not afraid of wind and rain, not afraid of hardships, and built these three monuments with sweat and life. However, just as the project was about to be completed, it came to an abrupt halt, leaving an unfinished desolation.
History does not give a clear answer as to why the monument was not completed. But if you think about it, it's not hard to guess why. First, Zhu Di has sat firmly in the country, and the stone monument is erected, but it is just the icing on the cake, and it is not necessary; Second, the project is huge, laboring and hurting money, and has caused public resentment, and if it is forcibly continued, it may shake the country's foundation; Third, with the technical conditions at that time, it is tantamount to a fantasy to transport such a behemoth to the Ming Tomb and erect it. Therefore, Zhu Di finally chose to give up and erected a smaller-scale monument of divine merit and holy virtue.
However, the world is impermanent, and what Zhu Di did not expect was that his unfinished monument project would become "the first monument in the world" in later generations, attracting countless tourists to come. Standing in front of these huge monuments, people all sighed at the wisdom and strength of the ancients, and at the same time sighed for that dusty history. Yangshan stele, an unfinished project left by the Ming Dynasty, has now become a witness to history, quietly telling the magnificent past.