Forest of Steles

Overview
 

The Stele Forest, or Xi’an Beilin Museum, is a museum for steles and stone sculptures which is located in Xi’an, China. In 1944 it was the principal museum for Shaanxi Province on the site of what was formerly an 11th century Confucius Temple. Then because of the large number of steles, it was officially re-named as the Forest of Stone Steles in 1992. All together, there are 3,000 steles in the museum, which is divided into seven exhibitions halls, which mainly display works of calligraphy, painting and historical records.

The Xian Forest of Steles at Sanxuejie Street nearby the South Gate in Xi’an was originally built in Northern Song dynasty (1090 A.D.) when a large Confucian collection of steles cut in A.D. 837 - the oldest existing texts of the Confucian classics - was moved here for safekeeping.

Xian Forest of Stone Steles is an art treasure-house with the oldest and richest collection of steles in China. It is not only one of the centers of ancient Chinese stone-engraving classics, but also the focus of the works of art of celebrated calligraphers of past dynasties. The numerous standing steles resemble a forest, hence the name "Forest of Steles"’. With a history of almost 900 years, it is an art gem renowned at home and abroad.

What attracts people most is that the Forest of Steles has gathered the famous works of many outstanding calligraphers handed down from ancient times. Many inscriptions in Xian Forest of Steles are of precious historical value, such as the world-famous Nestorian Stele and Monk Bu Kong Stele. Gathered here are also some carved sketches with exquisite and splendid decorative designs, making the Forest of Steles, the art treasure-house, all the more brilliant and well-known far and near.

Location
Xi’an, Shanxi，China

Features
Xian Forest of Stone Steles is an art treasure-house with the oldest and richest collection of steles in China. It is not only one of the centers of ancient Chinese stone-engraving classics, but also the focus of the works of art of celebrated calligraphers of past dynasties. The numerous standing steles resemble a forest, hence the name "Forest of Steles"’. With a history of almost 900 years, it is an art gem renowned at home and abroad.