Introduction of wordless tablet

No-word tablet, also known as white tablet or popular no-word tablet, refers to no-word tablet, which is a very unique phenomenon in tablet inscription. The appearance of the tablet without words is mostly due to some subjective and objective historical reasons, for example, because the owner of the tomb is good or bad, for example, it was originally reserved and eventually not completed, or it may have been written originally, because some natural and man-made reasons have made it without words. Monuments without words are not worthless, such as Monument without words in Ganling and Monument with History, which can often provide people with space for association and a platform for thinking.

The two most famous stone tablets without words are: the stone tablet without words under the Dengfeng stage of Mount Tai. It is said that it was founded by Qin Shihuang and Han Wudi. "No word tablet, jade-like stone clean who dare to text at the beginning. And blame the jade girl. What happened to the bird? " (Song Chaobuzhi's poem "Words are Things"), Li Zhi, Tang Gaozong, Shaanxi Province, was buried with Wu Zetian in Ganling, where there was a tablet without words for Wu Zetian to use.

Mount Taishan Dengfengtai wordless tablet

Under the Jade Emperor's roof, Dengfeng is in Taipei. The monument is 5.2 meters high, the upper part of the monument is slightly thin, the top is covered, the monument body is yellow and white, and there are no words on both sides. Some people say it is a tablet without words, while others say it is a stone watch or a stone letter. "Qin Shihuang Taishan stands without a word tablet, and the solution is uncertain. Either you think it is a monument, or you think it is a stone, or you think you want to carve it, or you think it is a hope. " (Selected from Five Miscellaneous Parts II by Zhao Zhe, Xie Ming) There are two versions of this monument in ancient times: one is that it was built by Qin Shihuang, and there are two versions. First, it is difficult to describe Qin Shihuang in words because of his great merits. First, after Qin Shihuang "burned books to bury Confucianism", no one could write, so there was no writing. Of course, these are groundless.

The second statement was made by Liu Che, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, and it is still inconclusive. Tang, editor of Dailan, quoted a passage from Gu in Archaeological Records. After reading Historical Records, The Book of Zen and The Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Gu said, "There is no word tablet on Ding Yue, which was handed down to Qin Shihuang. According to the Qin tablet on the Jade Girl Pool, Li Si's seal script is only five feet high, and both the inscription and the imperial edict are salty, so this big tablet was improperly erected. Before the Song Dynasty, there was no such thing. Because I have repeatedly read historical records and know that it was established by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. " (Selected from Rizhilu Taishan Lishi) When Guo Moruo 196 1 climbed Mount Tai in the early years, he said in the poem "It is difficult to see the sunrise" that "grinding the monument without words, thinking back to the year of Hanwu" must have been set by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The original poem has been carved into a tablet standing on the side of the tablet without words, which is opposite to Zhang Quan's tablet in the Ming Dynasty (Zhang Quan said that "the sleeve is like a pen with five colors to supplement the tablet without words"). He thinks it belongs to Qin Shihuang.

Wu Zetian's Wordless Monument in Ganling

◎ Introduction to Wordless Tablet

The tablet without words is located in Ganling, 50 kilometers northwest of Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province. On the east side of Sima Dao, Ganling is surrounded by Tuque in the north, Weng Zhong in the south and the sacred monument in the west. Magnificent, magnificent.

Ganling is the burial tomb of Tang Gaozong Li Zhi and Wu Zetian. There are two huge stone tablets in front of the tomb, one in the west is called "sacred tablet", and the other in the east is Wu Zetian's wordless tablet. The "memorial tablet" is a tablet erected by Wu Zetian to praise Gao Zong. She also personally wrote more than 5,000 words of inscriptions, blacked out and filled with gold powder. On the east side is Wu Zetian's wordless tablet. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, emperors and generals hoped to erect a monument after their death, but the only female emperor in China's history did not carve a word on it.

The tablet without words is carved from a complete giant stone carving, which is a giant system among the historical sites in China. It is 7.53 meters high, 2. 1 m wide, 0/.49 meters thick and weighs 98.9 tons, giving people a dignified and heavy aesthetic feeling. There is no inscription on the tablet forehead, only eight dragons are carved at the head of the tablet, which are cleverly intertwined and row upon row, with bare bones and muscles, silent and full of vitality. On both sides of the monument, there are dragon figures, each with a dragon, and the lines are carved and lifelike. On the front of the monument, there is also a line carved lion horse figure (or lion horse fighting figure), whose horse bends its hoof and bows its head, which is gentle and lovely; The lion held his head high, his eyes bright, and he was very dignified. There are many flowers and plants on the monument, and the lines are fine and smooth, so this wordless monument has always been famous.

According to relevant historical records, after Tang Gaozong's death, the site selection, design and construction of Ganling were carried out under the direct guidance of Wu Zetian. As the main large stone carving on the ground of Ganling, the tablet without words was probably set at that time. Judging from the correspondence between the tablet without words and the tablet describing the sacred tablet, it is very likely that these two tablets were erected at the same time. From this point of view, there is no doubt that the tablet without words was erected by Wu Zetian. This wordless tablet, carefully designed and erected by Wu Zetian, not only attracts attention because of its prominent position in the stone carvings of Gan Mausoleum Garden, but also attracts attention and is famous for its exquisite carving art, unique charm and legendary story. When tourists come to Ganling, they almost stop at the monument without saying a word, or stare, or take pictures as a souvenir, or give directions and comments. The tablet without words is not only a symbol of Ganling in the eyes of countless tourists, but also a symbol of Empress Wu Zetian.

◎ Why is there no word on the tablet?

There are three opinions among the people about why there are no words on the tablet without words.

The first view is that Wu Zetian's "tablet without words" is used to brag and show his boundless merits. Wu Zetian became queen in 655 AD and was forced to abdicate in 705 AD. She participated in and held the supreme power for fifty years. If it is counted from Tang Gaozong's death, it will be 2 1 year. She is the only outstanding female emperor in the history of China. She attacked aristocratic families politically, and through the development of the imperial examination system, a large number of talents entered the political arena, restraining the monopoly of rich families; She rewarded farming and mulberry, built water conservancy projects, lightened corvee, and rectified the system of land equalization, which made the social economy rise and the number of households increase. She knows how to make good use of people, makes an exception in employing people, encourages officials at all levels to recommend talents, and is also very modest about the position of capable minister, which is why she was "used by many people in the past." She strengthened the frontier defense of feudal countries and improved relations with all ethnic groups on the border. In a word, Wu Zetian is a person full of political talents and ideals. During her reign, she did many things in line with the interests of the people, stabilized and developed the "Zhenguan Rule", pushed history forward a big step, and played a connecting role in the later "Kaiyuan Rule".

The second view is that Wu Zetian set up a "wordless tablet" because she knew that she was guilty of a heinous crime and felt that it was better not to write an inscription. First, Wu Zetian gained trust by flattery, changed from a low-ranking "talent" to a powerful queen, and finally stole the throne. Second, cultivate henchmen, establish a traitor group, and wipe out dissidents under the banner of Li Tang's "imperial court". Third, appoint cruel officials and implement the terrorist policy of informers and abuse of punishment. Fourth, the social and economic development in the early Tang Dynasty was saddle-shaped, and Wu Zetian was at the lowest point when he was in power. Fifth, during his administration, he lost four towns in Anxi, which endangered the unity of the country. Wu Zetian can't make a biography for herself, so she can only set the tone for future generations with the "tablet without words".

The third view is that Wu Zetian is a self-aware person, and it is smart to set up a monument without words. It is the best way for future generations to comment on merits and demerits. Because Wu Zetian has both positive and negative aspects. During the reign of Wu Zetian, the economic development trend since Zhenguan continued; In dealing with the complicated situation before and after Tang Gaozong's death, she showed extraordinary personal talent; Even many feudal orthodox people are amazed at the two points of "teachability" and "employing people" However, Wu Zetian's negativity is also very prominent. In order to consolidate her personal status, she appointed "cruel officials" and killed innocent people, believed in Buddhism and was extravagant and wasteful. Especially in the later period of rule, government politics became increasingly corrupt, and a group of new privileged nobles were connived and supported by Wu Zetian. Wu Zetian was forced to hand over power and regain power in Tang Zhongzong. She knew that people would have all kinds of comments on her life, and it was difficult to write a good or bad inscription, so she decided to set up a "wordless tablet" for future generations to evaluate.

In addition, there are several views that:

First of all, Tang Zhongzong Li Xian, who succeeded to the throne, could not call Wu Zetian, but called Wu Zetian the first emperor. Or the queen mother? Second, although Tang Zhongzong is the son of Wu Zetian, he was once abolished, so he was jealous. What is even more shameful is the insertion of a 2 1 year "Wu Zhou" in the Li Tang period. In revenge, he deliberately set up a monument to embarrass her and make a fool of her. Third, how to write an inscription and how to evaluate Wu Zetian has been debated endlessly. Because of infinity, the monument is always empty. The credibility of these three statements lies in that emperors generally don't write a letter to express their opinions on how to write inscriptions and comments before they die.

New discoveries and inferences

During an inspection by Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics, it was accidentally discovered that Fang Gezi was engraved on the front of the tablet without words from top to bottom. After textual research, these are not engraved by future generations. These Fang Gezi are each 4 cm long and 5 cm wide, and arranged neatly. There is only one possibility, that is, they were originally prepared to engrave on the stone tablet, and they have already prepared the inscription. According to the grid left on the tablet surface, the inscription has about 3300 words. Then, why are the prepared inscriptions not engraved on stone tablets?

Historians speculate that Wu Zetian wrote an inscription before her death and gave it to Li Xian. Wu Zetian has been in power for decades, but after the "Xuanwumen coup", Wu Zetian was forced to give way and restore the title of "Zhou" to "Tang". Although Li Xian was the biological son of Wu Zetian, he lived in fear for a long time. Although I can't vent my hatred after regaining the throne, I can't speak.

◎ Inscriptions by later generations on the tablet without words.

It was not until the Song and Jin Dynasties (960- 1234) that tourists inscribed on the tablet and became a tablet with words. However, most of these people have no orthodoxy and no respect for history. They only care about their own catharsis. As soon as they caught a place, they began to dance, and the monument of Nuoda became a patchwork of old monks. The front words are blurred, and the back words are engraved, overlapping bedsteads and a pot of paste. There is an inexplicable feeling: "The mistress is gone, and I hate her for thousands of years"; There is a feeling that the local people miss and respect Wu Shi. The poem reads: "Pines and cypresses in Ganling were killed by soldiers, and cattle, sheep and grass were everywhere. Only the dry person Huaide, wheat and rice worship every year. " Guo Moruo's "Gan Yong Order" says: "After a thousand years of case-solving, a hundred hectares of fertile land in Cheng Liangtian. No word tablet is full of words, who can know Gu Kunyuan. "

Because of the long history, predecessors and descendants can't communicate and coordinate and take care of each other, which leads to trouble and no rules. Among them, only 1 135, the Jurchen script "A Brief Introduction to the Dutong of the Daikin Emperor", is relatively well preserved (with a Chinese translation next to it). Jurchen script is now extinct, and inscriptions have become valuable materials for studying Jurchen script and the history and culture of ethnic minorities in China.

Many words of the Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties are engraved on the majestic wordless tablet, which not only naturally forms an' inscription' to evaluate Wu Zetian in content, but also has five elements of truth, grass, official seal and calligraphy. Figuratively speaking, it is indeed a masterpiece that spans dynasties. This may be in line with the original intention of Wu Zetian's monument.

Xie 'an Wordless Monument and Qin Gui Wordless Monument

A tablet without words refers to a tablet without words for those whose achievements are outstanding or whose virtues are corrupt. Later, it was also used as a code name, saying that the monument is in the hearts of the people. For example, "there is always a tablet without words in the room." (selected from Tianjin Daily 1977. 1. 16). Xie An's Monument Without Words and Qin Gui's Monument Without Words are two famous examples. "Liu Bin Jia Luhua" cloud: The tombstone of the Eastern Jin Dynasty was thanked, but the tree was a stone, and there was no text at first, which was difficult to describe. This is also a fact. "(selected from the Ming Hu Shi's" Pearl Boat without Words "), and for example," Xie Taifu's tombstone has no words, and his great achievements are hard to remember; Qin Taishi's tombstone has no words, and immoral behavior disdains books. " (Selected from Two Kinds of Autumn Rain Essays Without Words Monument by Shao Ren of Liang Qing).

◎ Xie An's Wordless Monument

Located in Meigang, Nanjing, it is the tombstone of Xie An (also known as Xie Taifu) in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. "There is a stone without words, and people call it a tablet without words". The reason is that "it is difficult to describe (thank) the merits of an 'an, so a white monument has been set up" (selected from Volume 4 of Ke Rong by Ming and Gu Jieyuan). The so-called white monument means that there is no word on the monument. In the Battle of Feishui, Xie An defeated the million-strong army of Fu Jian in the former Qin Dynasty with 8,000 men, which made the Eastern Jin Dynasty deviate for another 38 years. So a wordless monument was erected for Xie 'an's tomb, which read "Great Achievements". There is also a saying that Xie An asked him who wrote the inscription before he died, and he kept silent. Tao Qian and Wang Xianzhi were mentioned, and he shook his head. Until his death, he was not sure who wrote the inscription, so he had to set up a wordless tablet. There is also a saying that Xie An has done an earth-shattering event. It is hard to praise, but it should not be degraded, so it has to be empty.

◎ The wordless tablet in Qin Gui

Located in Nanjing Muniu Pavilion, it is "with a forehead and no words, lying between stones and grass" (selected from Ming and Gu Qiyuan's "Guest Spare" Volume 4). After Qin Gui died at the age of 66, his family invited many people to write inscriptions for him. Because he is "insidious as a cliff trap, he is unpredictable", "he is too vicious in his later years, so he is good at looking after himself, but he doesn't avoid his appearance", and "he is loyal to his ministers for a while and doesn't avoid his appearance" (Biography of Song History)

No-word tablet formed by other reasons

◎ Preserve the natural wordless tablet.

For example, in the first year of Huang Chu in Cao Wei (AD 220), Emperor Cao Pi of Wei Wen ordered the restoration of the old Confucius Temple. There is a statue of Confucius in the temple, with disciples on both sides. "There are seven monuments in the temple, and two monuments have no words." Another example is the tomb of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Taizu of Fengyang, Anhui Province. On both sides of the starting point of Shinto, which is more than 200 meters long, two tall stone tablets are erected, both of which have pavilions. One is the epitaph written by Zhu Yuanzhang himself, and the other is the inscription without words. Speaking of it, there are the most wordless monuments in the Ming tombs, including the six tombs of Xian, Jing, Yu, Mao, Tai and Kang. It was not until 1536 that the monument pavilion was built and erected, but Emperor Jiajing only wanted to "become immortal" and had no intention of writing an inscription. Until his death, the monument of the Six Mausoleums remained blank. After Jiajing, emperors of all dynasties only sought pleasure, neglected study and simply stopped writing, so there were so many wordless tablets left in the Ming Tombs.

◎ A wordless tablet formed by natural and man-made reasons.

The former, such as Li Daoyuan's Notes on Water Classics, records many such historical sites, such as the stone tablet of the Tui Temple in the south boundary of Jinyang City and the stone tablet in front of Dashun Temple in Jiuyi Mountain. At that time, he said, "the words are peeling off and can't be found." "The words are gone and unrecognizable." The latter, such as "Suzhou Mysterious Temple Without Words Monument", was written by Fang Xiaoru, a famous scholar of Emperor Jianwen of the Ming Dynasty, and by Fang Xiaoru in the fourth year of Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty (A.D. 137 1). The silver hook iron pen is magnificent. But later, because Fang Xiaoru violated the imperial edict, he refused to draft the imperial edict for Ming Taizu Judy who usurped power and seized power. Therefore, influenced by the nine clansmen, even the calligraphy standing on the stone tablet in the mysterious temple was not spared, and it was completely eradicated and became a tablet without words.

Metaphorical significance of wordless tablet

When the wordless tablet is used as a metaphor for people, it is a ridiculous name for those who are clear about the standard but not about the article or who know little about the writing. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, there was a man named Zhao Chong, who was knowledgeable and skilled, but only boasted and could not write articles. "Zhao Chong dignified and clear, there are no miscellaneous guests in the door. He admired Wang Meng and Serina Liu's long writing style, with clear and strict standards. It's not an article, it's called' no word tablet'. " (selected from "Unforgettable Pearl without Words") Another example is that in the Five Dynasties, the late Tang Dynasty chose a prime minister to seek the opinions of ministers. Some people recommend Cui Xie, but opponents think that he is illiterate and superficial in appearance, and the number is a monument without words. "Cui Xiezhe knows very little about writing, so he is called a tablet without words." (Selected from Sun Songguang's North Dream, Volume 18)

Related literary works

Silent Reading —— Three wordless monuments in history

Author: Yang

Since ancient times, there has been a saying that "people leave their names and geese leave their voices". How many people have tried their best to build their own monuments in order to keep their names. The ubiquitous epitaph can be described as everything. However, there are three wordless monuments in history. Because it has no words, it stands out.

The first tablet without words is in Shaanxi. It belongs to the only female emperor in China history-Wu Zetian.

Wu Zetian is a controversial figure with different opinions. When the female emperor was in power, she hired talented people to get rid of disadvantages, develop production and improve the imperial examination. She followed the historical trend and carried out drastic reforms. During her half-century rule, she formed a strong centralization, inherited the "rule of Zhenguan", and created a "prosperous era of Kaiyuan", with economic development and social stability. It can be said that her achievements are obvious to all and well documented.

At the same time, the "cheerful" queen on the other side appointed cruel officials and killed innocent people, causing many civil servants and military commanders to suffer injustice; She also went her own way, building temples, halls, Shu Tianhe and Jiuding. Especially the queen in her later years, she was overjoyed, lived in luxury and spent a lot of money.

Perhaps the queen was a little "self-aware" at the beginning, so she set up this wordless tablet for herself. She wants to leave a mysterious answer to future generations, a blank without words, and let history fill its own merits and demerits.

The second tablet without words is in Nanjing. It belongs to Qin Gui, a powerful minister and traitor in the Southern Song Dynasty.

Qin Gui is a traitor known to all women and children. He killed Yue Fei and did all the bad things. People cursed and whipped him in various ways. His wordless tablet will not be designed by himself. Give it to him after he dies, of course. Therefore, there are no words. When people think that he really has no face to face the world, there is no word to write.

The third monument is also in Nanjing and belongs to Dr. Sun Yat-sen.

Dr. Sun Yat-sen struggled for the revolution all his life, made great contributions to overthrowing the feudal monarchy and establishing the Republic of China, and won wide support and praise from the world. After the death of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, it is natural to write an epitaph for Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Unexpectedly, it is a pity after all.

At first, when discussing the monument, it was originally planned that Wang Jingwei, Hu and others would write inscriptions and epitaphs respectively. Later, many people objected. After careful consideration, everyone thinks that only Mr. Zhang Taiyan, who has a deep friendship with Dr. Sun Yat-sen and a deep knowledge of Chinese studies, can win this great post. Mr. Zhang Taiyan also said: "As for the intimate friendship and acquaintance with Mr. Zhongshan, only I can get the epitaph and only I am qualified to write it. I want to make an epitaph for Mr. Zhongshan. In this way, Zhang Taiyan wrote a simple, elegant, concise and prudent official document of offering sacrifices to the sun.

Who knows, Zhang Taiyan's willingness to write an epitaph also deprived Chiang Kai-shek of an opportunity to gain political capital. Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek bears a grudge. As the architectural director of Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum, and as a representative of the Party and the country, he refused to use the epitaph written by Zhang Taiyan. Therefore, after the completion of Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, although there is a tablet pavilion, there is no epitaph. Later, the word "the world is public" was engraved on the pavilion to replace it.

Later, people seemed to think that the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum without epitaph might be an act of God. Mr. Wang's great achievements in his life cannot be expressed in a few words. This mausoleum is beyond words. Mr. Wang's achievements and kindness are engraved in the hearts of hundreds of millions of people and will be treasured forever. Conglongyan tablets

Open classification: historical sites, Qianlong Yan steles, steles and national key cultural relics protection units.

In the main hall of Douge Temple in Xueguanbao, about three kilometers west of Seshalin, luliang county, Yunnan, stands an ancient monument, which is the famous Conglongyan Monument in China. Its full name is "Song Gulong Town Protection General, Ningzhou Secretariat Captain, Hou Yi Ambassador in Du Qiong County Monument".

The Dragon Monument was built in the second year of Daming, Emperor Xiaowu of Liu Song in the Southern Dynasties (AD 458), with a history of 154 1 year.

Compared with the Baozi Monument in Xi 'an, this monument is larger, with a height of 3.88m and a width of1.46m.. In addition to the inscription, there are more than 900 words in the monument, so it is called "Dayao". This is one of the most valuable inscriptions in Yunnan during the Jin and Song Dynasties. 196 1 year, the State Council was announced as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

The inscription traces the history of the Huan family and records the story of Yan Longyan. It provides valuable information for future generations to study the Huan family and Yunnan history in the Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. The inscription says: cuan clan's ancestor was Zhuan Xu at the earliest, Ying Chu in the Warring States Period, Ban Gu in the Han Dynasty, and "enfeoffment in Cuan" at the end of the Han Dynasty, named after his surname. Although it is difficult to verify whether their ancestors were Zhuan Xu, Yingchu or Bangu, it is more obvious that cuan clan was a Han Chinese living in the south of the Central Plains.

Yan Bei is rich in words, concise in writing and rich in emotion, which reflects the high literary accomplishment of intellectuals in South China and even China. As far as calligraphy is concerned, the brushwork is vigorous, the structure is dense, it inherits the statutes of the Han tablet, and it has the meaning of official script. The strokes are round, thick and bold, full of interest and strange meaning. Some people compare it with the tablet of Gaoling Temple in Song Dynasty, and think that "Park Ling makes Miao Ling win, graceful and restrained makes the tablet long", "Wei and Jin Dynasties are the ancestors of calligraphers" (Fan: Yan Bei Ba) Kang Youwei said that this tablet is "the same as the tablet, rich in gold and jade. Both of them are teachers of Chang Yuan (Zhong Rong) and inherit the orthodoxy of Zhong Lang God. " He listed Yan Longyan as "the best" in "Monument" and praised him for "painting like a kundao carving jade, but seeing its beauty; Cloth, like a meticulous painter, is extremely important. " Explain that calligraphers admire. Because of the exquisite calligraphy, people often look for rubbings thousands of miles away. During the Daoguang period, someone wrote a poem: "My family is good at writing words, and the tiger lies and jumps." I came to Wanli to ask for this monument. Gui Ruan was quite detailed, but Wang was unprepared. I'll buy it for 1000 yuan, and I'll show you the park, St. Shen Feng and the Northern Wei Dynasty. "During the Republic of China, someone forged the" ancient edition "of Sun Jiru, the twelfth anniversary of the Spring Festival in the second year of Yuanfeng (1079), and sold it at a high price of" 500 gold ". Some people were cheated and thought they had "Song Tuo's original foundation".