Xi'an Beilin Museum Ticket

The Xi'an Beilin Museum is located near Wenchang Gate and consists of the Beilin (Stele Forest), stone carving art, and other sections. The highlight of the museum is the Stele Forest, which is composed of steles and epitaphs from various dynasties, including the inscriptions of famous calligraphers such as Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan, and Huai Su, as well as the "Stone Tablet of Filial Piety" and the "Kaicheng Stone Classics," two Tang Dynasty steles.

Inside the Xi'an Beilin Museum, you can admire steles and epitaphs from various dynasties, spanning over 2000 years. Among the treasures are Yan Zhenqing's "Yan Qinli Stele" and "Yan Family Temple Stele," which are standard "Yan Style" calligraphy; Liu Gongquan's "Stele of the Mysterious Pagoda of Master Dada," a typical representative of "Liu Style"; the "Preface to the Holy Teachings of the Tripitaka of the Tang Dynasty," compiled by the Tang Dynasty monk Huai Ren from the ink writings left by Wang Xizhi of the Jin Dynasty; and the "Thousand Character Classic" by the famous cursive calligrapher Huai Su, with its unrestrained brushstrokes.

In addition to the stone carvings of great calligraphers, the "Stone Tablet of Filial Piety" and the "Kaicheng Stone Classics" are also popular with tourists. The "Stone Tablet of Filial Piety" is a Confucian classic with inscriptions written by two emperors in four different scripts: Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Li Longji, wrote the text in official script and added annotations in regular script, and after the stele was completed, he added comments in running script on the side of the stele, while the title of the stele was written in seal script by Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty, Li Heng. The "Kaicheng Stone Classics" was carved in the second year of the Kaicheng era of Emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty (837 AD) and includes twelve classics such as Poetry, Book, Rites, Change, and Spring and Autumn.