Historical Relics: Linglong Mountain Cliff Inscriptions

Cliff inscriptions refer to words or images carved directly into cliff walls. They are the stones of time, chronicling history and reminiscing about the past. The art form originated in ancient times, prevailed during the Northern Dynasties, and continued its development through the Sui, Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties till today.

The Linglong Mountain Cliff Inscriptions are located in Linglong Village, Linglong Street, Lin'an District, Hangzhou City. Linglong Mountain attracted a large number of eminent monks and important people due to its exquisite beauty, dense forests, secluded paths, and beautiful natural scenery, and since the Song Dynasty, many refined scholars have left their works here.

The cliff inscriptions on Linglong Mountain are concentrated in the following two spots. The first spot is on the cliff about 15m up the mountain along the hiking trail. On the cliff wall, there are four pieces of cliff inscriptions with the uppermost being "玲珑胜境 (literal meaning: Linglong Wonderland)" written horizontally in cursive handwriting, and the other three respectively from the 1st year of the Jiading Years of the Song Dynasty (1208), the 20th year of Zhiyuan Years of the Yuan Dynasty (1283), and the first year of Jiatai Years of the Song Dynasty(1204). The second spot is located 50 meters south of Wolong Temple next to the hiking trail. There are nine pieces of cliff inscriptions there, most of which are written in regular script, and only one in seal script. At 20 meters up the "Linglong Wonderland" cliff inscription, on the east side of the mountain path, there is a relatively flat natural boulder. It's said that Su Dongpo, a famous Chinese poet, once slept on it drunkenly, hence it is called "Zuimian (Drunken Sleep) Rock". 

The Linglong Cliff Inscriptions are now one of the cultural relics under provincial protection in Zhejiang.