"Zheng Wen Gong Stele", the full name is "Wei Gu Zhongshu Ling Secretary Supervisor Holding Jie Governor YanZhou Military Andong General Yanzhou Assassination History Nanyang Wen Gong Zheng Jun Monument", also known as "Zheng Xi Stele". Inscribed in the fourth year of The Reign of Emperor Xuanwu of northern Wei (511 AD), it is a cliff carving, with a total of two stele with nearly the same content. The upper stele is on Tianzhu Mountain in Pingdu City, Shandong Province, China, and the lower stele is on Yunfeng Mountain in Laizhou City. The lower stele has 51 lines, each line is 23 to 29 words, which is written slightly later than the upper stele, the words are also larger, and the stripping is less, so it is more famous than the upper stele.
"Zheng Wen Gong Monument (Lower Stele)" is solemn and solemn, and has been promoted by famous calligraphers Bao Shichen, Ye Changzhi, Kang Youwei and so on since the middle of the Qing Dynasty. This stele is written by Zheng Daozhao, the knot is wide and stretched, the pen is strong and round, the font is close to the letter, and there is a seal attached to the meaning, which is one of the masterpieces of wei monuments.
About the author: Zheng Daozhao (455-516), courtesy name Zhongyue, self-proclaimed Mr. Zhongyue, Kaifeng of Xingyang, Northern Wei, famous calligrapher, originator of Wei stele, and once served as the assassin of Gwangju (present-day Laizhou, Shandong Province). Few and studious, well-read. Emperor Xiaowen of Wei was an official at the time of Emperor Xiaowen of Wei, and successively served as secretary Lang, secretary and Zhongshu Shilang, Zhongshu Lang, Tong Zhisan Riding Chang Shi, Guozi Jianjiu, Secretary Supervisor, Xingyang Yi Zhongzheng, and during the Yongping years, he served as the Gwangju Assassin and General of Pingdong. During his tenure, he was generous in government affairs, did not abuse torture, and took it as his duty to educate and cultivate talents, which was very popular with the people. Leisurely and relaxed, happy to swim in landscapes, good for poetry, especially calligraphy, Gwangju all over the inscription, counting the size of the stone carvings of Yunfeng Mountain in the south of the city, 15 places in daji Mountain in the east of the city, and 8 places in Tianzhu Mountain (now part of Pingdu).
The origin of the two stone tablets before and after: the upper and lower stele of the Zheng Wen Gong Monument, the inscriptions are roughly the same. Zheng Daozhao carved the "Monument of Zheng Wengong" before Tianzhu Mountain (the stele body is slightly polished from a natural stele-like stone, vertical, without a stele, and belongs to the cliff type carved stone. Later, it was found that the stone quality of Handong Mountain in the east of Yunfeng Mountain in Ye County was better, and it was re-engraved, and the main book was inscribed with seven characters " Yingyang Zhengwen Gongxia Monument". In order to distinguish the two steles, the stele of Tianzhu Mountain is called "upper stele" and Yunfeng Mountain is "lower stele". Tianzhu Mountain "Upper Stele", the style and content of the book are the same as the Yunfeng Mountain's "Zheng Wengong Lower Stele", but the number of words is small. The font is slightly smaller than the lower stele, and the text is worn out more. According to Fang Ruo's "Essay on school monuments", the inscription is 20 lines and 50 words, totaling about 1,000 words. In recent years, the cultural relics department has built a pavilion for protection. The height of the monument is about 3 meters, and the width is more than 3 meters. The font is slightly larger than the upper stele, the text is intact, and there is almost no damage. Behind the stele, there is a 4-line and 23-character inscription of the Song dynasty Qin Dan and others in the third year of Song Zhenghe (1113). The second stele is 2 lines and 7 characters "Xingyang Zheng Wengong Monument". The inscription on the stele reads "Monument of Zheng Jun, Duke Wen of Nanyang, Assassin of Yanzhou of Wei". There is no name of the author, but its content is Zheng Daozhao's praise for his father Zheng Xizhi, and the font is similar to the style of Zheng Daozhao's inscriptions and inscriptions on the mountains such as Yunfeng and Tianzhu, so general scholars believe that the stele is Zheng Daozhao's book.
