Cliff inscriptions () are inscriptions on mountainsides of Chinese characters, often done by famous people on special occasions or as decorations. They are of tremendous historic importance as both evidence of the presence of certain people, such as famous writers, or events as well as of the Chinese script's regional, temporal, or personal variations. Being in stone they are less prone to destruction than paper and so preserve the time in which they were made offering posterity unique glimpses into the past. Additionally, along with

Chinese calligraphy Chinese calligraphy is the writing of Chinese characters as an art form, combining purely visual art and interpretation of the literary meaning. This type of expression has been widely practiced in China and has been generally held in high este ...

, they are an art form meriting study and part of a highly specialized field within art which requires both skills in calligraphy and stone carving. The methods are likely similar to calligraphy stele or 碑 ''bēi'', such as can be found in Xi'an's

Stele Forest The Stele Forest or Beilin Museum is a museum for steles and stone sculptures in Beilin District in Xi'an, Northwest China. The museum, which is housed in a former Confucian Temple, has housed a growing collection of Steles since 1087. By 194 ...

See also