TheXiping Stone Classics (Chinese:熹平石經) are a collection ofHan dynasty stone carved books on variousConfucian classics. Named for the Xiping reign era (AD 172–178) ofEmperor Ling of Han, the stone classics were carved over an eight-year period from AD 175 to 183 into stonestelae set up at theImperial Academy outsideLuoyang. The project was overseen byCai Yong and a group of affiliated scholars who "petitioned the emperor to have the Confucian classics carved in stone in order to prevent their being altered to support particular points of view."[1]
The stelae contained 200,000 characters across 46stelae, and covered the seven classics recognized at the time: theBook of Changes,Book of Documents,Book of Songs,Book of Rites,Spring and Autumn Annals,Classic of Filial Piety andAnalects.[2][3][4] Each stele was about 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) high and 1 metre (3.3 ft) wide. Cai and other scholars likeMa Midi, Han Yue (韓說),Lu Zhi, Tangxi Dian (堂谿典), Yang Ci (楊賜) and his son Yang Biao (楊彪), Zhang Xun (張馴), Li Xun (李巡), and Zhao You (趙祐), Shan Yang (單颺) would write text onto the stone usingcinnabar, which was then engraved. When completed, 28 stela containing theChanges,History,Chunqiu, and theGongyang commentary, were arranged on the western side of a roughly "U" form. The 15 stela with theRitual, including the names of Cai Yong and Ma Midi, were placed on the southern side, while the 5 stela containing theAnalects were on the eastern side. Scholars could then takerubbings, besides studying the texts.[5]
The stelae were mostly destroyed in the fighting following the collapse of the Han dynasty, and only a few fragments have survived.
