They are dated 742 A.D. and are specially interesting as giving early Arabic 
and Chinese history. The Rev. Frank Madeley, for some years resident in 
Hsi-an, was the first to draw the attention of Mr. Marshall Broomhall (of the 
Chinese Inland Mission) to the two monuments, and the latter subsequently 
brought out a book upon them. 
The monument Hsia Yii Ch’iti Shui Pi (““ How Yii of the Hsia dynasty 
controlled the flood”) is also ensconced within this building. As the 
description sets forth, it deals with the controlling of a flood by one Yti, who 
lived in the 21st century B.C. The flood referred to was doubtless due to the 
overflow of the Wei Ho, and to this day the banks of the river have to be 
carefully watched, continuous earthworks running parallel to its course some 
little distance from the water’s edge. The story goes that the great Yii was 
deputed by the then ruler of the kingdom to reclaim the flooded lands, and 
confine the river to its proper course. He showed great devotion to this duty 
by labouring unceasingly for two years; nor did he once during that time cross 
the threshold of his home to see his newly-wedded wife. Even when he heard 
the cry of his infant son, as he passed the house, he refused to enter. He 
eventually succeeded in bringing the water under subjection in the year 
2286 B.C., and was ennobled. In 2205 he ascended the throne and founded 
the Hsia dynasty. His death took place in 2107 B.C. ; from which it will be 
seen that he enjoyed a portion of the longevity so common at that period of 
the world’s history. This monument is in the “ bird-foot’ character, with 
ordinary Chinese character added where the meaning is known. 
A quaint picture carved upon a small tablet and representing a clump of 
bamboos—the leaves cunningly arranged to form a number of Chinese 
characters—is supposed to be the work of Kuan Li, the God of War. Close 
by stands another interesting tablet of about the same size. This has, carved 
on alternate squares, what seem at first five weird symbols, and paragraphs of 
descriptive writing. The five symbols are supposed to be maps of the Five 
Sacred Mountains already mentioned. 
The pictures and writings in most cases were executed originally not on 
stone, but on paper. They were carefully preserved, but in spite of all 
precautions began to show signs of perishing. Accordingly, the famous and 
scholarly Emperor K’ang-hsi had the valuable inscriptions and pictures 
accurately transferred to stone, so that they might be everlastingly preserved 
to the Chinese people. Thus many of the monuments themselves are not 
more than 250 years old, though the originals of the writings and drawings 
preserved upon them are mostly of great age. A fair proportion of the actual 
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