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'ii 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 Yii, 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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