Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing

The relief carving of a giant stele, measuring over 50 metres in height and located on Mount Tie 鐵山 in Zoucheng 鄒城, Shandong, is accompanied by a votive inscription dated to September 23, 579, which bears the title Stone Hymn 石頌. A reconstruction revealed that the stele was supposed to rest on two tortoises, and that intertwining dragons decorated its head. The sutra passage in 930 characters (T.397, 13:50a16–c13) carved on the stele body explains the path aspiring bodhisattvas would have to take to realize complete awakening. The text of the Stone Hymn not only describes how the donors accomplished this beautiful and costly donation, it also voices concerns about an imminent crisis that threatened the stability of the world-order and the transmission of the Buddhist Dharma to future generations. This study of the Stone Hymn offers a case study on strategies of coping with crisis and accomplishing salvation during the early Chinese Middle Ages.