Hidden character stone
Encyclopedia
Hidden character stone is a stone located in a scenic spot area in Zhangbu village (掌布乡), Pingtang County
, Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture
, Guizhou
, People's Republic of China
. The stone itself contains the nature-created Chinese character
s "Communist Party of China
" (中國共產党). There have also been dispute that the stone actually contain the words "Communist Party of China perish" (中國共產党亡).
international photography exposition (都匀国际摄影博览会) recommended an area in Zhangbu as a photo spot. The stone was discovered during cleanup after the expo. The area has been isolated, untouched by humans for a long time. The person cleaning the area was staff member Wang Guo-fu (王国富), who discovered the characters written on the stone.
In August 2003 a geologist
named Mao Jian-quan (毛健全) from Guizhou university of technology was first sent to investigate at the site. This confirmed the characters on the stone was at least genuine, and not vandalism or the work of someone recent.
From December 5–8, 2003 a Chinese scientific inspection group was formed to investigate the stone with about 15 scientists. Some of the notables include Li Ting-dong (李廷栋) from Chinese academy of Sciences, Liu Bao-jun (刘宝君) from Chinese academy of Sciences and Li Feng-lin (李凤麟) from China University of Geosciences. The stone was analyzed to be about 270 million years old from the Permian
period. There are no traces of the characters being made by human. Other researchers included Li Feng-lin (李鳳麟) and Gu Jing-yi (賈精一).
Li Ting-dong further commented about the stone's contribution to science, and that there is nothing like it. Liu Bao-jun further support additional research to be done and was interested in the natural formation of the characters on the stone. Each character on the stone is about one square shaku, which is about 1 square foot.
perish" (楚亡), "Wei
perish" (魏亡).
, but according to the path of the Long March
, they never went to Pingtang. The characters also read left to right, which was not practiced at the time. The inclusion of a Simplified character before the CPC did any simplifications also ruled them out. There were also some skeptics who suspected the village was creating a fraud to build their tourism industry at the time.
's "Approaching science" (走近科学) and Hong Kong
ATV
show "China's mystery files" (中國神祕檔案). Both refer to the 5 character version.
Pingtang County
Pingtang County is a county in the Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Guizhou, in southwest China. It is a high mountain valley and is inhabited mainly by members of the Buyei and Miao ethnic minorities, who together make up 55% of the county's population.The county's area is 2,816...
, Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture
Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture
Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture of Guizhou province in the People's Republic of China. The capital of the prefecture is Duyun...
, Guizhou
Guizhou
' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.- History :...
, People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. The stone itself contains the nature-created Chinese character
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
s "Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
" (中國共產党). There have also been dispute that the stone actually contain the words "Communist Party of China perish" (中國共產党亡).
Area
Hidden character stone is a main attraction along with (玉水金盆) that is part of the Qiannan Pingtang National Geological park (黔南平塘地质公园). The park has an area of about 201.6 square kilometers. The stone is part of an area having 7 strange wonders: strange stone, strange cave, strange hill, strange water, strange bamboo, strange tree, strange fish. The stone is in a narrow gap between two cliffs, wide enough to fit just two people.History
In June 2002, the DuyunDuyun
Duyun is the capital of Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Guizhou province in the People's Republic of China.The area surrounding the city was affected by the Miao rebellion of 1736-36. The city participated in the uprising from the early stages until is was forcefully repressed the...
international photography exposition (都匀国际摄影博览会) recommended an area in Zhangbu as a photo spot. The stone was discovered during cleanup after the expo. The area has been isolated, untouched by humans for a long time. The person cleaning the area was staff member Wang Guo-fu (王国富), who discovered the characters written on the stone.
In August 2003 a geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
named Mao Jian-quan (毛健全) from Guizhou university of technology was first sent to investigate at the site. This confirmed the characters on the stone was at least genuine, and not vandalism or the work of someone recent.
From December 5–8, 2003 a Chinese scientific inspection group was formed to investigate the stone with about 15 scientists. Some of the notables include Li Ting-dong (李廷栋) from Chinese academy of Sciences, Liu Bao-jun (刘宝君) from Chinese academy of Sciences and Li Feng-lin (李凤麟) from China University of Geosciences. The stone was analyzed to be about 270 million years old from the Permian
Permian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...
period. There are no traces of the characters being made by human. Other researchers included Li Feng-lin (李鳳麟) and Gu Jing-yi (賈精一).
Li Ting-dong further commented about the stone's contribution to science, and that there is nothing like it. Liu Bao-jun further support additional research to be done and was interested in the natural formation of the characters on the stone. Each character on the stone is about one square shaku, which is about 1 square foot.
5 character version
The 5 character version suggest the characters on the stone said "Communist Party of China" (中国共产党). This is the version publicly accepted in the PRC. Also when referred to this version, the stone has been called (救星石), literally "save star stone". This name comes from people who are passionate in supporting and admire the communist party. The story of how the stone was discovered usually follow this version. Zhang Dawa (张大华) of Zhangbu village once publicly gave an explanation of how the name "save star stone" was created.6 character version
The 6 character version suggest the characters on the stone said "Communist Party of China perish" (中国共产党亡). There has been criticism that the 6th and last word "perish" (亡) has been purposely neglected to turn a "Perish communist stone" (亡共石) into a "save star stone". This is not a version accepted in the PRC, hence when mainland media reports it, it has to hide the perish character. Often when pictures are shown with the stone having 6 characters, the description still refers to it by the 5 character version. In Chinese text the character "perish" (亡) is often used in association with the perish of a state like "ChuChu (state)
The State of Chu was a Zhou Dynasty vassal state in present-day central and southern China during the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States Period . Its ruling house had the surname Nai , and clan name Yan , later evolved to surname Mi , and clan name Xiong...
perish" (楚亡), "Wei
Wei (state)
The State of Wei was a Zhou Dynasty vassal state during the Warring States Period of Chinese history. Its territory lay between the states of Qin and Qi and included parts of modern day Henan, Hebei, Shanxi and Shandong...
perish" (魏亡).
Traditional and Simplified chinese
The characters on the stone is a mix of Traditional Chinese characters and Simplified Chinese characters. The first and third character (中, 共) has no difference. The second character "country" (國) and fourth character "produce" (產) is in the traditional form. The fifth character, "party" (党) is in the simplified form. The sixth character "perish" (亡) has no difference. Some have analysed all the odd characters as simplified, while the even characters are traditional.- On the stone: 中國共產党
- Traditional Chinese: 中國共產黨
- Simplified Chinese: 中国共产党
Some early analysis
There were some early speculations that the characters were put there by the People's Liberation ArmyPeople's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
, but according to the path of the Long March
Long March
The Long March was a massive military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China, the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. There was not one Long March, but a series of marches, as various Communist armies in the south...
, they never went to Pingtang. The characters also read left to right, which was not practiced at the time. The inclusion of a Simplified character before the CPC did any simplifications also ruled them out. There were also some skeptics who suspected the village was creating a fraud to build their tourism industry at the time.
Cultural reference
Hidden character stone have appeared as topics on a number of shows such as CCTVChina Central Television
China Central Television or Chinese Central Television, commonly abbreviated as CCTV, is the major state television broadcaster in mainland China. CCTV has a network of 19 channels broadcasting different programmes and is accessible to more than one billion viewers...
's "Approaching science" (走近科学) and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
ATV
Asia Television Limited
Asia Television Limited is one of the two free-to-air television broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being rival Television Broadcasts Limited . It launched in 1957 under the name Rediffusion Television as the first television station in Hong Kong...
show "China's mystery files" (中國神祕檔案). Both refer to the 5 character version.