Guarding history is a lifetime's work

A huge stone, intricately carved with around 1,300 characters and Buddhist patterns, has been closely guarded by one man for the past 48 years.

The 2.44-meter-long, 1.24-meter-wide stele has been housed in a temple in Shanquan town in Chengdu for more than 1,400 years.

Xiao Taifa, 73, has made it his mission to protect the precious artifact since he was ordered to guard it 48 years ago when he was a militiaman.

"The minute I received the order, I rushed to the temple and saw a few youngsters carving on the stele. It would have been destroyed if I had been a minute later," he says.

For nearly half a century, Xiao has never left the temple except for emergencies. He even moved into the building in 1989 to give better protection and has lived there ever since.

The stone, carved in 557, during the Northern Zhou Dynasty (557-581) to commemorate Yu Wentai, founder of the dynasty, is the only well-preserved stele left for research into the culture, politics and military history of the dynasty.

Whenever visitors or archaeologists visit, Xiao tells them details and stories about the stele.

"It will disappear forever if it is destroyed," he says. "My son will guard it after I die. And after my son, his son. We won't cease the work."

Text and photos by liu chenping

For China Daily

A bird's-eye view of Shifo Temple where the stele is located.

Xiao Taifa has been guarding the ancient stele at Shifo Temple in Chengdu for 48 years.

Characters on the stele have great value in the art of calligraphy.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 09/30/2016 page4)