On October 17, in an exclusive update from Xi’an, a reporter learned from the Shaanxi Cultural Relics Department that the fourth national cultural relics survey team from Weinan City has successfully pinpointed the exact location of the Cai Lun Temple ruins during their investigation of immovable cultural relics in the countryside of Bai Shui County.
The site, located about two kilometers north of Tai Xiang Village in Yaohe Town, lies on the right bank of the Luo River, in a remote area within Huai Gou River Village. The temple remains sit atop a second-tier terrace of the Luo River, right next to a steep cliff, and the stone foundations are visibly exposed. Scattered across the surface are numerous fragments of bricks, tiles, and pottery dating back from the Song Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with a cultural layer thickness of approximately 60 centimeters.
In April of this year, the Archaeology Department of the Weinan Museum acquired a fragment of an early Qing Dynasty inscription called “Reconstruction of the Cai Hou Lun Temple Stele.” This stone tablet represents the lower portion of the original stele, made of gray shale, measuring 50 centimeters in width and 55 centimeters in length, with a thickness of 6 centimeters. The inscription is written in small regular script, containing around 300 characters. Based on the content, it is evident that the Cai Lun Temple underwent reconstruction, although the exact date of its original construction remains unclear. The stele was likely erected during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, making it approximately 260 years old.
It’s worth mentioning that among the “Four Saints of Bai Shui,” the temples dedicated to Cang Jie, Lei Xiang, and Du Kang still exist, while the Cai Lun Temple has been lost to time. The clear foundations and defined area of the discovered Cai Lun Temple ruins not only fill a gap in the historical landscape of Bai Shui County but also represent an opportunity to enhance the region’s cultural heritage and promote local tourism development.
