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Collections here are also of high value for exploring Chinese calligraphy history. Here stand the many tablets engraved with works of many outstanding calligraphers through ages. Chinese calligraphy boasts a long history in five basic script forms, namely: seal script, clerical script, regular script, running script and cursive script. Through more than 5,000 years of creative work various forms have constituted the abundant treasure and unique traditions of Chinese calligraphy. The typical includes the Cao Quan Stele, written in Han clerical script famous for its elegant, ingenious inscription; The Tang Dyansty witnessed the prosperous period with noted distinctive styles of regular script. The most distinguished Tang stele is "the Preface to the Holy Buddhist Scriptures" in the handwriting of Wang Xizhi, a famous Jin calligrapher. Some poems of calligraphy are also collected here.

The Stone Sculpture Gallery

The Stone Sculpture Gallery, which was built in1963, nearby the Forest of Steles has a collection of about 70 sculptures and relief carvings of unparalleled quality. The famous exhibits are the six bas-reliefs, four of them original, form the Zhaoling, the Mausoleum of Emperor Tang Taizong. A reproduction of the horse from the tomb of "Swift Cavalry" General Huo Qubing also stands here. At the end of the gallery are some Buddhist statues, of which the most famous is a very beautiful torso of a bodhisattva, showing strong Indian influence from the Tang period.