TheTangstelestandinginthepavilioninsidethegateofWuhouTemple,alsoknownas"threeuniquesteles",isoneoftheoldeststelesinChengdu.Whenitcomestoitsreputationandinfluenceinlatergenerations,thismonumentissecondtononeinChengdu.
SanjuesteletheoriginalnameoftheTangsteleisthesteleoftheancestralhallofmarquisWuofZhuge,thePrimeMinisteroftheHanDynasty,whichwasestablishedinthefourthyearofYuanhe(809)ofemperorXianzongoftheTangDynasty.Theheight,widthandthicknessofthebodyandcapare367cm,95cmand25cmrespectively.ThecloudpatterncarvingofthestelecaphastheartisticcharacteristicsofstonecarvingintheTangDynasty.Thestoneisgorgestone.Thereare22linesofinscriptions,eachofwhichisabout50wordsinregularscript.
PeiDu,theauthoroftheinscription,wasafamouspoliticianinthemiddleandlateTangDynasty.InthesecondyearofYuanhe(807)inChengdu,WuYuanheng,thePrimeMinisteroftheTangDynasty,wasappointedgovernorofSichuanProvinceinJiannan,andPeiDuwasaccompaniedbyhisstaff.PeidujiuwantedtowriteanarticletopraiseZhugeLiang.AftervisitingWuhouTempleinChengdu,hewrotethisinscriptionwithadmiration.Thecontentoftheinscriptionisdividedintoprefaceandinscription.Atthebeginningofthepreface,PeiDupraisedZhugeLiangasararefeudalstatesmanwhohadthetalentoffoundingacountry,theskillofgoverningpeople,theintegrityofservingthekingandthewayofestablishinghimself.FeidusaidthatwhentherewaschaosinthelateHanDynastyandthereweredisputesamongtheheroes,thescholarsrushedtoofferadviceforfearoffailure.ZhugeLiangwasaloneinLongzhong,andhewasinchargeofmusic.OnceLiuBeilookedatitthreetimes,ZhugeLiangdecidedtheopportunityby"oneword"inLongzhongDui,andestablishedthegrandplanoftripartiteconfrontation.
FeiDupraisedZhugeLiangforabolishingthebadgovernmentinthelateHanDynasty,enforcingthelawfairly,appointingpeopleonthebasisofmerit,rulingthecountryandstressingmartialarts.HebelievedthatunderthepainstakinggovernanceofZhugeLiang,thehumble[ShuHan]governmentwasunifiedandthemoralitywaspopular.Hebecamearichcountryandhadastrongarmycapableoffighting.FeiDurefutesCuiHaoandothers'evaluationofZhugeLiangandthinksthatwecan'tjudgetheherobysuccessorfailure.IfGodgivesZhugeLiangsomemoretime,hewillaccomplishthegreatcauseofunifyingthecountry.Theinscriptionisinparallelstyle,with64sentencesinfourcharacters.ItcomparesZhugeLiangwithYiyin,JiangShang,XiaoHeandZhangLiang,andpraiseshisimmortalachievements.Finally,theinscriptionpraisesZhugeLiang'smeritsandvirtues,whichareashighasmountainsandflowingwater.TheyexistbetweenheavenandearthandintheheartsofthepeopleinShu.
Inscriptions:"inthepast,Iwasthefirstlord.IthoughtofopeninguptheterritoryofXinjiang.Iwasbusyanddependedonit.Heroeshadnohelp.SoIgotMarquisWuandsettledthelandofShufirst.MoralCity,etiquette.Warmthingslikespring,peoplelikeGod.Workwithoutcomplaint,usewithethics.RouShengmanluo,PuDunWeibin,photosofWeiweilivinginHuairen.TheCentralPlainsfood,unexpectednot,inordertowin,allowtoreachitsextreme.Heavendidnotregretthedisaster,thepubliclifeisnotfruit,HanZuoitsdeath,willfallinthestar.Theflagagainstthedrum,stillgoSima,deadandcando,whenthesmallworld.
HisfatherwasstillintheZhouDynasty,aHengwasinchargeoftheShangDynasty,andhewasalsoinchargeofYanDynasty.HewasbornintheHanDynastyandXiaoZhangwasinchargeoftheHanDynasty.Whine:theintrigueworkshard,andtheambitionissuppressed.Ifeelthepainofbanishment,orcryordie.Therearemanydifferentpaths.Basedonloyaltyandforgiveness,whoisnothappy?Ifyouarenotsincere,youwillbeloyal.Theancientcypressisdense,andthetempleisdeep.Itdoesnotoffersacrificestothegods,butbegforthepresent.Ifthereisalight,itwillnotrunfast.ThewindofShu,theheartofShupeople,JingjiangQingbo,Yuleijuncen,intothesea,thesky,knowGongdesound.InthefourthyearofYuanhe,hewasborninJichouonFebruary29."
Liugongchuo,theelixirofcalligraphy,istheelderbrotherofLiuGongquan,thefounderofLiutiinregularscript.LatergenerationspraisedTangstelesfortheirvigorouswriting,beautifulwordsandprecisemeaning,andvigorousandstrictcalligraphy.Inaddition,LuJian,theengraver,isverystrictinthecuttingtechnique,sothestelehasthereputationof"threeunique".Forexample,Ronghua,governorofSichuanintheMingDynasty,wroteapostscriptonthefrontofthestele,sayingthatfeiwenandLiushuwere"twouniquerecordsofsincerity",whichcouldbecomparedwithZhuge'smeritsandvirtues.Afterthat,peopleusedtocallit"threeuniquesteles".
Formorethanathousandyears,theTangstelehasbeendamagedwiththepassageoftime,buttheerosionisnotlarge.Uptonow,mostoftheinscriptionsarestillneatandbasicallyintact.Duetothestonequality,climateandotherreasons,therearefewancientstelespreservedinChengdu,whichistheonlycompleteTangDynastysteleinChengdu.
Amongthe53existingstelesinWuhouTempleinChengdu,themostfamousoneistheTangstele,whichisknownas"threeuniquesteles".Theinscription,standingin809A.D.,is3-67metershigh,0-95meterswideand0-25metersthick;TheinscriptionwaswrittenbyPeiDu,aformercensorandprimeminister.ItwaswrittenbyLiugongchuo,aformerMinisteroftheMinistryofofficialandtheMinistryofmilitaryaffairs,andalsothebrotherofLiuGongquan,afamouscalligrapher.ItwascarvedbyLuJian,afamouscraftsmaninSichuanatthattime.Thearticle,calligraphyandengravingareallexcellent,soitiscalled"threeuniquesteles".However,theoriginalnameofthesteleoftheancestralhallofZhugeMarquisWu,thePrimeMinisterofShu,isoftenignored.