Ming Dynasty stone tablet remnant found in China's Hebei

An ancient stone tablet fragment from a temple for a deity dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) was recently discovered at a village in North China's Hebei province.

The remnant of the stone tablet was unearthed at an ancient city site in Qianjie village in the coastal city of Huanghua. It measures 1.75 meters in length, 0.4 meters in width and 0.25 meters in thickness.

The inscriptions on the tablet revealed that it was erected in 1485 for a temple of Bixia Yuanjun, one of the most popular Daoist deities, also known as the "Taishan nainai" or the sovereign of the clouds of dawn.

The inscriptions also confirm the authenticity of historical records documenting individuals who earned a livelihood in the area by making salt through boiling seawater.

According to the museum in Huanghua, the new archaeological findings are of significant value for the study of ancient maritime sacrificial culture in northern China.