In ancient times, Quanzhou was dubbed “Buddhist Nation” because of the prevailing Buddhist culture. Many places bear cliff inscriptions of Quan Nan Fo Guo (Buddhist Nation) including Qingyuan Mountain in Quanzhou, Jiuri Mountain in Nan'an and Qingshi Mountain in Jinjiang. Among these, the grandest is that of Qingshi Mountain. This inscription was done by Wang Shipeng, a patriot of the Song Dynasty . Each of the four characters is two meters tall and the calligraphic style is free and vigorous. Buddhism originated in ancient India in the 5th century BC and introduced to China at the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
