The Qingdao Laoshan Mountain is reputed as the most famous sea mountain since the ancient times． It is not only well known for the fabulous natural landscape with advantageous geographical position but also a famous historical and cultural mountain．  Emperors， generals， ministers， men of literature and writing in different dynasties left a lot of treasured recordings of calligraphy or painting on Laoshan Mountain． In order to save and study this valuable historical and cultural resource， this May the Laoshan Mountain Scenic Spot launched a campaign named“Rubbing Laoshan Mountain”． Recently we follow the working staffs to see the details．

Particular care must be devoted to every step of rubbing

Behind every inscription on the precipices of Laoshan Mountain is its own wonderful story． So far， over270 inscriptions on precipices have been currently discovered in the entire Laoshan Scenic Spot． Since the campaign“Rubbing Laoshan Mountain” was carried out this May， over4 months have passed and over100 stone inscriptions on Laoshan Mountain have been rubbed down， most of which can date back to Yuan， Ming and Qing Dynasty． A lot of historical celebrities such as Li Bai and Qiu Chuji left their mark on the Laoshan history and culture．

We followed the working staffs of Laoshan Mountain Scenic Spot and came to the site of“Rubbing Laoshan Mountain”， Yangkou Tourism Area， Laoshan Mountain Scenic Spot． The stone inscription the team was rubbing was the authentic calligraphy work of Sun Wenbin， who used to be the magistrate of Jimo County in Qing Dynasty． When he worked in Jimo， he wrote“Yi Shi Huan Jing” （Like a Fairyland） to express the beauty of Laoshan Mountain． A few days ago they just finished rubbing the only and the largest authentic calligraphy work by Qiu Chuji， a famous Taoism priest， discovered so far and existing in Laoshan Mountain Scenic Spot， there are20 poems about Laoshan Mountain written by Qiu Chuji and they can date back to over800 years．

According to Li Jiwei， the rubbing team leader， rubbing is divided into three steps， namely putting on the paper， placing the ink， and the uncovering the paper． The Laoshan rubbing team devotes particular care to every step． Firstly， put on the paper． The Xuan paper covered onto the surface of stone inscriptions must be steeped in spring water one day before． This way the paper can be softened and easier to fit stone inscriptions． Secondly， place the ink． After the Xuan paper covered onto stone inscriptions is dried up， place the ink onto the surface of Xuan paper． This is the most delicate as well as the most critical step in the process of rubbing． They twine small clothes with adhesive tape into similar sizes of wax crayon to outline the characters to be rubbed to ensure the clearness． Last but not least， after the ink is dried up， uncover carefully and slowly Xuan paper from the entire stone inscription． Here rubbing on a stone inscription is finished．

Create the unique skill of rubbing stone inscriptions with rope

We find in the site that like rock climbers， the members of the Laoshan rubbing team can climb to the cliff top at the height of dozens of meters within a few seconds and secure themselves with ropes in the air to rub stone inscriptions． The rubbing team call themselves wall gecko． According to Li Jiwei， the team leader， when they discussed the method of rubbing stone inscriptions at the initial stage， because of the unique geomorphic feature of Laoshan Mountain， they create this extremely difficult skill of rubbing stone inscriptions by hoisting themselves with rope． It is never seen before in China． The rope they use can support the weight of2，000kgs but rubbing stone inscriptions with rope is very demanding for physical fitness． At the early stage， they specifically invited professional climbers to teach them how to climb over rock． Now all of them are very good at climbing and can go up and down over the rock smoothly．

95 pieces of Xuan paper are used to rub“Shan Hai Qi Guan”

To successfully rub down an inscription without stopping， they often work all day and seldom rest． According to Li Jiwei， when they rubbed the giant stone inscription“Shan Hai Qi Guan” （Marvelous View of Sea Mountain） with the height of3m and width of dozens of meters in Yangkou， four members of the rubbing team took all one day and used95 pieces of4 feet long Xuan papers．

According to the working staffs in Laoshan Mountain Scenic Spot， rubbing is a type of work， which entails kneeling on the rock． In the process of rubbing， rubbers must keep their body steady by using their knees to press against the rock． In addition， they usually hoist themselves for one to two hours． Nevertheless， the rubbing teams never cower． Instead they step all over Laoshan Mountain， rub and distinguish every character． As they correct a lot of misreading， they also look up and search related information on the signature figure of every stone inscription． Their hardworking and precise attitude is very respectable．  

1．Working staffs are rubbing the giant stone inscription“Shan Hai Qi Guan” （Marvelous View of Sea Mountain） in Yangkou．

2． Li Jiwei， the rubbing team leader， is rubbing the stone inscription on the cliff．

3． Rubbing with rope is a newly developed method for the rubbing team．

4． Squeeze the extra water after Xuan paper is steeped．