| During the Qing Dynasty 清朝 (Qīng cháo, 1644-1912) inscriptions were written in both Manchu and in Chinese characters. If you see a tablet with Manchu script coupled with Chinese, you can be fairly certain that it dates to the Qing Dynasty. However, if you see only Chinese characters, you cannot be certain that it wasn't carved in the Qing Dynasty rather than at an earlier time.
The Qing emperors fought a losing battle to maintain the Manchu language. By the early 2000s there were only a handful of elderly native speakers of Manchu left.
This inscription appears on the stele or stone tablet supported by the bixi, the stone turtle. It was written on the memorial of Qing Emperor Kangxi 康熙 (Kāngxī) to commemorate work done on the Marco Polo Bridge.
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