Burial Inscription of the Crane

Author: Fang Chuanxin
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-12-01
Features: The "Yi He Ming" was carved on the cliff at Jiao Shan in Dantu (now Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province) during the 13th year of the Tianjian era of the Southern Liang Dynasty. The text runs from left to right, with the stele measuring 8 feet in height and 7 feet 4 inches in width. Originally, it was written in regular script with 12 lines, each containing about 25 characters. Later, due to a landslide, the stone fell into the river and broke into five pieces. During the Northern Song Dynasty, one piece was found, and in the Southern Song Dynasty, the remaining four pieces were recovered. However, since the stone was in the river, it was necessary to wait until winter when the water receded to reveal the stone for rubbing. Ouyang Xiu mentioned in his "Jigulu" that he obtained more than 60 characters. In the winter of the 51st year of the Kangxi reign, Chen Pengnian, a native of Changsha who had previously served as the governor of Jiangning and Suzhou and was then exiled to Zhenjiang, along with his disciples, spent three months retrieving the fragments of the "Yi He Ming" from the shore, cleaning and removing the dirt from them. A total of 86 characters were obtained, including 77 complete characters and 9 partial characters. They were arranged according to the original sequence of the cliff carving ased by predecessors, with blank spaces filled with empty stones. The fragments were then built into the wall on the left side of the main hall of the Duihui Temple on Jiao Shan, and a stele pavilion was constructed to protect them. The rubbings of the "Yi He Ming" are divided into two types by the 52nd year of the Kangxi reign: those made before this date are known as [Waterfront Rubbings], while those made after are known as [Post-Retrieval Rubbings]. Among them, the rubbings with the Luo Zhenyu seal and the Yang Dapi collection, as well as the rubbings with the Japanese Bunshodo imprint and the by Goro Iwabuchi, are considered the best. This book uses the [Waterfront Rubbing] as the base and combines the superior features of the [Hezhou Rubbing] for publication, offering it to readers. This book is one of the classics of Chinese stele rubbings. It includes the full text of the cliff carving "Yi He Ming" from the Southern Liang Dynasty. The book is printed with exquisite craftsmanship, effectively reproducing the spirit of the original work and serving as an excellent model for calligraphy enthusiasts learning cursive script.