Multi-Blessed Pagoda Stele - Enlarged Selection

Author: Li Kehe
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-12-01
Features: The "Series of Enlarged Ancient Stele and Calligraphy Manuscripts" takes commonly used stele and calligraphy manuscripts for basic learning as the blueprint, selecting typical character examples and categorizing them by stroke, radical, structure, or variant forms of the same character. It is supplemented with techniques such as character enlargement and stele flipping, making it the preferred calligraphy workbook or teaching reference for. This volume is compiled based on the "Dabot" written by Yan Zhenqing of the Tang Dynasty. Yan Zhenqing (709-785), styled Qingchen, was a native of Jingzhao Wannian in the Tang Dynasty, with ancestral roots in Langya Linyi (now part of Shandong Province). He was known as "Yan Pingyuan" for serving as the Governor of Pingyuan and "Yan Luguang" for being enfeoffed as Marquis of Lubei. He held an important position in history and was renowned for his skill in regular and cursive calligraphy, with powerful brushwork that was highly valued and passed down through generations. The "Dabot" was written when Yan Zhenqing was 44 years old and is one of his smaller-character stele works, representing his early regular script. This stele features a dense, balanced, and well-structured font with strict adherence to rules. The strokes are precise, with clear transitions in starting, moving, turning, and ending, appearing orderly and rigorous. The structure is tight, with a full and rounded appearance, and evenness in the spacing of each part within the character. Therefore, this stele's calligraphy not only emphasizes rules, which are particularly evident and easy for beginners to grasp, but also showcases an elegant and scholarly demeanor. As a result, it has been highly regarded by calligraphers throughout history, and later calligraphers often started their studies with this stele. It became especially popular during the Jiaqing and Daoguang periods of the Qing Dynasty.