Suilong Temple Stele

Author: Xiao Cang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-09-01
Features: Accompanied by the Dragon Treasury Temple Stele, written in Regular Script. The stele has thirty lines, each with fifty characters. The back of the stele has five columns, each with thirty lines. The side of the stele has three columns: the top column has six lines, the middle column has eight lines, and the bottom column has two lines with varying character counts. The header of the stele is inscribed with "Stele for Encouraging the Selection of Dragon Treasury Temple by Hua Guo Gong, the Governor of Huanzhou." It was carved in the sixth year of the Kaihuang era (586). The text was composed by Chang Gongli, a staff member of Kaifeng, Qi, with the author's name appended at the end. The stele is preserved in Longxing Temple, Zhengding, Hebei. The calligraphy of the Dragon Treasury Temple Stele is broad, elegant, and balanced, with a harmonious and composed structure. The calligraphic forms are square and refined, with strong and vigorous lines. It can be seen that the Regular Script of the early Tang Dynasty had already taken shape in the Sui Dynasty, and it also reflects the differences in the evolution and transformation of Sui Dynasty Regular Script. In the Qing Dynasty, Wang Shu's "Virtuous Boat Annotations" stated, "It is free of the crude and outdated habits of the Six Dynasties, as it was the beginning of Heaven opening the way for the Tang Dynasty's civilization, so its style gradually returned to correctness." Today, it is printed from old rubbings for the study and appreciation of calligraphy enthusiasts.