Ouyang Xun's Stele of Duke Gong and Wen Gong

Author: (Tang) Ouyang Xun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Ouyang Xun (died in the first year of Yongding during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Southern Chen Dynasty – 15th year of the Zhenguan era during the Tang Dynasty), styled Xinyuan. He was from Linxiang, Tanzhou. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, he served as an official, later becoming a Senior Minister of the Silver and Green Robe, Director of the Prince's Bureau, and Scholar of the Hongwen Academy, and was enfeoffed as a male of Bohai County. In calligraphy, he learned from the Wang brothers and Liu Min, the Langzhong of the Three Dukes, and developed his own style, known as the "Ouyang Style." He is renowned alongside Yu Shiren, Chu Suiliang, and Xue Ji as one of the Four Great Calligraphers of Early Tang. This piece, the "Yugong Gong Stele," full title "Tang Guo Tejin Shangshu You Pushe Shangguo Yugong Wen Gong Stele," was written when he was eighty-one years old. It was erected in October of the eleventh year of the Zhenguan era. In regular script. The stele is 1 foot 7 inches and 5.5 centimeters tall, and 4 feet 4 inches wide. The characters on this stele are slightly smaller than those on the other three steles by Ouyang, with a more balanced, stable, and experienced brushwork and structure. The calligraphy is steady, the structure is rigorous, and the strokes are long and restrained, more harmonious than the "Huangfu Jun Stele." It is also one of the best models for learning the Ouyang style. It can be said that this stele possesses both the subtlety of the "Nine-Crystal Palace Stele" and the boldness of the "Huangfu Jun Stele," and is treasured by later generations for its elegance.