Wei Li Bi Tomb Inscription (Selected Masterpieces of Ancient Rare Books and Stone Rubbings Series)

Author: Xiao Cang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-09-11
Features: The stele of Li Bi, written in regular script, thirty lines, thirty-one characters per line. There is one column of inscriptions on the back, fourteen lines in total, with each line containing between four and ten characters. The characters vary in length and are relatively large. The stele was carved in December of the Zhengguang era (521), when the old stele was converted into a tomb stele. The back of the old stele was polished and inscribed with: "[In the first year of the Xuantong era, the Tianjin-Puzhou Railway was extended to the northern border of Dezhou, and this stone was purchased from the local people for three hundred silver coins and placed in the (Institution for the Preservation of Cultural Relics)." According to Notes on Stele Examination, this stele was unearthed in Jingzhou in the twenty-fourth year of the Guangxu era (1898), but this claim remains unverified. The stele of Li Bi is renowned for its excellent calligraphy and is highly regarded by many calligraphers. Its style is similar to that of the Jianzhou Jia Sibo Stele (erected in the second year of the Shengui era, 519) and the Zhang Menglong Stele (erected in the third year of the Shengui era, 522), leading some scholars to suggest that the stele of Li Bi was written by the same person as these two. In the past, there were printed copies of this stele (many of which did not include the back inscriptions), but they are now rare. This edition is based on the original (first impression) and includes the complete back inscriptions for the appreciation and study of calligraphy enthusiasts.