Northern Wei Dynasty "Cui Binyuan Tomb Inscription"

Author: Liu Heng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-02-01
Features: "The Epigraph of Cui Binyuan's Tomb" (《》) was inscribed in the second year of the Shengqu era of the Northern Wei Dynasty (519) in April. It has a cover, and the stele is 67.5 cm high and 66.5 cm wide. The inscriptions on the stele are in regular script, with 33 lines and 33 characters per line. The cover is 54 cm high and 55 cm wide, inscribed with the names and official ranks of the family members of the tomb owner in regular script, with 25 lines and 15 characters per line. Additionally, on the left of the cover, the full title of the epigraph and the burial date are inscribed in regular script, with two lines and slightly larger characters. The arrangement of the inscriptions on this stele is quite unique. Since the tomb owner came from a high-ranking family, both her own family and her husband's family, as well as her various in-laws, were all prominent and distinguished officials. As a result, the narrative is extensive, extending to the cover as well. The Northern Wei Dynasty's Cui family of Boling, Lu family of Fanyang, and Zheng family of Yingyang were all known for their calligraphy traditions, each with its own distinct style. Since Cui Binyuan belonged to the Cui family, she was also closely related to the Lu and Zheng families. Therefore, her tomb epigraph must have been inscribed by a skilled relative. Observing the calligraphy of this stele, the characters are solid, strong, and well-structured, demonstrating the meticulous and refined style of Northern Wei inscriptions.