Yan Zhenqing's Calligraphy: Inscription on Guo Xuzhi's Stele

Author: Yan Zhenqing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-07-01
Features: In October 1997, a Tang Dynasty earthen cave tomb was unearthed at Shiyang Mountain in Yanshi City, Henan Province. Inside was the epitaph for Guo Xujin, written and inscribed by the renowned Tang Dynasty calligrapher Yan Zhenqing. The epitaph is made of blue stone, measuring 107 cm in height, 104 cm in width, and 4.5 cm in thickness. The lid is inscribed in seal script: "Epitaph for Guo Gong, Former Minister of Works and Posthumously Bestowed Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent of the Tang Dynasty." The main text is in regular script, with 35 lines, each containing 34 characters, totaling 1,150 characters. This collection features a regular script calligraphy recently unearthed from Henan in 1997. The piece is exceptionally brilliant, perfectly preserved, with clear strokes, and is the earliest known calligraphic work by Yan Zhenqing (aged 41 at the time).