Classics of Chinese Stele and Inscriptions -- Cao Baozi Stele

Author: Shanghai Shuxue Publishing House
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-10-01
Features: "Cao Baozibei" was established in the first year of Emperor An of Eastern Jin (405). The inscription has thirteen lines, each with thirty characters. This stele was unearthed in Yangqitian, seventy miles south of Ning'an County, Yunnan, in the 43rd year of the Qianlong era (1778). It is known as "The Twin Cao Steles of Central Yunnan" alongside the "Cao Longyanbei" stele, which was carved in front of the tomb of Cao Jun in Caijiapu, Liangzhou, Yunnan, in the second year of the Daming era of Southern Dynasties Liu Song (458). Yangqitian was the ancestral homeland of the Cao family. In the early years of the Xianfeng era of the Qing dynasty, Deng Erheng, the Yunnan prefect, revised the Nanning Gazetteer while collecting inscriptions and moved the "Cao Baozibei" to the back of the Wuhou Temple in Nanning County, gradually increasing its recognition among scholars. The stele bears the thirteen characters "Established in the first decade of the fourth month of the fifth year of the Taiheng era," but according to historical records, Taiheng was a title changed by Huan Xuan, the deputy prime minister, and due to communication delays among the border people, it should actually be the first year of the Yixi era. The stele is also known as "Zhenwei General and Jianning Prefect Cao Baozibei" and is one of the famous Southern Steles. After the Eastern Jin (moved east), the Southern Dynasties lasted for 169 years (from the Southern Dynasties of Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen), during which Buddhism had already become quite prevalent. Calligraphy continued the legacy of Eastern Jin, favoring the style of flat calligraphy (tapping). However, due to the prohibition of stele carving during the Southern Dynasties, the tradition of erecting steles could not compare to that of the Northern Dynasties, resulting in very few steles surviving to this day.
The "Cao Baozibei" was carved during the period when clerical script was transitioning to regular script. Although it is classified as regular script, it retains strong clerical script influences, evident in the sweeping ends of horizontal strokes (shaping into waves or flying tips) and the use of square, sharp, and archaic calligraphy. The composition varies in size, with a dynamic interplay between balance and asymmetry, displaying a rich, ancient, and rustic charm. Kang Youwei praised this stele in his "Guang Yi Zhou Shuang Ji" as follows: "Jin steles like the 'Fu Xiu' and 'Cao Baozibei' are thick, robust, ancient, and exquisitely diverse in form, and they stand between clerical and regular scripts, much like the 'Lingmiao' and 'Ju Yanyun' steles of the Wei dynasty." This old print of the stele is now published in photolithography to be shared with fellow enthusiasts.