Chinese Stone Inscriptions Classics -- Ou Yangxun's Hua Du Temple Stele

Author: The Editorial Board of Shangshu Publishing House
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Ouyang Xun (557–641), styled Xinyben, was a native of Linxiang, Hunan. He was diligent and learned from a young age and served as a Taichang Doctor during the Sui Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty, he was promoted step by step to the position of Jushi. Later, he held the highest rank of Jinqing Guanglu Daifu, Shengao Ling of the Crown Prince, and Hongwen Scholar, and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Bohai. He was widely known as "Ouyang Shujiang." Ouyang Xun studied calligraphy under Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, creating a unique style known as the "Ouyang style" due to its sharp and perilous lines. He was regarded as one of the "Four Great Calligraphers of Early Tang," alongside Yu Shienan, Chu Suiliang, and Xue Ji. The main features of the Ouyang style are its lean and hard lines and its perilous and extreme form. The lean and hard lines reflect the style of Early Tang, which Du Fu once highly praised: "Calligraphy is precious for its lean and hard lines, for only then can it reach the divine." The perilous and extreme lines differ from the moderate style of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, embodying more of the thin-style methods of the Six Dynasties period. It is said that Ouyang Xun mastered all eight calligraphic styles: Great Seal, Small Seal, Caozi, Clerical Script, Running Script, Light Ink, Cursive Script, and Regular Script. The Tang calligrapher Zhang Huaiquan remarked: "He mastered all eight styles, with a vigorous and perilous brush force, and his Small Seal script was particularly refined." His Light Ink script was "unparalleled in excellence, surpassing the ancients." In his "Postface on Calligraphy," Li Sizhen of the Tang Dynasty wrote: "Ouyang Xun's cursive script is difficult to surpass, like a drought-stricken dragon finding water or a swift hare running through burrows—his brushwork lacks only a bit of vigor." The Song Dynasty poet Su Shi admired Ouyang Xun's Small Seal script, commenting: "Ouyang Shujiang's calligraphy is exquisite and tight, standing out from the crowd, especially in Small Seal script." The Song Dynasty calligrapher Ning Mifu loved Ouyang Xun's cursive script, saying: "Ouyang's cursive script by the young master is brilliant and moving." Among Ouyang Xun's eight calligraphic styles, only Regular Script and Running Script are currently extant. Surviving Regular Script masterpieces include the "Huangfu Jun Stele," "Huadu Temple Stele," "Jiudu Temple Stele," "Jiucheng Palace Stele," "Yu Gonggong Stele," and "Fang Yanqian Stele," among others. Running Script traces include the "Zhang Han Tie," "Mengmen Tie," and "Qianbei Zifu." The "Huadu Temple Stele," in full "Huadu Temple Monk Yong's Sarira Tablet," was erected in 631 during the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty. It is a 35-line Regular Script stele with 33 characters per line. The original stone is now lost, but it is considered a masterpiece of Ouyang Xun's late Regular Script, completed a year after the "Jiucheng Palace Stele." Historical records state that when Ouyang Xun was young, his brushwork was still weak, but as he aged, his strength improved, and his calligraphy became extraordinary, likely due to his diligent practice. His late Regular Script is best represented by the "Jiucheng Palace" and "Huadu Temple Steles."
In a postscript by Zhao Mengfu of the Yuan Dynasty, it is written: "During the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty, Ouyang Shujiang was the most skilled calligrapher, and the 'Sarira Tablet of Monk Yong' was his finest work." Wang Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty noted in his "Yanzhou Mountain Person's Drafts": "Zhao Zigu holds Ouyang Shujiang's 'Huadu' and 'Quan' Steles as models for Regular Script. Although I dare not agree, they are indeed among his finest steles. The 'Huadu' Stele is particularly refined and tight, with deep and strong lines, though its sharp features somewhat lack warmth. It may be too deliberately precise, with a rigid inner structure, making the composition appear stiff and losing some novelty."
Due to the early loss of the original "Huadu Temple Stele," a carved replica was made during the Song Dynasty, divided into two types: South Thin and North Thick. In the Guangxu era, a six-page fragment of an old rubbing of the "Huadu Temple Stele" was discovered in the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang. According to Wang Zhuanghong's research, "it was indeed a carved replica." Among the surviving rubbings, only the one preserved in the Four Ouyang Hall of Wu County is an original rubbing, now housed in the Shanghai Library. The publication of this rubbing from the Four Ouyang Hall is made available to the public.