Classics of Chinese Stele and Manuscripts -- Fu Ge Song

Author: Shanghai Fine Arts Publishing House
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-09-18
Features: "The Inscription of Kongge" is a cliff carving, commonly known as the "Kongge Stele," with the full title "The Tribute of Li Xi, Governor of Wudu, to the Xili Bridge and Kongge." The stone is located on the white cliff at Xujiaoping in Lueyang County, Shaanxi Province, measuring 170 cm in height and 125 cm in width. It is written in Clerical Script, with nineteen lines. Except for the sixth and tenth lines, which have eleven and eighteen characters respectively, the remaining lines are fully twenty-seven characters each, totaling 472 characters. Qing Dynasty scholar Fang Shuo once commented on this stele: "The calligraphy is ancient and square, carrying the essence of the early transformation of Seal Script to Clerical Script during the Western Han Dynasty." Steles of similar time, such as "The Inscription of Xixia" (No. 171) and "The Memorial of Yang Hui" (No. 173), share a comparable style. Qing Dynasty scholar Yang Shoujing believed that "The Inscription of Kongge" resembles "The Inscription of Xixia" in style but lacks refined stone selection, resulting in a sharp loss of sharpness. It exudes a profound sense of vastness. Therefore, Qing Dynasty scholar Wan Jing remarked: "The characters resemble 'Xia Cheng' but are exceptionally bold and strange. Observing the brushwork, it appears rough and clumsy, as if it were drawn by a five- or six-year-old child in a village school. Yet upon closer examination, a sense of primitive simplicity and a lack of pretense shines through the lines." Kang Youwei even drew parallels between its calligraphy and Yan Zhenqing's style, suggesting that its rustic boldness is its defining characteristic.