Book of Clerical Script (Volumes 1 and 2)

Author: Hong Jun Tao
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1991-06-01
Features: The Xianyu Huang Stele was erected in the eighth year of the Yanxi period of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 165). It was unearthed in May 1973 in Wuqing County, Tianjin City. This stele has not been recorded in historical documents or inscriptions books. It is the most well-preserved Han stele discovered to date, with the largest number of characters. Its calligraphy is square and robust, with rich variations in strokes, and its style is similar to the famous "Zhang Qian Stele," making it a valuable reference for studying Han Dynasty calligraphy.
1. "Lizibian" is an anthology of famous bamboo slips, silk books, steles, inscriptions, bricks, and tiles, as well as calligraphy by renowned calligraphers from ancient China. It is also a dictionary that converts regular script into clerical script, serving as a reference for calligraphy researchers, ancient artifact researchers, paleographers, and readers who are passionate about calligraphy.
2. This anthology includes the calligraphy of over 200 renowned calligraphers from the Qin, Han periods to the modern era, selected from hundreds of preserved steles, ink rubbings, and photocopied works. The characters are arranged alphabetically and printed in their original style and spirit.
3. This anthology is organized according to the character classification system of the "Cihai" dictionary. It includes over 3,860 characters in regular script and over 43,990 variant clerical script characters. Below each regular script character, there are over 130 variant forms (marked in square brackets) and over 1,150 simplified forms (marked in parentheses). An "Stroke Index" is appended at the end.
4. The order of clerical script in this anthology follows the sequence of bamboo slips, silk books, steles, and inscriptions, followed by the calligraphy of renowned calligraphers. The clerical script is arranged chronologically, from top to bottom and from right to left, with larger characters aligned to the left. However, due to variations in character size, there are a few exceptions in layout. Each clerical script character is annotated with the name of the bamboo slip, silk book, stele, or calligrapher. If consecutive numbers come from the same source or calligrapher, they are marked only below the last character. An "Index of Cited Sources and Calligraphers" and an "Index of Cited Clerical Script Books" are appended for reference.
5. The damaged parts of the clerical script materials in the original copies of this anthology are not heavily restored, and efforts are made to preserve their original state.