Burial Inscription of the Crane

Author: Huayang Zhenyi (Southern and Northern Dynasties)
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2003-01-01
Features: "Epitaph for the Stork," in regular script. A famous cliffside inscription. The inscription was carved during the Southern Dynasties period. It consists of twelve lines, with each line containing either twenty-three or twenty-five characters. The authorship remains controversial, with no definitive conclusion. The original inscription was composed by Huayang Zhenyi and inscribed by Shanghuang Shanyao. It was originally carved on the stone wall at the foot of Mount Jiao in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu. Later, due to a landslide, the stones fell into the river. In the Kangxi era, five stones were recovered and moved to the walls of Dinghui Temple. In 1960, the five stones were reunited and built into the wall. The text is arranged from left to right, with varying sizes of characters, irregular and spacious calligraphy, and a mix of square and round strokes. It has been highly regarded by calligraphers throughout history. "Dongzhou Cao Tang Jinshi Ba" praises it as: "Among all calligraphic rules, none have combined the essence of seal script and clerical script, or the styles of both the south and north, as perfectly as the 'Epitaph for the Stork' by Zhenri." The best surviving ink copies are the "Unearthed from Water" by Yang Bin.