Han Yi Stele

Author: Selection of Ancient Stele Calligraphy
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-08-01
Features: The Eastern Han Dynasty "Lu Xiang Yi Ying Tribute to the Confucius Temple with a Hundred Stone Commanders" Stele (abbreviated as "Yi Ying Stele") is one of the famous Han Dynasty steles in ancient China. This stele was carved during the first year of the Yongxing reign of Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 153), a period of flourishing Han Clerical Script in China, and thus the script had already reached a relatively mature stage. The calligraphy of the entire stele is dignified in structure, with a strong and imposing character, and a graceful and elegant demeanor, as the predecessors commented: "The bones and flesh are well-proportioned, a masterpiece of Han Clerical Script." The original stone of the "Yi Ying Stele" was originally placed in Xianyuan County of Yan Province, and is now stored in the Stele Forest Exhibition Hall in the East Wing of the Grand Hall of the Confucius Temple in Qufu. The stele is approximately 260 cm tall and 128 cm wide. The inscriptions are arranged in 18 lines, with 40 characters per line. At the end of the stele, there is a regular script postscript inscribed as "Later Han Zhong Taiwei wrote, Zhang Ziqiu inscribed according to the illustration in the seventh year of the Jiaqi reign of the Song Dynasty." It is now published in a photolithographic edition based on the best-known "Wang Family Rubbing," providing a valuable resource for calligraphy enthusiasts to study and practice.