Tang Yan Zhenqing's Calligraphy of "Record of the Immortal Platform on Magu Mountain"

Author: Editorial Board of Selected Calligraphic Works from Historical Stele and Inscriptions
Publisher:
Publishing Date: March 1, 1995
Features: The stele "Record of the Immortal Platform on Magu Mountain in Nancheng County, Fuzhou" is 30 cm tall and 93 cm wide, with 13 lines, each containing 20 characters in regular script. Written and inscribed by Yan Zhenqing when he served as the governor of Fuzhou in the third year of the Dali era (768 AD) of the Tang Dynasty, after passing through Nancheng, Jiangxi, and visiting Magu Mountain. It was erected in April of the sixth year of the Dali era (771 AD). The stele is a representative work of Yan Zhenqing's regular script calligraphy, characterized by dignified elegance and majestic refinement. The characters are light on the horizontal strokes and heavy on the vertical ones, facing each other in form, with strokes that are rounded rather than angular, using turns instead of sharp angles, and displaying delicate and skillful brushwork. In the "Collected Records of Ancient Antiquities" by Song Dynasty scholar Ouyang Xiu, it is described as: "This record is vigorous, tight-knit, and exceptionally refined. Every stroke, whether thick or thin, follows the rules of calligraphy, and the more one looks, the better it appears." The original stele has long been lost, destroyed by lightning and fire in the Ming Dynasty, making its rubbings extremely rare. Numerous replications have been made, all of which have lost their original authenticity. This volume is a photolithographic reproduction of a Ming-era replicated rubbing, providing an excellent model for calligraphy enthusiasts to practice Yan-style regular script.