Huangfu Dianbei Introduction: Tang Dynasty Ouyang Xun Regular Script

Author: Zheng Mingzhong
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-11-01
Features: "Huangfu Jun Stele," also known as "Huangfu Dan Stele," full name "Sui Zhianguo Hongyi Minggong Huangfu Yuan Stele." Written by Yu Zining, inscribed in regular script by Ouyang Xun. The stele comprises twenty-eight lines, each with fifty-nine characters. The header features twelve characters in seal script: "Sui Zhianguo Hongyi Minggong Huangfu Fu Jun Stele." It is currently preserved in the Stele Forest of the Shaanxi Provincial Museum. Ouyang's style is characterized by its slimness and audacity, and this stele embodies this feature most distinctly among all his works, having completely shed the influence of the "Two Wangs" (Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi) and developed its own unique style.
In the Qing Dynasty, Sun Chengze's Gengzi Xiaoxia Ji records: "Its brushwork carries the division method of the Han people, and it is the (satisfying) script of Shuizhong (Ouyang Xun's courtesy name). Wang Yuanmei remarked that compared to other steles, it is particularly audacious and steep." Yang Shoujing's Xue Shu Er Yan states: "Ouyang's Huangfu Dan Stele is exceptionally audacious and steep. Zhang Huaiquan's Shu Duan describes its dense and formidable brushwork as if it were spear and halberd in a military arsenal—this is precisely the case." Wu Fanggang of the Qing Dynasty went even further in praising this stele: "It is the (essential starting point) for those learning Tang Dynasty regular script. If one does not begin with this, how can they enter the structures of the Jiu Cheng Stele or the Huadu Stele?" This is Wu Fanggang's earnest advice, which can serve as a guide for beginners.
"Huangfu Jun Stele," also known as "Huangfu Dan Stele," full name "Sui Zhianguo Hongyi Minggong Huangfu Yuan Stele." Written by Yu Zining, inscribed in regular script by Ouyang Xun. The stele comprises twenty-eight lines, each with fifty-nine characters. The header features twelve characters in seal script: "Sui Zhianguo Hongyi Minggong Huangfu Fu Jun Stele." It is currently preserved in the Stele Forest of the Shaanxi Provincial Museum. Ouyang's style is characterized by its slimness and audacity, and this stele embodies this feature most distinctly among all his works, having completely shed the influence of the "Two Wangs" (Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi) and developed its own unique style.
In the Qing Dynasty, Sun Chengze's Gengzi Xiaoxia Ji records: "Its brushwork carries the division method of the Han people, and it is the (satisfying) script of Shuizhong (Ouyang Xun's courtesy name). Wang Yuanmei remarked that compared to other steles, it is particularly audacious and steep." Yang Shoujing's Xue Shu Er Yan states: "Ouyang's Huangfu Dan Stele is exceptionally audacious and steep. Zhang Huaiquan's Shu Duan describes its dense and formidable brushwork as if it were spear and halberd in a military arsenal—this is precisely the case." Wu Fanggang of the Qing Dynasty went even further in praising this stele: "It is the (essential starting point) for those learning Tang Dynasty regular script. If one does not begin with this, how can they enter the structures of the Jiu Cheng Stele or the Huadu Stele?" This is Wu Fanggang's earnest advice, which can serve as a guide for beginners.