Han Shi Chen Front and Rear Stele

Author: Editorial Group of "Selected Calligraphic Works from Ancient Inscriptions"
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-07-01
Features: The "Epigraph of Shi Chen, Governor of Lu Commandery, for the Confucian Temple" was built in the second year of the Jianning era (A.D. 169) during the Eastern Han Dynasty in March. The inscriptions are memorial records by Shi Chen, reporting his visit to the Confucian residence and sacrificial rites at the Confucian Temple, hence also known as "Shi Chen's Tribute Inscription," commonly referred to as "Shi Chen's Front Stele." The "Epigraph of Shi Chen, Governor of Lu Commandery, for the Sacrificial Rites at the Confucian Temple" was built on the eleventh day of April in the first year of the Jianning era (A.D. 168) during the Eastern Han Dynasty, commonly referred to as "Shi Chen's Back Stele." The front stele has seventeen lines, each with thirty-six characters. The back stele has fourteen lines, each with thirty-six characters, with later inscriptions from the Tang Dynasty's Dazhou era. The steles are now preserved in the Confucian Temple in Qufu, Shandong. The "Front and Back Steles of Shi Chen" represent a mature style of Han Dynasty clerical script, characterized by (ancient and profound) brushwork, balanced and elegant structure, exquisite carving, and visible traces of the brushstrokes used during writing. They hold an important position in the history of Chinese calligraphy. Yang Shoujing, in his "Record of Steles," remarked: "The ancients said that not all Han Dynasty clerical script is excellent, yet a certain ancient and profound spirit is unmatched—this is one such example." This rubbing, titled "Performing Spring and Autumn Rites," features a perfectly preserved character for "autumn," which was executed in the early Ming Dynasty by Si. It is now published in a photolithographic edition for the reference and practice of calligraphy enthusiasts.