Tang Yan Zhenqing's Calligraphy - Stele of Ode to the Eastern Painting

Author: Yan Zhenqing (Tang Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-01-01
Features: The full title of "The Eastern Painting Eulogy Stele" is "The Eulogy and Preface for Mr. Dongfang, the Grand Master of the Eastern Court of the Han Dynasty." The inscriptions on the stele are also the same. It was written by Xiahou Zhan of the Jin Dynasty and inscribed by Yan Zhenqing of the Tang Dynasty. It was erected in the twelfth month of the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era (754 AD) in the Tang Dynasty. The script is regular script. There are eighteen lines of eulogy on the front face of the stele; there are seventeen lines on the back, each with thirty characters. There are also two inscriptions on the top: one in seal script and one in clerical script, both with twelve characters. Su Shi of the Song Dynasty commented: "Yan Wulu's life-long inscriptions are only the 'Eastern Painting Eulogy' that are clear and majestic, yet not losing its clarity and distance." The characters on the "Eastern Painting Eulogy" stele are flat, sharp, profound, robust, and powerful, embodying the grandeur of Yan's prime at the age of forty-five. It is the best model for practicing large characters in the Yan style.