"Gong Bin's Epitaph" is also called "Gong Bin's and his wife Chen's Epitaph", and its full name is "The Epitaph of Zhou Hussar General You Guanglu, Doctor Gong Jun of Yunyang County". Writing a book is ominous. In October of the 15th year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign in the Sui Dynasty (AD 595), Ping County entered the county. In April of the 24th year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1819), it was unearthed in Nanxiang, Wugong, Shaanxi. He once belonged to Duan Jiamo of Yanshi, Zhao Qiansheng of Weinan, Duanfang of Changbai, etc. It is recorded in the "Explanation of Epitaphs of Han, Wei, Southern and Northern Dynasties" written by Zhao Wanli today.
This epitaph was covered with the nine-character seal script "Epitaphate of General Gong Jun of Zhou Husband", which is now lost. Main text, 32 lines, 32 words per line. The bounded grid is vaguely visible. The length and width of the stone are 60 cm each. The word "jun" in the first line of the old rubbing "General Hussars" is still missing. In Sha Menghai's "Illustrated History of Chinese Calligraphy" (2) today, the third and sixth characters in the first line of "Gong Bin's Epitaph" are "General Zhou Husband You Guanglu, the founding man of Yunyang County". , the word "right" is damaged, and the fourth and fifth words, the word "general", are no longer visible. The calligraphy is neat, graceful and elegant, and belongs to the orderly and stable category in the Sui Dynasty. The squares and circles of the pen are used to complement each other, and the structure is precise and square yet flexible. Duan Jiamo, a collector of modern epigraphy and stone, commented: "The font is ancient, with bell and sheep methods, and the seal cover also has the legacy of the Han and Wei dynasties, which is beyond the reach of later generations." ("Inscriptions and Stones at a Corner") Zhu Shiduan saw through his influence on later generations. Influence, it is said: "Calligraphy has always been full of ups and downs, and has opened up the methods of sages in the early Tang Dynasty." ("The Collection of Epigraphy and Stone in Yilutang").
Author: Mo Xiaobu
Selected from "Rare Books and Steles of Past Dynasties - Gong Bin's Epitaph" by Zhejiang People's Fine Arts Publishing House
