Ouyang Xun (557-641), Han nationality, courtesy name Xinben, was born in Hengzhou (now Hengyang) in 557 AD, his ancestral home is Linxiang, Tanzhou (now Changsha, Hunan), one of the four masters of regular script (Ouyang Xun, Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan, and Zhao Mengfu) one. Dr. Taichang, an official in the Sui Dynasty, was granted the title of Prince Shugengling in the Tang Dynasty, also known as "Ouyang Shugeng". Together with three others of the same generation (Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang, and Xue Ji), they are also known as the Four Great Masters of the Early Tang Dynasty. Because his son Ouyang Tong was also good at calligraphy, he was also called "Da Ou". Ouyang Xun's regular script is unparalleled in the world for its rigorous standard and powerful writing skills. He is said to be the best regular script among the Tang Dynasty people. Both he and Yu Shinan were famous for their calligraphy in the early Tang Dynasty, and they were both called "European Yu". Later generations saw that their calligraphy was extremely dangerous in the ordinary, and was the easiest for beginners to learn, so they called it "European style".
