Yan Zhenqing's earliest calligraphy work - "Epitaph of Guo Xuji":
On June 7, 2001, Xinhua News Agency reported a news: Archaeologists in Yanshi, Henan Province recently discovered a famous artifact from the Tang Dynasty in Yanshi.The epitaph of Guo Xuji was written and written by the calligrapher Yan Zhenqing. According to the appraisal of relevant experts, this is the earliest Yan Zhenqing discovered in my country.Calligraphy art work.
This epitaph is made of bluestone, 104.8 centimeters long, 106 centimeters wide and 16 centimeters thick. The seal on the top reads "The epitaph of Guo Gong, the prince and grand master of the Tang Dynasty, presented to him by the minister of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the former Tang Dynasty". The four sides are engraved with auspicious animals and patterns. Zhiwen regular script, 35 lines, 34 characters per line, 1150 characters in total, with light lines, dignified and neat fonts, and very fine carving.
This epitaph isThe role of calligraphy in the history of research is particularly important. The remaining stele of "Confucius Temple" and "Duobao Pagoda" are early works of the Yan family discovered in the past.A calligraphy work (written in 762 AD), this epitaph was written in the eighth year of Tianbao (749 AD), which is earlier than the above two works. Yan Zhenqing was 41 years old at the time.He already has a strong foundation in the art of calligraphy.
The text of the epitaph is regular and unified, with tight character structure and strong writing style. Compared with the earliest photocopy of Duobao Pagoda stele rubbings from the Northern Song Dynasty, it maintains the original style of Yan's regular script and is an early stage for the study of Yan style.Calligraphy is a valuable resource.
According to experts, this epitaph supplements some deficiencies in Tang history, indirectly reflects the major events that occurred between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo at that time, and some of the true historical conditions, and is of certain value to historical research. This epitaph is now kept in the Yanshi Mall Museum.
