Longzang Temple: Stele

CHINA, Hebei, Zhengding; Sui dynasty

This stele, erected at Longzang Temple in Hebei, includes an inscription with 30 lines of 50 characters each. It is titled at the top in 15 characters: “Stele of Longzang Temple erected by the Inspector General of Hengzhou on behalf of the country.” The inscribed text records the Inspector General enlisting the help of common people in the construction of the temple.
The upright and broad characters were structured squarely in a well-composed manner. Elegant yet forceful linear brushstrokes were used in the seemingly unadorned, quiet style with a subtle blend of clerical script. It is a conflation of the stout Southern Dynasties regular script and the vigorous epigraphic script of Northern Dynasties steles, as well as a primer of Early Tang period (618–712) calligraphy. Yang Shoujing of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) noted in a close examination of the stele, “the inscribed script is similar to that of Yu Shinan in its restrained regularity, while the brushwork parallels Chu Suiliang in strength, without the precipitous tendencies of Ouyang Xun.” Kang Youwei also remarked that the stele is a hallmark of transition between past and present epochs, which elucidates the important aesthetic influence this stele inscription held upon subsequent calligraphers in Chinese art history.