Tang Yong

CHINA; Northern Qi dynasty

Tang Yong was a calligrapher whose style was comprised of a mix between regular and clerical scripts. His brushstrokes were bold, forceful, open, and square. The structures of his compositions are round, succinct, and steady.
Between 568 and 572, he engraved several scriptures inside the North Xiangtangshan Grotto 3 in Hebei. These scriptures included the Vimalakirti Sutra, Srimala Sutra, Bei Sutra, and the Sutra on Maitreya Attaining Buddhahood.
During the Northern Qi dynasty, numerous steles and stone tablets were carved. Among them, Stele of Tang Yong’s Sutra Inscriptions was engraved on the outside wall of the entrance to North Xiangtangshan Grotto 3. The engraving was done predominantly in clerical script with full and strong strokes. This inscription was considered a substantial work that influenced subsequent Tang dynasty (618–907) calligraphers.