Ouyang Xun

CHINA, Hunan, Changsha; Tang dynasty

Ouyang Xun was a calligrapher from Linxiang, Tanzhou (present day Changsha, Hunan) with a nickname of Xinben. He served as a scholar in the Hanlin Academy, among other positions within the imperial and governmental sector. Together with Pei Ju and Chen Shuda, he compiled Collection of Matters from Classics and Other Literature, totaling 100 fascicles.
Skilled in regular, running, and clerical script calligraphy, he combined the influence of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi with running and clerical scripts to create a square, compact, and dignified character structure known as Ouyang script. He was highly praised in the book Evaluation of Calligraphy, and alongside Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang, and Xue Ji, he was known as one of the Four Great Calligraphers of the Early Tang period (618–712).
His calligraphy work can been seen on the Stele of Zhaoren Temple, Stele of Master Sengyong at Huadu Temple, Stele of Huangfu Dan, and Stele of Zongsheng Guan. His other works include the inscription at Jiucheng Palace, and Thousand Character Classic in Running Script and A Post of Meng Dian, both of which are kept at the Liaoning Provincial Museum in Shenyang.