In October 1997, a Tang tomb was found in the brick factory of Shouyangshan Town, Yanshi City. The tomb is a tudong tomb, which was seriously damaged, and there is no burial artifact, only the epitaph was found in the Yongdao, and the book was written for yan Zhenqing, a great calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty, which is the earliest work of Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy art currently discovered. The epitaph is well-structured and the strokes are strong and powerful. It is the same as the "Duo Pagoda Stele", and the style is basically the same, and the earliest "Duo Pagoda Stele" in the collection is a photocopy of the Northern Song Dynasty Tuobao.
The newly unearthed "Tomb of Guo Xuanji" maintains the original style of Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy. Tombstone bluestone, height 107 cm, width 104 cm, thickness 4.5 cm. Cover the seal book: "Tang Dynasty Gongbu Shangshu Presented prince Taishi Guo Cemetery Inscription". The main text, 35 lines, full line of 34 words, a total of 1150 words. This post is a Yan stele that was just unearthed from Henan in 1997, well preserved, with clear words, and is the earliest calligraphy work of Yan Zhenqing (41 years old) that has been found so far.
It records the life deeds of the tomb owner Guo Xuanji, Guo Xuanji is a native of Taiyuan, Shanxi, he has successively served as an envoy, Gongbu Shilang, Hubu Shilang, Gongbu Shangshu and other positions, in the battle to guard the tang Dynasty border, Guo Xuanji personally led the soldiers to fight on the battlefield, repeatedly made battle merits, was commended by the emperor, he also rectified the unstable factors in the border area, Tang Tianbao eight years, that is, 749 AD, Guo Xuanji died, at the age of fifty-nine, after his death, the emperor ordered a state funeral for him.
From Zhiwen's point of view, Yan Zhenqing admired Guo Xuanji's talent and moral character, and the tomb owner's upright and upright integrity and heartfelt and bold righteousness were all admired by Yan Zhenqing, so similar interests were the reason why Yan Zhenqing wrote an epitaph for Guo Xuanji, and after Guo Xuanji's death, her wife asked Yan Zhenqing to write the "Guo Xuanji Epitaph".