Ouyang Xun
Tang dynasty calligrapher, politician, and writer; one of the Four Great Calligraphers of the Early Tang.
Ouyang Xun (557–641), courtesy name Xinben, was a Chinese calligrapher, politician, and writer of the early Tang dynasty. He was born in Changsha to a family of government officials and died in modern Anhui province. He served under the Sui dynasty in 611 as Imperial Doctor, and under the Tang dynasty as censor and scholar at the Hongwen Academy, where he taught calligraphy. He was a principal contributor to the Yiwen Leiju and became the Imperial Calligrapher, inscribing several major imperial steles. He was good at regular script, and his most famous work is the Stele in the Jiucheng Palace. Along with Yu Shinan, Xue Ji, and Chu Suiliang, he became known as one of the Four Great Calligraphers of the Early Tang.
- born
- 557, Changsha
- died
- 641, modern Anhui province
- field
- Calligraphy, politics, literature
- nationality
- Chinese
- known_for
- Regular script, Stele in the Jiucheng Palace, Kaiyuan Tongbao coin inscription
Lore & Background
Ouyang Xun was born in 557 in Changsha to a family of government officials. He served under the Sui dynasty in 611 as Imperial Doctor. Under the Tang dynasty, he served as censor and scholar at the Hongwen Academy, where he taught calligraphy. He was a principal contributor to the Yiwen Leiju. He became the Imperial Calligrapher and inscribed several major imperial steles. He was good at regular script, and his most famous work is the Stele in the Jiucheng Palace. He was considered a cultured scholar and a government official. Along with Yu Shinan, Xue Ji, and Chu Suiliang, he became known as one of the Four Great Calligraphers of the Early Tang. He notably wrote the inscription of the Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coin, which became one of the most influential coins in Chinese history, influencing calligraphic styles of other coinages in Japan, Sogdia, and Vietnam. The words in the logo of the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun were extracted from Ouyang's work Zongsheng Temple Inscription.
Reader's Guide
Ouyang Xun's significance rests on his mastery of regular script and his role as one of the Four Great Calligraphers of the Early Tang, alongside Yu Shinan, Xue Ji, and Chu Suiliang. His most famous work is the Stele in the Jiucheng Palace. He inscribed the Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coin, which became one of the most influential coins in Chinese history, affecting calligraphic styles in Japan, Sogdia, and Vietnam. The logo of the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun uses characters extracted from his Zongsheng Temple Inscription. He was a principal contributor to the Yiwen Leiju. A late 7th-century tale, “A Supplement to Jiang Zong’s Biography of a White Ape,” lampooned his legendary monkey-like ugliness and supernatural intellect, implying he was the unnatural offspring of his mother and a magic white ape. The tale tells how General Ouyang He, Ouyang Xun's historical father, killed the ape, who revealed the general's wife was pregnant and begged him not to kill the child. The tale ends with the birth of an unnamed son a year later.
Did You Know?
- Ouyang Xun served under the Sui dynasty in 611 as Imperial Doctor.
- He was a principal contributor to the Yiwen Leiju.
- He inscribed the Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coin, which influenced coin calligraphy in Japan, Sogdia, and Vietnam.
- The logo of the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun uses characters from his Zongsheng Temple Inscription.
- A late 7th-century tale lampooned his legendary monkey-like ugliness, implying he was the son of a magic white ape.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Ouyang Xun?
Ouyang Xun (557–641) was a Tang dynasty calligrapher, government official, and scholar originally from Changsha. He is traditionally ranked among the Four Great Calligraphers of the Early Tang period.
What script style is Ouyang Xun most associated with?
He is best remembered for his mastery of regular script (kaishu), a formal and structured style that became a foundational model for later Chinese calligraphers. His brushwork emphasized vertical strokes and a disciplined sense of balance.
What are Ouyang Xun's most famous works?
He is credited with the calligraphy on the Jiucheng Palace stele, the inscription for the Kaiyuan Tongbao coin, and contributing to the compilation of the Yiwen Leiju encyclopedia. These pieces remain standard reference points in the study of Tang-era brushwork.
What was Ouyang Xun's role outside of calligraphy?
Beyond his artistic reputation, he served as a court politician and literary scholar within the early Tang administration. His involvement in the Yiwen Leiju project reflects a broader engagement with imperial scholarship and bureaucratic culture.
Why is Ouyang Xun considered important in calligraphy history?
His disciplined regular-script style set a benchmark that influenced generations of scribes and artists well beyond the Tang era. Being counted among the Four Great Calligraphers of the Early Tang cemented his place as a defining figure in the Chinese calligraphic tradition.
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