Part of the Original Stone Carved with Xuan Shi Biao, or the Memorial on Announcement by Zhong You, Commanded by Jia Sidao. Wang Xizhi imitated Zhong
(Beijing Capital Museum) Xuan Shi Biao, or the Memorial on Announcement, refers to the official memorial submitted by Zhong Yao (151-230), a chancellor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period, to Cao Pi (187-226), first emperor of Wei. Zhong Yao wrote the Memorial to persuade Cao Pi to accept the pledge of allegiance of Sun Quan (182-252), founder of the state of Eastern Wu. The original work of the Memorial was lost during the reign of Emperor Mu (343-361) of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The calligraphy model of the Memorial passed down to this day is, in fact. the version written by Wang Xizhi (303-361) of the Western Jin Dynasty imitating the original work of Zhong Yao. This piece of work was thus named because it is the original stone into which Jia Sidao (1213-1275), prime minister of the Southern Song Dynasty, commanded artisans to carve Wang Xizhi's calligraphy of Zhong Yao's Memorial of Announcement. After Jia Sidao's death, the original stone carved with the Memorial of Announcement was buried deep underground and it was only unearthed in the late Ming dynasty from the site of Banxian Cottage of the Jia Family in Hill Ge, Hangzhou. The Memorial on Announcement carved on the stone commanded by Jia Sidao is unique in that the calligraphy is the most celebrated among all exclusive calligraphy models (this refers to a model exclusively made for one single item of calligraphy) and that the stone is the only surviving one among all the stones carved with the Memorial on the Announcement in the Song dynasty. The original and authentic writing of the Memorial of Announcement by Zhong Yao had long been lost, nor could the paper version of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy imitating the Memorial be found. The only calligraphy of the Memorial surviving through a thousand years of history is the original stone.
Size: 7360px × 4912px
Photo credit: © Lou-Foto / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: biao, calligraphy, china, chinese, handwriting, jia, original, shi, sidao, stone, wang, xizhi, xuan, xuanshibiao, zhong
