Ouyang Xun 欧阳询

Ouyang Xun (557-641), also named Ouyang Xinben, was a Confucian scholar and calligrapher of the early Tang Dynasty. He used to be an official in the Sui dynasty and was a close friend of Li Yuan, founder of the Tang dynasty. Ouyang Xun was intelligent since young and performed well academically. He served under the Tang Dynasty as scholar at the Hongwen Academy where he also taught calligraphy. He was one of the principal contributors to the Categorised Collections of Literature and Articles.

During the Tang period, the predominant script was the regular or standard script, with a stylistic emphasis on brush methods or structure. The regular script was believed to have reached its maturity during the early Tang, representing a culmination of previous developments.

As early as in the Sui Dynasty, Ouyang's calligraphy was widely known, and by the time of Tang Dynasty, as the man got older and his calligraphy got better, both the person and calligraphy had attained a high degree of perfection. His calligraphy was first influenced by the style of stele inscriptions in the Northern Dynasties and the Sui dynasty. Later he followed Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi’s style and was the representative of their style in the Tang dynasty. He had also learned from Suo Jing’s calligraphy.

Ouyang Xun's calligraphy, largely kaishu (regular script), was known for its rigorous and grand strokes as well as its unique order and structure, and was called ‘Ou Style’ by later generations. His famous works of regular script include ‘Commemorative Stone Tablet for the Sweet Spring at the Jiucheng Palace’ (Jiucheng Gong) which is said to be the Best Regular Script in history and has become one of the best model calligraphy for learners of kaishu calligraphy. His well known works on walking or running script (xingshu) are Mengdian Tie and Zhanghan Tie. Besides being an expert in kaishu and xingshu, Ouyang also wrote excellent lishu (official script).

In Chinese calligraphy history, Ouyang Xun is one of the Four Masters of Early Tang Dynasty. His is also as one of the four best calligraphers of regular script in history. The other three are Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan and Zhao Mengfu.

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欧阳询（557-641），亦名欧阳信本，是初唐儒士与书法家。他曾在隋朝庭中当官，又是唐朝开国君主李渊。欧阳询自小聪敏，读书颇有成就。为唐朝弘文馆学士，并在那里教书法。他也是《艺文类聚》的主要编纂者。

在唐代，楷书是主要的书写字体，其所强调的是笔法与结字。一般相信，楷书到了初唐已经成熟，代表楷书发展达到的一个高峰。

早在隋朝，欧阳询的书法就已经声名远播；到了唐代，则已进入了人书俱老的完美境界。他的书法最初受到北朝与隋朝碑文的影响，后来跟随二王书体，他的楷书在唐代代表二王的书体。他也学习索靖的书法。

欧阳询的书法，主要是楷书，以刚健雄伟著名，尤其是其独特的结字与章法，被后代称为‘欧体’。他有名的楷书有《九成宫醴泉铭碑》（简称《九成宫》）。《九成宫》被誉为楷书中的绝品，成为书法学习者学习楷书的最好法书之一。他的有名的行书有《仲尼梦奠帖》、《季鹰帖》。他除了精于楷书与行书，隶书也写得很好。

在书法史上，欧阳询是初唐四大家之一。他也是历史上楷书四大家之一。其他三位楷书大家是颜真卿、柳公权与赵孟頫。