Ink Rubbing of the Preface to the Poetry on Spirit Spring at Meiyuan

Ink Rubbing of the Preface to the Poetry on Spirit Spring at Meiyuan Wei Yuandan, Tang dynasty (618-907) Engraved in the fourth year of the Chuigong reign (688) in the Tang dynasty, the contents of this stele were transcribed by Yin Yuankai. The text extols the efficacy of water from Spirit (Shen) Spring at Meiyuan (modern Meiyuan township in Fuping County, Shaanxi). The original stone still survives at the Forest of Steles in Xi’an. Yin Yuankai, whose birth and death dates are unknown, was a native of Leshou (modern Xian County, Hebei) who excelled at seal script calligraphy. The lines of the writing in this stele are full and powerful, the vertical strokes often done as long and needle-like. The structure of the characters is both angular and rounded with a strong emphasis on variation to the side radicals. In the regularity of the style is an interesting touch that gives this seal script a rare sense of liveliness.