Epitaph of Wei Le’an and Wang Yuanxu

[Epitaph of Wang Yuanxu in Wei Le’an]

Epitaph of Wang Yuanxu in Wei Le’an, Northern Wei Dynasty, 66 cm high and 68 cm wide
The epitaph in the fifth year of the Zhengshi reign of the Northern Wei Dynasty (508 years) is carved with 677 characters in 26 lines, in official script. There is a title in the front, and an inscription in the middle. The content of the publication recounts the great deeds of the ancestors of the Yuan and Xu Dynasties and their own virtue and official achievements. The inscription of the epitaph in the Northern Dynasty has become a fixed pattern. The epitaph is mostly square and uniform. The content of the epitaph is preceded by the title, and the middle is the epitaph, and the suffix is the epitaph
The epitaph of Yuanxu is one of more than 160 surviving imperial family epitaphs of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Most of the noble epitaphs of the royal family in the Northern Wei Dynasty are excellent ones. The surname of Yuan Xu is Tuoba, and the surname of Han is Yuan. He is the great-grandson of Tuoba, the descendant of Tuoba Fan, the king of Le’an, and the eldest son of Tuoba Liang (Tuoba Liang). The “Book of Wei · Biography of the Six Kings of Ming and Yuan” contains the deeds of his ancestors and fathers. Before reaching Yuan Xu, Tuoba Liang died, and after the death of Tuoba Liang, Yuan Xu, the then governor of Luozhou, succeeded to the throne. The content of the epitaph of Yuan Xu is of great historical value. Its writing emphasizes law, excellent printing, beautiful calligraphy, and high calligraphy value, which is rare in later generations. It was unearthed in the southwest of Anjiagou, north of Luoyang City, Henan Province in 1919
Recorded text: the epitaph of King Le’an, the governor of Luozhou, the great general of the Great Wei Zhengdong. The word “Shaozong” is also used by Luoyang people in Henan Province. The great-grandson of the Ming and Yuan emperors, Yitong Xuan Wang Fan is in the right shape, and the Yuan son of the General Jian Wang Liang. Your father Yiwu, the emperor of the region, built the summer, and your father went through the four dynasties, and made a real contribution to each other. His Hongxun Jie Lue, his heroic deeds, and his pictures were recorded in the Ding Temple, and burned in the secret seal. You should be respectful and filial, be kind to friends, and be involved in numerous books, which is called love of poetry and etiquette. You should be generous, quiet and simple. You should be careful with your words and actions. You should not be envious and disrespectful of your time. You should be gentle in your own place, not in the door of the powerful. Therefore, those who are proud of their wares, those who admire the festival drink their wind, and those who meet Xianzu do not seize their ambition, and those who meet filial piety are like their hearts. Therefore, they get the Tianshen Garden to secrete, raise the country of Mao, and chant with the people of the state and the people of the country, which is known as Qingyu. At the beginning of the reign of the Jingming Emperor, he elected the government to be close to the wise, respected the justice of the country, and made a beautiful voice. He was elected as Zong Zhengqing. If it is not good, we have to leave. The monarch is dignified and tolerant, pacifies the government and punishes the people, trains with the wind of Changdi, and insists on the righteousness of Zhanlu, so the royal family is harmonious, and the inside and outside are happy. Ru Ru Xiao’s theft, since the imperial edict of Jiangdian, the grave is rugged, dangling the people, connecting the virtuous Guizhou, the jackal eyes and the bird look, the emperor is the choice of the meritorious minister, thinking that it is not the emperor’s inability to touch, so he advised the emperor to supervise the military forces of Luozhou, the general of Longxiang, and the governor of Luozhou for fake festivals. Your high voice, your early vibration, your good news, and your policy, like mountains and mountains, have never been implemented. You are to explain the emperor’s style, Zhang Tianluo, use the words to move, Sui Yihui, change the sound of the old room, invite the different people to change, and sing in unison for thousands of miles, which is called Kangzai. In the spring and autumn fifty-ninth year, the first month of the fourth year of the first lunar month of the first lunar month was the time to sleep. If officials choke miserably, people will lose their relatives. The coffin was moved to Dongdu on April 27th in the summer. The officials and people were in love with it. The funeral procession of Fuzi wailed like two thousand people sent to Jingshi. The king’s waiting and the guest and friend’s welcoming Xuan Gai belonged to the road. On the 27th of May, he arrived in Beijing and was buried in the imperial court. The court was merciful, and the Lord mourned, and the imperial edict was sent to me. His official courtesy was very generous. Guangdong was buried in the northwest of Luoyang City on the 30th of the third lunar month of October, and was buried in the east of Xiaowen Mausoleum of Emperor Gaozu. The heirs, who are forever in pain and kindness, embrace the limitless, engrave stones and publish fragrance to show the prosperity of their ancestors, and eulogize them: Kaiji Xuan Fu, create the Wei calendar of karma; The wind of the capital feather is now, and the scale of the dragon is gone; The depth of the abyss is deep, and the height of the mountain is high; Xiyu Daidong is divided into two parts; Qin Ruo Emperor ordered, Ming Baohongji; Jade clean Jinshan, ice clean and clear Yi; When the esophagus was Yao and the wind was Shun; When you meet the clouds, you can fly in the sky; What is flying in the sky; Clear heart sword jade, clear body water mirror; Heng Junzong stone, brocade cut people’s lives; The light shines in the east and shines in the west; The west is reflected in the west, and the sky is still in the sky; If you don’t wait for it to change, the bandits will say that it is a success; When you look at comfort, you lose your control; Liu Xin lives in the world, and Wei Gu grows in the world.

魏乐安王元绪墓志拓片