Ouyang Xun (557–641), courtesy name Xinben (信本), was a Confucian scholar and calligrapher of the early Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

. He was born in Hunan, Changsha, to a family of government officials; and died in modern Anhui

Anhui

Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...

 province.

Achievements

He was a talented student who read widely in the classics. He served under the Sui Dynasty

Sui Dynasty

The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....

 in 611 as Imperial Doctor. He served under the Tang Dynasty as censor and scholar at the Hongwen Academy. There he taught calligraphy. He was a principal contributor to the Yiwen Leiju

Yiwen Leiju

The Yiwen Leiju is a Chinese encyclopedia completed during the Tang Dynasty by the calligrapher Ouyang Xun.It was divided into 47 sections and many subsections. It covered all subjects and contains many quotations from older works, many long lost. It also cites its sources. It was completed by...

.

He became the Imperial Calligrapher and inscribed several major imperial steles.
He was considered a cultured scholar and a government official.
Along with Yu Shinan

Yu Shinan

Yu Shinan , courtesy name Boshi , was a master of calligraphy in early Tang Dynasty. He was also a paramount official, litterateur and well known confucian scholar in Emperor Taizong of Tang's era....

 and Chu Suiliang

Chu Suiliang

Chu Suiliang , courtesy name Dengshan , formally Duke of Henan , was a chancellor of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, during the reigns of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Taizong's son Emperor Gaozong...

 he became known as one of the Three Great Calligraphers of the Early Tang.

External links

• Gallery of Ouyang Xun at China Online Museum
• Resource Library Ouyang Xun — artnet.com.
• Yiwen Leiju "Collection of Various Matters from Classics and other Literature" — Chinaknowledge.de.
• Callygraphy during the Tang Dynasty Art Virtue