Prabhutaratna Pagoda Stele

This image is a rubbing taken from an engraved stone stele that was originally created for a Buddhist pagoda in the Tang-dynasty capital Changan (modern Xian) in the year 752. Composed by an essayist named Cen Xun, the text of the inscription was written out by one of China's most famous calligraphers, Yan Zhenqing. It was then engraved onto a stone tablet to be preserved for posterity. Tightly composed and crisply executed, this inscription is an excellent example of the "regular script" (kaishu) style of calligraphy that was favored at the court of the Tang emperor Xuanzong (r. 712 - 756). This particular rubbing was acquired in China in 1874, and was thought already to be quite old at that time.