[QIAN HEXAGRAM]: Ink Rubbing of Li Yangbing's Tang Dynasty Seal Script Calligraphy from the 'Qian Hexagram' Stele.

Original navy floral fabric covered boards with titles and seal in black and red on a paper label fixed to the upper board. Quarto 35 x 21.3cm. Unpaginated. 18 pp in a concertina binding. A late twentieth century black ink rubbing of 215 characters of Tang dynasty seal script calligraphy from Li Yangbing's 'Qian Hexagram' stele, produced on rice paper. Twelve seal script characters per page and eleven on the final page. Blank on verso. A excellent better than very good copy, the binding square and firm, with rubbing to the extremities (through to the boards in some areas mainly at the corners), the paper label a little toned with light fading to the lower quarter of the upper board and top right corner of the rear board. The contents, with a small bookseller's label to the front pastedown, a 2cm short closed tear to the fold of the last page and a little lifting between glued pages, are otherwise clean throughout. A scarce and attractive example of Li Yangbing's calligraphic masterpiece.

A beautiful late twentieth century rubbing of seal script calligraphy from the 'Qian Hexagram' stone stele, carved by the great Tang dynasty calligrapher, poet, writer and government official Li Yangbing. Li Yangbing's work is renowned for its beauty and elegance, with 'The Story of Three Tombs', 'City God's Temple' and 'Qian Hexagram' stele his most acclaimed works. During his time as a government official in Dangtu, his relative the great Chinese poet Li Bai, sought shelter with him after his exile following the An Lushan Rebellion. Li Yangbing subsequently compiled, edited and wrote a preface for Li Bai's poems after his death at his request, which became an important primary source on the life and work of the poet. A master of small seal script (Zuan style) calligraphy, Li Yangbing is credited with its revival during the 'high Tang' period and was greatly influenced by the calligraphy of Qin Prime Minister Li Si and his 'Yishan Stele'. Small seal script originally evolved during the Qin Dynasty, when the eight nations of China became unified in 221 BC, with the first Qin emperor Qin Shi Huang introducing many reforms, including the gradual implementation of a standardised system of script characters. The 'Qian Hexagram' inscription is based on the fifteenth hexagram (of sixty four) from the Yijing ('Book of Changes'), also known as the 'humility' hexagram which praises the virtue of modesty and the benefit of humility. The stele was engraved at the request of a friend, whilst Yangbing was the Commander of Tu County, with the original stele consisting of three large bluestone pieces. During the Ming dynasty the Wuhu family obtained the stele with a further inscription added however this inscription stone was destroyed during the 'Cultural Revolution' with the other stones preserved at 12th Middle School in Wuhu City, Anhui Province.