Liu Zhe
On a summer weekend, while sorting out old things, I saw an epitaph from the Tang Dynasty that I wrote down in my hometown more than 20 years ago on a yellowed notebook. The inscription is "Inscription on the epitaph of Chen's family in Yingchuan, Mrs. Liufu Jun's wife in Hedong, Hedong, Tang Dynasty". After consulting books such as "Complete Tang Texts" and "Complete Tang Poems", there is no record of the epitaph or its preface. It is believed to be lost poems and lost articles. It is a rare and precious historical document of the Tang Dynasty.
My hometown, Meijiang, Lanxi City, Zhejiang Province (formerly part of Tonghua Township, Pujiang County in ancient times), has been home to outstanding people since ancient times. It is understood that this epitaph is the only Tang Dynasty epitaph discovered so far in Lanxi, Zhejiang, and is extremely precious. The epitaph was originally collected by a villager of the Liu family in Liucun Natural Village, Xitangxia Administrative Village, Hengxi Town, this city, and has been handed over to the Lanxi Municipal Museum for collection and safekeeping.
The epitaph consists of an epitaph and a tomb cover. The epitaph is 51.5 centimeters long, 38 centimeters wide and 5 centimeters thick, with about 400 words. It was engraved in the 15th year of Xiantong (874), Yizong of the Tang Dynasty, about 1140 years ago. The epitaph is basically well preserved. The text on the stele is clearly legible, recording the tomb owner's surname, life story, historical era, family background, etc. Wentong's calligraphy is smooth, full of literary talent, and his calligraphy is powerful. It is a first-hand precious historical material for studying the literature and calligraphy of the Tang Dynasty, as well as the origin of surnames, customs, and historical evolution of the region.
There are now tens of thousands of descendants of the Liu family living in Lanxi, Pujiang and other places in Zhejiang. According to the "Genealogy of the Liu Family in Shushan", in the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, Liu Zhu escorted Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty to the south. After hearing the news from Shanxi, he came to Hangzhou to serve as an official. Later, due to political disagreements with the traitor Qin Hui, he lived in seclusion in Hengxi at the foot of Wushu Mountain. . Liu Guan, the seventh grandson of Liu Zhu, was a great Confucian of the Yuan Dynasty and one of the "Four Outstanding Scholars" of the Yuan Dynasty. Although the Liu family in Shushan and the Liu family found on the epitaphs of the Tang Dynasty belong to the Liu family in Hedong and are both descendants of Liu Xiahui, they are not from the same clan.
I will not make any superficial guesses, but compile them into a written document for the benefit of readers. I traveled to the capital to study, but it was a pity that I did not return home in time to read and proofread the original monument. Because some of the original inscriptions are illegible and my copying is unclear, there may be errors and omissions. Please forgive me. When I have the opportunity in the future, when I return home, I will make a rubbing of the original stele and make it public to all my colleagues. It will definitely be wonderful. The full text of the epitaph is now transcribed as follows:
The epitaph of the Chen family in Yingchuan, the wife of Liufujun in Hedong Province in the Tang Dynasty, is combined with a preface
Li Cong'ai, a native of Liuren Mountain, wrote and wrote
Mrs. Chen was originally from Yingchuan, and since the time of Yu and Shun, she has been appointed to the clan, wears tassels from generation to generation, and has written historical records, which will not be described in detail here.
Shizu originated from Jiangdong and was a native of Jinhua Township, Jinhua County, Wuzhou. The lady was born kind, gentle and gentle in childbirth. She was famous both inside and outside Yong and throughout the country. In the first year of the hairpin year, Li returned to the Liu family. The public is self-reliant and independent, and reads history in a complete way. How can one entertain himself? There are ups and downs, and he does not seek to support the world's virtues. My husband passed away twelve years ago. The wife is suddenly ill, the relatives pray to God, she is born but she is not married, she has no evidence of music, she is afraid that the dream code will come true, the wise man will not hurt her, and she will live in a lonely place. On August 13, the fifteenth year of Xiantong, he was finally buried privately and buried in the fiftieth year of Xin.
There were four heirs, and their eldest name was Gai. They were filial piety and brother-in-law, or invited Taoist priests, so they took the Li family in Longxi and gave birth to a son. The second son is called Yue, the third son is called Chang, and the fourth son is called Tuo. The second son grew up in Guo, traveled to the capital, or received the king's grandson. He was magnanimous and magnanimous, and had the heart to explore the sea. Wandering around to serve in the county, he married the Ni family of Langya, but the auspicious date was not met. The woman said that she was from Limen, Longxi Province. She was in the house in her hairpin years. We all cried and mourned, and she failed to honor the ceremony. On the fifth day of the eleventh month of that year, Gengyin was informed that she would move to Shufeng Yue, Tonghua Township, Puyang County, Dangzhou. Tonohara moved to a quiet room. The tombs of the ancestors and husbands each have inscriptions on them, both of which are in the same direction. They return to each other once a week, which is also the etiquette.
From the mist, the wind carries the wind, and the righteous destiny records the year. The words are not close to the text, so I don't give in, but I make an inscription:
Shu peak falls back, Xiangyao spring fragrant.
The country begins to change, and there is a beginning and an end.
The sun in the deep mountains makes life seem like a dream.
The world is different, still in the wilderness.
The passing away is empty, and the pure stone is it.
It reaches Tang in the east, Tang in the south in the west, and Longchun in the north. It was engraved on the second day of the first month of the fifteenth year of Xiantong period