The front is a prose preface, telling me why I wrote this article, and the middle body part is the key point, that is, an essay, telling me the ancestors of the tomb owner, his life experience, why he died, where he was buried, and so on. Finally, there is the inscription (poem), all four words.
For example, the last paragraph of Shangguan Waner's epitaph reads: "The big valve is big, the long source is far away, the crown is attacked, and the princes are in succession ..."
Therefore, Shangguan Waner's epitaph meets the writing requirements. But a strict epitaph will indicate who wrote the article, who wrote the calligraphy, including who wrote the seal script on the tomb cover, and finally add the name of the seal engraver. But this epitaph has not been written from beginning to end.
"Epitaphs in the Tang Dynasty before Kaiyuan were generally not written, and the author's name was not given unless the emperor specifically approved it." Li Ming explained that it would not be signed until the middle and late Tang Dynasty. He thought it was a standard epitaph.
This epitaph has 982 words. Is it a large epitaph?
"The scale of the epitaph does not depend on the number of words, but on the size of the stone tablet." Li Ming said that this stone is 74 cm long and 74 cm wide, even if it is a large epitaph, 50 cm or smaller, it is small, and this stone is just 74 cm long and 74 cm wide, which is relatively large.
Shangguan Waner's epitaph is beautifully worded, especially the last few words are very literary: "Just look at the pines, only listen to the graves, live for a thousand years, and praise the peppers." Li Ming said that many experts believe that people who use words accurately and write epitaphs are very skilled. But because there is no name, it is impossible to know who the author is.
"Generally speaking, the author of the epitaph and the author are famous officials at that time." Li Ming said that at present, he can only guess that the author is a bookkeeper working for the government, equivalent to a secretary.