Wei Bei is the general name of the inscriptions in the Northern Dynasties during the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-588 AD), with the Northern Wei Dynasty as the most refined. Calligraphy at this time is a transitional calligraphy system connecting the past with the future. Zhong Zhishuai said that Wei Bei "can see the old norms of Han and Qin dynasties from above, and the customs of Sui and Tang dynasties from below".
Wei Bei's calligraphy had a great influence on the formation of regular script in Sui and Tang Dynasties. In the process of innovation and change, calligraphers of past dynasties also learned useful essence from it. Weibei has a variety of styles, simple and steep, comfortable and beautiful. Famous ones include Zheng Wengong Monument, Zhang Menglong Monument, Gao Zhen Monument, Yuan Huai Epitaph and Zhang Xuan Epitaph, which initiated the rule of regular script in Sui and Tang Dynasties.
In the middle of Qing dynasty, he advocated "respecting monuments and restraining posts", which broke through the bondage of "pavilion style". With the rise of inscriptions, the style of calligraphy has changed. Wei Bei inherited the tradition of Han Li and created a new style of Tang Kai, which laid a solid foundation for the structure and brushwork of modern Chinese characters. But there are many cliff carvings, which are carved directly on the stone surface, not the first book. Be careful not to exaggerate the knife marks when writing, so as not to form a habit.
Wei Bei's calligraphy technique is rigorous, simple and vigorous, full of volume, and has the charm of Li Kaizhi. Its calligraphy art is developed on the basis of Han Li and Kincaid, and it can be called the top grade in Han steles. Calligraphers in ancient and modern times gave the highest evaluation to this monument, which can be described as a monument to the unity of Han and stele.
The existing form of Weibei:
Weibei refers to the inscriptions and calligraphy works of the Northern Dynasties during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The existing characters in Wei Bei are regular script, so these regular script inscriptions are sometimes called "Wei Kai". Weibei, also known as the North Monument, was the longest established in the Northern Dynasties. Later, "Weibei" was used to refer to the inscription calligraphy works of the whole Northern Dynasty, including the Eastern Wei Dynasty, the Western Wei Dynasty, the Northern Qi Dynasty and the Northern Zhou Dynasty.
These inscriptions mainly exist in the form of stone tablets, epitaphs and cliff statues. There are a large number of works by Wei Bei, including thousands of statues found in Longmen Grottoes. These works are mixed. After finishing by predecessors, some works stand out from them and are regarded as representative works of Weibei.