Ouyang Xun facts for kids
Ouyang Xun (557–641) was a very important Chinese calligrapher, politician, and writer. He lived during the early Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Xinben. He was born in Changsha, Hunan, into a family of government officials. He passed away in what is now Anhui province.
What Were Ouyang Xun's Amazing Achievements?
Ouyang Xun was a very smart student. He read many classic books. He worked for the Sui dynasty in 611 as an Imperial Doctor. This was a high-ranking official position.
Later, he worked for the Tang dynasty. He was a censor, which means he watched over government officials. He was also a scholar at the Hongwen Academy. Here, he taught calligraphy, which is the art of beautiful writing.
He helped a lot with a famous book called the Yiwen Leiju. This book was a huge collection of writings.
Ouyang Xun became the Imperial Calligrapher. This meant he wrote important messages for the emperor. He wrote on several large stone tablets called steles. He was especially good at a style called regular script. His most famous work is the Stele in the Jiucheng Palace.
He was seen as a very educated scholar and a good government official. He was known as one of the Four Great Calligraphers of the Early Tang dynasty. The others were Yu Shinan, Xue Ji, and Chu Suiliang.
Ouyang Xun also wrote the words for the Kaiyuan Tongbao coin. This coin became one of the most important coins in Chinese history. Its writing style even influenced coins in Japan, Sogdia, and Vietnam.
