Freehand China explores the origin of Chinese characters丨Appreciate the only surviving handwritten relic of Yue Fei and feel the beauty of Chinese characters
CCTV News (Reporter Wei Junhao) On February 18, the online theme publicity and interview group of “Freehand China – Exploring the Origin of Chinese Characters” entered Tangyin Yuefei Temple in Anyang City, Henan Province to appreciate the only handwritten relic of Yue Fei in the world and appreciate the power of Chinese characters and charm.
Tangyin Yuefei Temple is located on Yuemiao Street in Tangyin County. It is a temple built to demonstrate Yue Fei’s dedication to serve the country. It covers an area of 18,100 square meters and is divided into the ancient building area of Yue Fei Temple and the Yue Fei Memorial Hall area.
The ancient building area of Yuefei Temple was first built in the Southern Song Dynasty and rebuilt in the first year of Ming Jingtai (1450). Afterwards, it was expanded successively during the Hongzhi and Zhengde years of the Ming Dynasty, and the area continued to expand. There are more than 100 halls and verandahs, and it is a relatively well-preserved Ming and Qing ancient buildings.
There is an old saying in Tangyin that “there are many trees in Wenwang Temple and many steles in Yuewang Temple”. There are nearly 400 inscriptions in Yuefei Temple. The third is the stele of paying homage to Yue Fei Temple, which are poems and songs inscribed by literati since Ming and Qing Dynasties after paying homage to Yue Fei Temple.
In the Yue Fei Memorial Hall is the only surviving relic of Yue Fei: Yue Fei’s handwritten Xie Tiao’s poem “Temporary Envoy Xiadu Yefa Xinlin to Beijing to Present to the West Mansion Colleagues” is the treasure of the Yue Fei Memorial Hall.
The volume is 15 meters long and 36 centimeters wide. There are 12 seals of predecessors in total. Seals, as well as the seals such as “Jinshi is an official, it is better to obey the field and get a life insurance year”, “Yier’s descendants” and other seals. The opening volume is the “Authentic Works of Yue Wumu” written by Zhu Houzhao, Emperor Zhengde of the Ming Dynasty, followed by inscriptions by Xu Da, Hai Rui, Wu Dacheng, Xu Naizhao, Qian Yiji, Yang Qinglin, Hengshou, Yin Mingshou, Zhu Yifan, Xu Yili, etc., Zhang Xianghe, Chen Zhongxiang , Yin Gengyun and others, as well as poem seals, inscriptions and poems, totaling more than 50 people.
The work begins with running regular script, and gradually turns into cursive style mixed with round and simple stippling, brush flying and ink dancing. The power and charm of Chinese characters.