Summer weekend, sorting out old things, in a yellowed book, I saw an epitaph of the Tang Dynasty written by myself in my hometown more than 20 years ago-"Epitaph and Preface of Mrs. Yingchuan Chen in the Tang Dynasty". The epitaph and its preface are not recorded in All Tang Wen and History of the Whole Tang Dynasty. This is a precious historical document of the Tang Dynasty.
My hometown, Meijiang, Lanxi City, Zhejiang Province (formerly Tonghua Township, Pujiang County), has been outstanding since ancient times. It is understood that the epitaph is the only one found in Lanxi, Zhejiang Province so far, which is extremely precious. The epitaph was originally collected by a villager named Liu in Liucun Natural Village, Xitangxia Administrative Village, Hengxi Town, and has been handed over to Lanxi Museum for safekeeping.
Epitaph consists of epitaph and tomb cover. The epitaph is 5 1.5 cm long, 38 cm wide and 5 cm thick, with about 400 words. It was carved in Xian Tong, Tang Yizong in the 15th year (874), about 1 140 years ago. The epitaph is basically well preserved. The words on the tablet are legible, recording the owner's surname, life story, historical age and family background. Wen Tong's words are carefully chosen, which is quite literary and vigorous in calligraphy. It is a valuable first-hand historical material to study the literature and calligraphy of the Tang Dynasty, as well as the origin, customs and human feelings and historical evolution of surnames in this area.
Thousands of descendants of Liu live in Lanxi and Pujiang, Zhejiang. According to the genealogy of Liu family in Shushan, Zeng came to Hangzhou as an official at the beginning of the Southern Song Dynasty, but later he lived in seclusion in Hengxi at the foot of Wushu Mountain because of discord with traitors. Liu Zhu VII Sun Liuguan was a great scholar and one of the "Four Gentlemen" in Yuan Dynasty. Although the Liu family in Shushan and the Liu family found in Tang epitaph belong to Hedong Liu family and are descendants, they are not of the same clan and faction.
Now, I don't want to be superficial, but I will arrange in writing to provide dinner for readers. I visited Beijing, but I did not go home. It is a pity to reread the original tablet and check it. Because the original inscription is illegible and my copy is illegible, I'm afraid there may be mistakes and omissions. Please forgive me. I will print a copy of the original tablet when I get back to China. This is good for everyone. The epitaph is reproduced as follows:
Epitaph of Mrs. Chen Yingchuan of Hedong in Tang Dynasty
Li Congai, a native of Liurenshan, narrates and writes books.
Mrs. Chen, born in Yingchuan since Yu Shun, is a family member and writes history books, which is not complicated.
Sai-jo originated in Jiangdong, and his ancestral home was Jinhua Township, Jinhua County, Wuzhou. My wife is naturally kind, gentle and submissive, and she is both internal and external, which makes the continent smell. In the first year, the ceremony was returned to Liu. The public is unique, reading history completely, entertaining themselves, ups and downs, and not trying to help the world. My husband died in 12. My wife is ill, and my in-laws pray for God. She was born fearless and without a license. She avoided the test of dreams, and philosophers did not feel pain. On August 13th, 15th year of Xian Tong, he finally got married, which was one fiftieth of the New Year.
There are four heirs, called "Mi" for a long time, who died in mourning or invited Taoist priests to release them, so they took Longxi Li and gave birth to a boy. The second is Yue, the third is Dragon, and the fourth is Tuo. The second son, who grew up in Guo, traveled to Beijing, or collected Wang Sun, was generous and frank, and had the heart of the sea. Wandering in the county government, marrying Nishi of Langya, I never met an auspicious day. A woman said that she was a man who lived in Li Men, Longxi, and had been living in her room for many years. She cried and mourned, but her reputation was ruined and she went beyond the ceremony. On the fifth day of November of that year, Geng Yin told Bu that she had moved to the original residence of Shufeng Yuehu Lake in Tonghua Township, Puyang County, Dangzhou, and left the secluded room. Both Zuyi and Fu Jun are worried about bricks, and they are all in the third direction. When they return for a full week, they will be commended.
From the haze to the wind, the righteous life is one year, and the words are not close to the text. This is the inscription:
Shu returned from the peak, fragrant and fragrant.
A leopard cannot change his spots, but the beginning is the end.
The sun in the depths of the mountains, life is like.
The world is different and the wilderness is unknown.
Death is empty, really.
East to the pond, west to the pond from south, and north to Longchun. At that time, it was completed on the second day of January in the fifteenth season of Xian Tong.