(b Shandong Province, AD 709; d 785). Chinese calligrapher, scholar, writer and government official. His family, members of the gentry, moved within Shandong from the north to the south, giving him an acquaintance with the different cultural traditions of both areas. After the early death of his father he was educated by his uncle, Yan Yuansun. At the age of 28 he passed the civil service examinations to become a jinshi. He was prefect of Dezhou and governor of Pingyuan, both in Shandong Province, and he held high positions at the imperial library, in the Ministry of Justice and as preceptor of the crown prince. In 767 he received the title Duke of Lu (Lu Gong) for his honesty and integrity as investigation censor of the Bureau of Administration. An outstanding example of Confucian loyalty, he fought against the rebellion of An Lushan in 755 and against Li Xieli in 781; Li took him prisoner and had him strangled in 785.

• Yan Zhenqing
  • Brushline
  • China, §IV, 2(iii)(b): Calligraphy: Middle Tang
  • commentaries
    • China, §IV, 3(iii): Calligraphy: Theory and criticism
  • copies
    • China, §IV, 2(vii)(b): Calligraphy: Middle Qing
  • patrons and collectors
    • China, §IV, 4: Calligraphy: Collections
    • Zhou Mi
  • works
    • China, §IV, 2(iii)(a): Calligraphy: Early Tang