在峄山刻石下 at the foot of the yishan inscription

唐朝有一个写篆书出名的书法家，名字叫 [[ Li Yangning 李阳冰 ]]【“冰”在这里读作níng】。他是大诗人李白的堂叔。

During the Tang Dynasty, there was a calligrapher famous for his seal script called Li Yangning. He was the famous poet, Li Bai’s uncle.

有一次，李阳冰听说峄山【“峄” yì 现在山东邹县】上有一块刻石，上面刻的字是秦朝时候的书法家 [[ Li Si 李斯 ]]写的小篆：字形端正，笔划均匀圆转，笔力遒劲【遒qíu】。

One day, Li Yangning heard that there was a stone inscription on the cliff face of Yi Mountain (which is in present-day Zou County, Shandong Province). The characters of the xiǎo zhuàn (lesser seal script) inscription were written by the Qin dynasty calligrapher, Li Si: their shape was full of decorum, and the brushstrokes were smooth and rounded, a hallmark of strong brushwork.

历代学篆书的人都到那里临摹过。李阳冰为了提高自己 [[ Seal Script 篆书 ]]的水平，也千里迢迢来到山势高秀的峄山之下。他借住在一个猎人的家里。这家只有父子两人，父亲是个四十多岁的中年猎人，儿子才十几岁。

Throughout the ages, scholars of seal script had travelled to the spot to study it in person. Wanting to improve his seal script, Li Yangning also set out on a journey of a thousand li, eventually arriving at the foot of the lofty mountain. He took up lodgings in the home of a local hunter. The man lived alone with his son. The hunter was middle-aged, around 40; the boy a mere teenager.

晚上李阳冰向猎人打听山的道路和刻石的地方并请他带路。猎人正在犹豫，他的儿子一听要上山高兴的跳起来，吵着说：“爹，我明天要同你们一道上山去。”猎人没有办法，只好答应他的要求。

That evening Li Yangning asked the hunter about the road into the mountains, and the location of the inscription, asking if the hunter would be willing to guide him there. The hunter was hesitant at first, but as soon as his son heard about going up into the mountains he jumped for joy, shouting out loud: “Dad! When you go into the mountains tomorrow, I want to come with you.” The hunter had no choice but to agree to the proposal.

第二天，李阳冰吃完早饭带着行李同猎人父子俩一块上山。猎人奇怪地问他：“上山还带着那么多行李干什么？”

The next day, Li Yangning finished breakfast and started carrying his luggage with him as the hunter and his son ascended the mountain. The hunter was curious: “Why are you bringing so much luggage?”

李阳冰回答说：“我不打算马上下山，准备先在那儿住几天，把石刻上的字都学会了再回来，到时候还得麻烦你们给我送点吃的东西。”

Li Yangning replied: “I don’t plan to come down soon. I’ve prepared a few days’ worth of supplies. I’ll return once I’ve mastered all of the characters in the inscription. If it’s not too much trouble I’ll have to bother you to bring me some food.”

三人说说笑笑，不知不觉来到了那块刻石前面。刻石上那些虫鸟足迹的字形，风行雨生的字势，深深地吸引了李阳冰。他每天坐在刻石下，一边看一边在纸上临摹，一直写到天黑为止。晚上就露宿在附近的山窝里。二十多天过去了。李阳冰的脸晒黑了，人也瘦了，可终于学会了刻石上的篆字。他带着一大叠临摹刻石篆文的手迹高高兴兴回到了猎人家里。

The three of them chatted and joked. Before they knew it, they had arrived at the site of the inscription. The tracks of birds and insects, and the erosion of the cliff face caused by centuries of wind and rain all merged with the characters, breathing into them an ancient air which held Li Yangning spellbound. Every day he would sit beneath the inscription, watching and writing from dawn ‘til dusk. In the evenings he’d sleep in a makeshift den. 20 days passed: Li Yangning’s skin grew dark with the sun, and he became quite skinny, but in the end, he finally mastered all of the characters in the inscription. Overjoyed, he returned to the hunter’s lodge with a large pile of copies of the seal script inscription.

#峄山刻石 #李阳冰 #李斯 #峄山 #秦朝 #书法家故事 #StoriesAboutCalligraphers #LiYangning #Yishan #LiSi #QinDynasty #SealScript #篆书 #篆字

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