Epitaph of Fan Min

Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 c.e.), Jian'an reign period (196–219), dated 205

Inscribed in seal and clerical scripts by Liu Sheng and his son

From Lushan County, Yazhou, Sichuan province

Hanging scroll, ink rubbed on paper; 257.0 x 123.1 cm; dimensions of stele: 220.0 x 85.0 cm

Date of rubbing not given, probably late Ming (1368–1644) or early Qing dynasty (1644–1911)

Inventory number: Biaozhou 3

Fan Min (120–203), a native of Fanjiaci in Lushan County, Sichuan, served as the zhangshi (chief aid) of Yongchang commandery in present-day Yunnan.  As seen from this rubbing, the epitaph has a guishou (rounded head) with a pair of chilong (crouching dragons).  The full title of the epitaph, in two columns of seal script totaling 12 characters, is placed just to the right of center of the head.  A large circular hole pierces the stone just beneath the head.  The text is laid out in 22 columns, with two left blank.

This rubbing was most likely made during the mid-17th century, as is attested by a colophon of the late Ming collector Han Fengxi (1578–1653).  Its last private owner, the late Qing–early Republican statesman Liang Qichao (1873–1929), considered it the finest example of a single-sheet rubbing.