丹心汗青：淺析〈祭姪文稿〉中之史事與書跡

Sincerity of the Annals: Analysis of the History and Writing Traces in the “Draft of a Requiem to My Nephew”

現藏於國立故宮博物院的〈祭姪文稿〉，乃唐代書法家顏真卿為姪兒季明所作的祭文草稿。唐玄宗天寶十四年（西元），安祿山自范陽起兵叛變，當河北地區幾盡淪陷之時，時任平原太守的顏真卿，與擔任常山太守的堂兄杲卿奮勇抗敵，二人實為國之忠臣。然而，常山最終仍遭史思明的軍隊所破，城陷之後，杲卿與幼子季明相繼殉難。唐肅宗乾元元年（西元），真卿為蒲州刺史時，同為杲卿之子的泉明至常山尋回季明的頭顱，真卿於是懷著悲痛欲絕的心情，以信手天然的筆法寫下了這篇祭文。〈祭姪文稿〉可謂字字血淚，承載著說不盡的慘痛故實，讀之者無不悵然。然而，〈祭姪文稿〉自身「史實」的價值常常為其「書名」所掩，本文擬藉由歷史記載，更深入解讀這篇書法史上的鉅跡，欲使事件始末與草稿內容得以相互呼應。又此篇草稿乃魯公於極度悲憤的情況下所書寫，塗抹刪改之痕跡隨處可見，本文於是按照事件原委、文義及其所殘留之書跡，推斷出遭抹去之文字為何，以期呈現這件書作最真實的樣貌。 “Draft of a Requiem to My Nephew” was written by Tang dynasty calligraphy master Yan Zhenqing in order to sacrifice his nephew. It is now part of the collection in the National Palace Museum. In A.D. , An Lushan organized a mutiny from Fanyang. Almost the entire Hebei area fell. Yan Zhenqing and his cousin Yan Gaoqing courageously battled against the enemy. They were loyal courtiers to the country. However, Yan Gaoqing was finally defeated by the army led by Shi Siming. Yan Gaoqing and his youngest son Yan Jiming became martyrs. In A.D. , Yan Gaoqing's son Yan Quanming went to Changshan and found Yan Jiming’s skull. Yan Zhenqing was so sad and used natural brushwork to produce this written draft of a requiem. Every word in “Draft of a Requiem to My Nephew” contains tragic stories and every word is like blood and tears. Readers genuinely feel his sadness. This paper explains the “Draft of a Requiem to My Nephew” by reviewing historical documents and speculates on the meanings of the deleted words. We hope that this method can help to better understand the original appearance of the draft.

“Draft of a Requiem to My Nephew” was written by Tang dynasty calligraphy master Yan Zhenqing in order to sacrifice his nephew. It is now part of the collection in the National Palace Museum. In A.D. , An Lushan organized a mutiny from Fanyang. Almost the entire Hebei area fell. Yan Zhenqing and his cousin Yan Gaoqing courageously battled against the enemy. They were loyal courtiers to the country. However, Yan Gaoqing was finally defeated by the army led by Shi Siming. Yan Gaoqing and his youngest son Yan Jiming became martyrs. In A.D. , Yan Gaoqing's son Yan Quanming went to Changshan and found Yan Jiming’s skull. Yan Zhenqing was so sad and used natural brushwork to produce this written draft of a requiem. Every word in “Draft of a Requiem to My Nephew” contains tragic stories and every word is like blood and tears. Readers genuinely feel his sadness. This paper explains the “Draft of a Requiem to My Nephew” by reviewing historical documents and speculates on the meanings of the deleted words. We hope that this method can help to better understand the original appearance of the draft.