唐代元大谦、罗婉顺夫妇墓志考

On the Interpretation of the Epitaph of the Couple of Yuan Daqian and Luo Wanshun of the Tang Dynasty

元大谦为北魏常山王拓跋遵后裔,罗婉顺为唐郑王李元懿外玄孙,二人家族为让皇帝李宪妃元氏的妻族。汝阳王李琎为二志撰文,志文内容添补了李琎早年的仕宦经历。罗婉顺墓志书丹者为时年39岁的颜真卿,是研究其早年书风的珍贵实物资料。墓志所载地名则反映了唐人对秦咸阳故城的认知已局限于渭河以北区域,从而导致对杜邮地望的错误判断。

According to unearthed epitaph,Yuan Daqian was a descendent of Tuoba Zun,the Changshan King of the Northern Wei Dynasty,and Luo Wanshun was the great granddaughter of Li Yuanyi,the King Zheng of the Tang Dynasty.The lineage of this couple also belonged to the family members of the concubine,Lady Yuan,of Li Xian,who passed his throne to his brother,Emperor Xuan,during the Tang Dynasty.This epitaph was composed by Li Jin,the King Ruyang,who also mentioned his own early official career in the epitaph.Most importantly,this epitaph was calligraphed by the great calligrapher of the time,Yan Zhenqing,when he was 39 years-old.Therefore,this epitaph not only provides rare information about Yan Zhenqing’s early artworks but also supplements understanding of the location of the Qin Xianyang capital during the Tang Dynasty.Since the texts indicate that the location should be in the northern bank of the Wei river,such an idea might have led to the misunderstanding of the location of Duyou during the period.