Great Masters and Their Masterpieces in the Jin and Tang Dynasties
13 min read1）Preface to the Poems Composed at Orchid Pavilion Gathering and Wang Xizhi Preface to the Poems Composed at Orchid Pavilion Gathering was written by Wang Xizhi（303-361）in March of the ninth year（353）of Yonghe period of the Eastern Jin dynasty when he had a party with his friends in Shanyin Mountain.The handwriting was collected by Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty who made copies fo his princes and dukes as well as high ranking officials，and buried the authentic work with him when he died.Preface to the Poems Composed at Orchid Pavilion Gathering is honored as the”number one running hand in the world”.The existentcopy of it with the imperial seal of Shenlong made by Feng Chengsu is the most famous copy.The forms of characters of it mostly are written with lower left part and higher right part.The structures of characters and the moving of the ink-brushare very natural with lots of variations.Mi Fu commented that”the tip of the ink-brush is vigorous，the thickness and thinness of Chinese ink which are well mixed，are similar to the cloud in the sky with many different strange forms.It has limitless art charm.”
Wang Xizhi learnt the art of calligraphy from Lady Wei Shuo when he was young.
Later he also learnt from various schools of calligraphy and combined their advantages and attained his great achievements in the art of calligraphy which is”matchless in both ancient and modern times”.He is honored”Sage of Calligraphy”.
His existent calligraphy are Preface to the Poems Composed at Orchid Pavilion Gathering，Model Calligraphy Entitled Fast Snow and Sunning，Model Calligraphy Entitled Aunt，Model Calligraphy Entitled When Getting A Letter，Model Calligraphy Entitled Deaths and Disturbance of the Country，Model Calligraphy Entitled First Lunar Month and Model Calligraphy Entitled On the Seventeenth Day，and so on.All of them are copies made in the Tang dynasty.
2）Model Calligraphy Entitled Bo Yuan:the Sole Existent Calligraphy of the Eastern Jin Dynasty
Model Calligraphy Entitled Bo Yuan is kept in Beijing Palace Museum and was written by Wang Xun（350-401）.It was honored by Emperor Qianlong of Qing dynasty with Model Calligraphy Entitled Fast Snow and Sunning by Wang Xizhi and Model Calligraphy Entitled On Mid-Autumn Day by Wang Xianzhi as”three Sanxitang Studio’s rare masterpieces in the world”.It is the sole existent calligraphy of the Jin dynasty.The characters in it are written fluently and prettily with vigor，and the square strokes are especially prominent.They are unique and interesting，being flexible in dealing with the set rules.For instance，the writing of characters of远、别、从were specially dealt with，and calligrapher was good at changing void space to solid and making good use of the empty spaces for strokes.In their structures the trace of strokes are fully emphasized to make good arrangement，the attention to the relations between”black and white”are fully paid.For example，the characters伯、以、永incarnate the art effect of vigor of the ink-brush that i was astonishingly marvelous，which made the strokes undulated in the space and cast beautiful reflections.
3）Monk Zhiyong and His Thousand-Character Classic in Regular and Cursive Scripts
Monk Zhiyong was a calligrapher during the time between Chen in the Southern dynasties and the early Sui dynasty.He was the seventh generation grandson of Wang Xizhi and was a Buddhist monk at Yongxin Temple in Shanyin.He was called the Buddhist Monk Yong.He inherited the cause of his ancestor and was very diligent in calligraphy.It is told that he studied and practiced calligraphy for thirty years in an attic at Yongxin Temple and rarely went downstairs.The ink-brushes he used filled five large bamboo baskets.He buried them and the place were called”the tombof the disused ink-brushes”.He handwrote eight hundred copies of Thousand-Character.
Classic in Regular and Cursive Scripts and they were broadly spread. Some of themeven spread as far as Japan. Zhiyong’s calligraphy was very famous at the time, so many people came to him for his writings that his threshold was trampled to broken.
So he had to cover it with iron that it was called “iron threshold”.
Thousand-Character Classic in Regular and Cursive Scripts represente the existent calligraphy of Zhiyong. It might be the model of calligraphy for his students and was written in two different kinds of character forms: regular script and regular cursive script. The real script is square and serious, and the strokes are strictly complied with those written by Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi. The edges of the characters were clear and the framework is strong, exhibiting a plump, natural, vivid and vigorous style. It was the beginning of using running hand to write regular script. The cursive script is not so cursive and strictly complied with the rules of that of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi. They are well reserved, pretty, mellow and full. They are complied with the rules of the character writing but also have their own unique traits.
4) Tablet of Longzang Temple: Number One Tablet in the Sui Dynasty The head of Tablet of Longzang Temple is inscribed with regular script meaning
“Erection of the Governor of Hengzhou Prefecture, Duke of Eguo for the Suggestion to the Throne for the Building of Longzang Temple”. It was erected in the year 586. It had thirty lines and each line is inscribed 50 characters. Also called Tablet of Longxing Temple in Zhengding Prefecture. It is now kept at Longxing Temple in Zhengding, Hebei province. The strokes of the characters on the tablet are thin, rigid and composed. Their structures are free and stretched and show the ancient simplicity, elegance and beauty, forming a style of natural simplicity, incarnating the combination of the calligraphy of Southern and Northern China. It is honored as “number one tablet in the Sui dynasty”.
Compared with the inscriptions on tablets in former generations the inscriptions on this tablet”inwardly inherited the seriousness and neatness of Northern Zhou and Northern Qi dynasties and outwardly contained the softness and sharpness of Liang and Chen dynasties. It has kept the ancient simplicity, stored up its essence”and has their own vivid traits. Bao Shichen in the Qing dynasty commented that with its composed style the changes of Tablet of Longzang Temple were marvelous and incredible and could paralleled with that of Wang Xizhi. The tablet inherited those in the Southern and Northern dynasties and initiated the new styles in the Tang dynasty. It was closely related with the four masters of regular script in the early Tang dynasty. Yang Shoujing in the Qing dynasty commented in his Comment on Tabletsthat”if we carefully appreciate this tablet we could see that its composedness andcalmness are similar to that of Yu Shinan and the prettiness and charm are similar to Chu Suiliang. And it has no suddenness of the original copy of Ouyang Xun’s calligraphy.”
5) Ouyang Xun (557-641) and His Inscriptions of Sweet Spring in Jiucheng Palace Ouyang Xun’s courtesy name (zi) was Xinben. He was from Linxiang in Tanzhou (modern day Changsha). He lived the times of three dynasties of Chen, Sui and Tang.
It was recorded that Ouyang Xun was very ugly but extremely intelligent. He had the capacity of reading several lines at the same time and was an expert in Chineseclassics, history and art. At the beginning he practised the calligraphy style of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, and later he combined the advantages of tablet inscriptions in the Northern dynasties and concentrated himself on the forms of real script, and finally formed his own unique style. The characters in his calligraphyare vigorous and rigid, strictly complied with rules and showed suddenness in the smoothness. They are called”the Ou’s style”. The copies of his calligraphy wer used as the textbook for calligraphy teaching in the Institute for the Advancement of Literature of the early Tang dynasty.
Inscriptions of Sweet Spring in Jiucheng Palace was inscribed in Apcil 632. The epigraph was drafted by the Prime Minister Wei Zheng and the characters were written by Ouyang Xun. There are twenty-four lines on the tablet each line has 49 characters. The tablet is now kept at Linyou, Shaanxi province. The characters onthe tablet are square and dignified, flat and steady, complied strictly with the rules of calligraphy. The strokes are soft in the inner parts and rigid in the outer parts of the characters. The thickness and thinness are appropriate. The tablet is honored”number one regular script”and “the official origin of regular script”.
6) Sun Guoting (646-691) and Treatise on Calligraphy Sun Guoting’s courtesy name (zi) was Qianli. He was a native of Fuyang in the Tang dynasty. He was proficient in calligraphy and good at the use of ink-brush. Hiscursive script style inherited that of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi and had a great influence on later generations. Treatise on Calligraphy carefully studied the philosophy of calligraphy. It was written with Chinese ink on paper, which has 35 lines and totally 3,500 characters on it. It is kept at the National Palace Museum in Taiwan. Though the characters of it are not similar to the style of sudden opening and sudden closing of cursive script of Wang Xizhi, their structures are complied with the rules of the calligraphy of Wang Xizhi, the falling and rising of strokes are well written and the turnings are delicate. Its artistic boundary is joyful and straightforward.
7) Chu Suiliang (596-658) and His Two Tablets with Preface to the Holy Teaching of Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Chu Suiliang’s courtesy name(zi) was Dengshan. He was from Qiantang (modern day Hangzhou). He was erudite and proficient in calligraphy and its authentications. He authenticated Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy collected expensively by Emperor Taizong of Tang dynasty and no authentication was mistaken. Two Tablets with Preface to the Holy Teaching of Big Wild Goose Pagoda is his masterpiece written in his later years. The structure is sparse and relaxed, with suddenness in the smoothness. The use of the ink-brush is mature and the moving of the brush is changeable. The same strokes are written differently in different situations-natural and rich in variations-which best represent his style. It can be said that “among the characters gold appeared and the jade ornamented”.
8) Li Yong(678-747), Genius of Calligraphy
Li Yong’s courtesy name (zi) was Taihe and he was from Jiangdu (modern day Yangzhou) in the Tang dynasty. He ranked governor of Beihai prefecture and was called”Li Beihai”. He was generous and extravagant, did not paid much attention to his minor conducts and was renowned for his articles, poems and calligraphy. He was very proficient in tablet eulogy and running hand. He was very good at calligraphy, especially running hand. At first he learnt the style of Wang Xizhi and got his essence and then changed the style and formed a new feature of his own. Li Yangbing in the Tang dynasty hold that he was “Genius of Calligraphy.”
Li Yong learnt his calligraphy style from that of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, and later he absorbed the style of tablet inscriptions in the Northern dynasties and formed his own unique feature. He exaggerated the calligraphy structures of “high at right and low at left “of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi and replaced their natural and unrestrained style with his composed simplicity and directness. That is the so-called”with suddenness to free the running of his own ink-brush”. His masterpieces include Li Sixun’s Tablet and Tablet of Temple of Yuelu Mountain.
9) Zhang Xu and His Model Calligraphy Entitled Four Ancient Poems The courtesy name(zi) of Zhang Xu was Bogao. He was from Suzhou in the Tang dynasty. He was Administrator of the Imperial Insignia and got his alias
“Administrator Zhang”at the time. He was very good at calligraphy, particularly theexcessively free running hand. Du Fu (famous poet of the Tang dynasty) described in his poem about Zhang’s crazy capacities that he was an liquor addict and beforewriting characters he usually drank and ran crazily, even dipped his head to the Chinese ink and wrote with it. After he woke from his drunken state and saw his own writing, he thought that it was miraculous and could not be repeated. His cursive script are continuous, imposing and powerful, random and free, creating a new style of cursive script since the Wei and Jin dynasties. In his imperial edict Emperor Wenzong of the Tang dynasty titled Li Bai’s poems, Fei Li’s art of sword and Zhang Xu’s cursive script as “three matchless art works”. His existent calligraphy are Model Calligraphy Entitled Belly Ache, Stone Pillar with Preface to Inscription Dedicated to A Court Gentleman, and Model Calligraphy Entitled Four Ancient Poems.
The calligraphy of Model Calligraphy Entitled Four Ancient Poems is written with Chinese ink on five-colord paper withou Zhang Xu’s signature. It has 40 lines totalling 188 Chinese characters. This calligraphy is kept at Liaoning Museum with a collection seal of “Xuanhe period, the Northern Song dynasty”. This piece of calligraphy is the perfect combination of emotion and reason, and the characters on it are similar to postures of flying dragons and running beasts, which dreamingly show the art realm, incarnating the highest achievement of cursive script.
10) Yan Zhenqing (709-785) and His Calligraphy Entitled Elegy to Yan Jiming, My Nephew
Yan Zhenqing’s courtesy name (zi) was Qingchen. He was born in Wannian, Jingzhao(modern day Xi’ an) and for he was conferred the title Duke of Lu, hence also called “Yan, the Duke of Lu”. His existent calligraphy includes Tablet of Multi-TreasuredPagoda, Tablet for the Family Shrine of Yan, Yan Qinli’s Tablet, Painting Eulogy to Dongfang Shuo, Calligraphy Entitled Elegy to Yan Jiming, My Nephew and Model Calligraphy Entitled Occupying Seats, and so on.
Yan Zhenqing was from a reputed academic family which served the court for many generations. He was erudite and good at writing eulogy. His father died when he was a child so his family was reduced to poverty and was lack of the necessary ink-brushes and papers so he used to plastering yellow earth on the wall and practise his handwriting on it. The family of Yan had very excellent education background, and his maternal grandfather’s family, the family of Yin, was also well educated forgenerations. He learnt the traditional calligraphic styles from Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi and followed his master Zhang Xu tenaciously. He finally mastered the essence of Zhang Xu and formed his own unique calligraphy. His calligraphy style, Yan is the testbook-style that every calligraphy lover has to imitate today.
The characters in Calligraphy Entitled Elegy to Yan Jiming, My Nephew are written with relatively dry brush. The moving of the brush is bold and unconstrained. It glows radiating vigor, solemn and stirs with moving art charm. The characters in it are casually smeared but they are natural and lovely. It is honored as “number two running hand in the world”and now is Kept at the National Palace Museum in Taiwan.
11) Liu Gongquan and His Tablet of Buddhist Pagoda of Mysterious Profoundity Liu Gongquan (778-865) was a master of calligraphy in the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name(zi) was Chengxuan. His hometown was Huayuan in Jingzhao(modern day Yaoxian county in Shaanxi province). He was upright and spoke bluntly with honesty.
His calligraphic idea was “the calligraphy style of an apright man is also up right”.
He was espect of the regular script and is often referred in unison with his famed predecessor Yan Zhenging as “Yan-Liu”. He draw experience from the calligraphic style of the Wei and Jin dynasties and learnt from the different schools of calligraphers in the early Tang dynasty. Influenced by the calligraphy of Yan Zhenqing he founded his own school of Liu style. His calligraphy features with closely arranged strokes in stretched characters, and exhibites sharpness in simplicity and honesty, broadness in seriousness and is upright and powerful. His works were imitafed for centaries after. His calligraphy with vigorous strength could be compared with the forcefulness and leisureliness of that of Yan Zhenqing.
So they are praised later generations for “Yan’s muscle and Liu’s bone in their calligraphy”.
Many calligraphy works witten by Liu Gongquan are extant. The famous tablet inscriptions by him are: Tablet of Diamond Sutra founded in the scripture cave in Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang whose characters numbered the first among his other extant works. His most famous calligraphy is Tablet of Buddhist Pagoda of Mysterious Profoundity, which was written in his seventies; the strokes of the characters are forceful and vividly display the traits of “Liu’s bone in calligraphy”. Tablet with Inscription on Emperor Wuzong’s Inspection Tour to the Army of Inspired Strategy wa also written in his later years, but the strokes of them are fatter than those in Tablet of Buddhist Pagoda of Mysterious Profoundity, with strength and full spirit, and is very splendid. Besides, there are also Tablet of Li Cheng Commandery Prince of Pingxi, Most Exalted Lord’s Teaching on Taoist Scripture of Pureness and Quietness and Model Calligraphy Entitled Gratitude for the Imperial Edic.
12) Huai Su(737-799) and His Model Calligraphy Entitled Telling of Myself Huai Su’s courtesy name (zi) was Zangzhen and his secular family name was Qian before he left the householder’s life and became a monk. He was from Lingling of Yongzhou (modern day Changsha). He was addicted to drinking and was called “drunken Buddhist monk”. He was good at calligraphy, especially proficient in the cursive script. His extant calligraphy works are Model Calligraphy Entitled Telling of Myself, Model Calligraphy Entitled Discourse on Calligraphy, Thousand-Charater Classic in Small Cursive Script, Model Calligraphy Entitled Two Goddesses of Dongling, Model Calligraphy Entitled Zangzhen, the Monk, Model Calligraphy Entitled Bitter Bamboo Shoots and Model Calligraphy Entitled Eating Fish.
He was very diligent. He abandoned many disused ink-brushes and buried them in the lower part of a hill and called it “the tomb of the ink-brushes”. He planted banana trees and wrote on the leafs of them. So the house he lived was also called “the hut under green sky”.
Model Calligraphy Entitled Telling of Myself is one of the most successful calligraphy of cursive script in history. It was written on paper which has 162 lines with 698 Chinese characters. The method of using the ink-brush was very mature and their writing was random and free but also strictly complied with the rules of character writing. And the dots and strokes are serious and in neat formation without sluggishness. The structures of characters are freely and naturally arrangedwith variations in character sizes and angles. The work is now kept at the National Palace Museum in Taiwan. Though the calligraphy of his excessively free cursive script is crazy and strange, they are all complied with the writing rules.
So it can be said that his calligraphy is similar to a boat without boating, notintended to go anywhere but goes freely with calmness in face of any changes in situation.
