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Lot Essay
Expressing One’s Character & Soul: Calligraphy From Mid-Ming To Early Qing
After mid-Ming dynasty, the trend in calligraphy began to move away from the Taigeti (a type of standard script that resembles the woodblock-printed book script) and into more individualized styles, where calligraphers expressed their personalities, sentiments, and skills through running and cursive scripts. If we examine the milestones in the history of Chinese calligraphy, one could summarize that the calligraphers of the Jin favored strength, the Tang rules, the Song ideas, and the late Ming spirit.
The second change that occurred during this period was in format, as monumental hanging scrolls gradually replaced handscrolls and album leaves. This shift can be observed in the handscroll by Zhu Yunming (Lot 852) of the mid-Ming and the hanging scrolls by Wang Duo (Lots 855 and 865) and Fu Shan (Lots 856 and 866) in the late Ming and early Qing period. This dramatic change required the calligraphers to adopt new medium, scripts, compositional structures, writing techniques, and rhythms in hand movement.
Thirdly, the calligraphers of the late Ming sought to express the whimsy of the effects of dry, wet, light, and dark ink through varying the proportion of ink and water as well as changing the speed of brush movement. Such aesthetics can be observed in the works by Feng Fang (Lot 853), Chen Jiru (Lot 854), Wang Duo, and Fu Shan.
While works by these four calligraphers evince these general characteristics, they also possess highly distinctive qualities simultaneously. Feng Fang liked to put pressure in the center of a drying brush and to make his transition between brushstrokes light and smooth. In his early years, Chen Jiru emulated the rectangular shape of Su Shi’s calligraphy, but transitioned into following the lithe style of Mi Fu later in his life. Wang Duo paid homage to seal and clerical scripts through his thick lines and solid structure of the characters. Fu Shan emphasized continuous curves with minimum angularity. All four might have expressed their spirits differently, yet they shared the same underlying philosophy when crafting their art.
After mid-Ming dynasty, the trend in calligraphy began to move away from the Taigeti (a type of standard script that resembles the woodblock-printed book script) and into more individualized styles, where calligraphers expressed their personalities, sentiments, and skills through running and cursive scripts. If we examine the milestones in the history of Chinese calligraphy, one could summarize that the calligraphers of the Jin favored strength, the Tang rules, the Song ideas, and the late Ming spirit.
The second change that occurred during this period was in format, as monumental hanging scrolls gradually replaced handscrolls and album leaves. This shift can be observed in the handscroll by Zhu Yunming (Lot 852) of the mid-Ming and the hanging scrolls by Wang Duo (Lots 855 and 865) and Fu Shan (Lots 856 and 866) in the late Ming and early Qing period. This dramatic change required the calligraphers to adopt new medium, scripts, compositional structures, writing techniques, and rhythms in hand movement.
Thirdly, the calligraphers of the late Ming sought to express the whimsy of the effects of dry, wet, light, and dark ink through varying the proportion of ink and water as well as changing the speed of brush movement. Such aesthetics can be observed in the works by Feng Fang (Lot 853), Chen Jiru (Lot 854), Wang Duo, and Fu Shan.
While works by these four calligraphers evince these general characteristics, they also possess highly distinctive qualities simultaneously. Feng Fang liked to put pressure in the center of a drying brush and to make his transition between brushstrokes light and smooth. In his early years, Chen Jiru emulated the rectangular shape of Su Shi’s calligraphy, but transitioned into following the lithe style of Mi Fu later in his life. Wang Duo paid homage to seal and clerical scripts through his thick lines and solid structure of the characters. Fu Shan emphasized continuous curves with minimum angularity. All four might have expressed their spirits differently, yet they shared the same underlying philosophy when crafting their art.