WANG XIZHI (321-379)

Details

WANG XIZHI (321-379)

17th Century Rubbing of the Xingfu Si Bei ("Stele of Xingfu Temple, engraved AD 721)

Running Script Calligraphy (xing shu)

Album, ink rubbed on paper

Total of fifty collectors' seals, including one of Chen Jiru (1558-1639), two of He Zuo (1661-1722) and one of Wang Hongzhuang (18th century)

Twenty-four colophons, including one each by Huang Binhong (1864-1955), Pu Ru (1896-1963), Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), Yu Youren (1879-1964), Yu Fei'an (1888-1959) and Huang Junbi (1898-1991)

Literature

National Museum of History, Bada Shitao Shuhua ("The Paintings and Calligraphy of Pa-Ta and Shih-T'ao"), Taipei, 1984, p. 58 (illustrated)

Lot Essay

The text was composed by Zhang Ai, inscribed by Wang Xizhi and then carved onto stone by Xu Yizhong. This stele was buried in the city of Xiu during the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127) and was later unearthed during the end of the Wanli period (1573-1620). It is now kept in the Shanxi Provincial Museum. In this rubbing, the character " " is still intact.