From Hangzhou to Dadu: A Review and of Zhao Mengfu's Calligraphy

Author: Huang Dun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-12-01
Features: When Zhao Meng (Zhao Zhaoye) was twenty-three, the Song Dynasty fell. His mother advised him, "The new dynasty will surely recruit talented scholars from Jiangnan and employ them. Without extensive reading, how can you be different from ordinary people?" At that time, society was turbulent, but Zhao's family remained hidden in their hometown, diligently studying, and immersed in poetry, calligraphy, and painting. He often interacted with local scholars and literati, and together with Qian Xuan, they were known as the "Eight Talents of Wuxing." Due to his growing reputation, he was highly admired by Jia Gu Zhiqi, the Inspection and Prosecution Commissioner of Jiangnan and Western Zhejiang Circuit. After Jia Gu Zhiqi became Minister of Personnel, he strongly recommended Zhao Meng (Zhao Zhaoye) as a Compiler at the Hanlin Academy's National History Institute. However, Zhao had no intention of entering official service at that time. In his poem "Farewell to Jia Gu," he subtly expressed his ambitions, writing: "The green orchid and grass,
Bearing their blossoms in the forest.
If the spring wind does not brush them,
How can their hidden hearts be seen?"