Calligraphy Collection of Zhang Xu

Author: Li Songchen, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-11-01
Features: Zhang Xu (dates unknown), styled Bo'gao, was a native of Wu Jun (now Suzhou, Jiangsu). During the Kaiyuan and Tianbao periods of the Tang Dynasty, he traveled to Chang'an (now Xi'an) as a government official. Initially serving as the County Magistrate of Changshu and later as the Chief Historian of the Left Guard Bureau, he was known as "Zhang Changshi." He was skilled in calligraphy and titled "The Sage of Cursive Script." During Emperor Xuanzong's reign, his poetry calligraphy, along with Li Bai's poetry and Pei Min's sword dance, were hailed as the "Three Perfections." Li Qi's "Ode to Zhang Xu" describes him: "With bare head, he sat on a horsehair couch, shouting for three or five sounds. Inspired, he splashed ink on white walls, writing with a brush like a meteor." Zhang Xu's surviving cursive works include the "Dutong Tie" and "Four Ancient Poems," as well as the regular script "Langguan Ji," which prove that his handwriting, though "wild," remained within bounds and followed rules. This book selects representative works of Zhang Xu's calligraphy, including the "Dutong Tie," "Eighth Day of February Tie," "Four Ancient Poems," and the "Heart Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom."