Chu Suiliang Ni Kuan Zan

Author: Shanghai Fine Arts Publishing House
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-10-01
Features: The Tang Dynasty was the golden age of regular script in China, marking its peak and maturity. Tang regular script, after the transformation during the Six Dynasties, had reached perfection. The brushwork was precise and delicate, and the structure was dignified and well-proportioned. In both large-scale brushwork and structure, it established typical rules and models. For thousands of years, numerous calligraphers have taken inspiration from Tang script, valuing the principles of regular script and the essence of steadiness, then gradually flowing into running and cursive scripts, incorporating new ideas, and adapting to create their own styles. Therefore, in a certain sense, the strictly regulated regular script serves as a crucial foundation for learning calligraphy. Unfortunately, most of the Tang regular script that has survived to this day is in the form of stone carvings. Once a calligrapher's original work is carved, the brushwork's intent is completely lost. The texture of the brushwork, the variations in ink color, the interplay of brush movements, and the rhythm of the strokes—these subtle and refined details cannot be expressed in stone carvings. This presents certain difficulties for beginners when copying Tang stone carvings. As a result, calligraphical theories throughout the ages have advocated the importance of ink scrolls and proposed the idea that "the structure can be learned from stone carvings, but the brushwork cannot be learned without authentic works." Due to the passage of time, very few authentic Tang regular script works by calligraphers have survived. The "Niu Kuan Zan" attributed to Chu Suiliang is one of the most important representative works.
Chu Suiliang (596–658), styled Dengshan, was from Qiantang, Hangzhou. He was one of the "Four Masters of Early Tang." Chu was knowledgeable in literature and history, exceptionally skilled in regular script, and particularly adept at clerical script. His running script was influenced by the Wang family (Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi), while his regular script was modeled after Ouyang Xun and Yu Shinan. During the reign of Emperor Taizong, he was recommended by Wei Zheng and appointed as a court calligrapher. He was tasked with appraising the authenticity of Wang Xizhi's ink scrolls stored in the imperial collection, which allowed his calligraphy to deeply capture the essence of Wang Xizhi's style while also developing his own unique approach. His style was lean yet strong, subtly blending clerical script influences, giving it an ancient and refined elegance. The "Commentary on Tang Calligraphy" described his characters as "golden in the lines, jade-like in the spaces, elegant in form, and diverse in beauty." In fact, his early regular script works, such as the "Monk Meng Stele," still showed deliberate attempts to emulate Ouyang Xun's style, incorporating elements of clerical script. These works appeared square and vigorous, yet by his later years, he had developed his own distinctive style—graceful yet powerful, full of posture. The "Stele of the Holy Teachings at the" is a prime example of this.
The "Niu Kuan Zan" is attributed to Chu Suiliang, but the date it was written is not recorded on the stele. However, Zhao Mengjian's postscript suggests it was a late work by Chu. It is now preserved in the Palace Museum in Taipei. Upon close examination, this work exhibits strong brushwork, upright strokes, clear variations in thickness, and pure use of the central brushstroke in the middle of each stroke, giving hooks and dots the force of a thousand jin. The edges of the strokes are not smooth but rather textured, rich in substance, appearing lean yet full, and gaunt yet clear. The structure of the characters tends to be horizontal, with subtle clerical script influences, exuding extreme dignity and elegance. Zhao Mengjian's postscript reads: "Chu Suiliang's 'Niu Kuan Zan' is graceful and flowing, like a sage who has attained enlightenment, untainted by the dust of the world." What is particularly pleasing is that this work is an ink scroll, providing invaluable material for studying Chu Suiliang's brushwork. Beginners who start with this work can then proceed to copy the "Stele of the Holy Teachings at the" and the "Stele of Fang Liang Gong" to delve deeper into the essence of calligraphy, achieving twice the result with half the effort.