Tang Bohu's Complete Collection of Poems, Prose, Calligraphy, and Paintings

Author: Chen Kang / Cao Huimin (editors and annotators)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-01-01
Features:
"Obstacles of a century obscure the eyes, thousands of books enlighten the mind; resources from the four seas rely on one pen" —— This is Tang Bohu's summary of his life.
"Drunk dancing and singing for fifty years, enjoying the flowers and sleeping in the moon" —— This is Tang Bohu's honest description of his life.
Tang Bohu's most accomplished works are his paintings. His paintings were already celebrated in the art world during his lifetime, and even after his death, they were highly revered. Whether in landscape, figure, or flower-and-bird paintings, Tang Bohu could integrate the finest techniques of his predecessors while creating his own unique style. Especially his portraits of women, they are almost unmatched. He is the only painter in the history of Chinese painting who used courtesans as models and depicted nudes.
Tang Bohu's calligraphy, overshadowed by his fame as a painter, is less known. In fact, his calligraphy is lively, unrestrained, elegant, and bold, with a natural and effortless charm, possessing its own extraordinary qualities. Tang Bohu's poetry and prose have long been overlooked by literary critics. They say, "Tang Yin's poetry and prose give a sense of 'casualness,' and people regard him as a talented scholar because of this." However, precisely because his poetry and prose are unrefined and natural, they are more easily accepted by the general public, possessing a straightforward and delightful charm.
Books about Tang Yin can generally be divided into three categories:
1. Works on Tang Yin's biography and anecdotes, such as The Romantic Scholar Tang Bohu and The Four Scholars of Wu, with the most numerous publications in this category.
2. Works on Tang Yin's paintings and calligraphy, such as Tang Yin Paintings Collection and Tang Yin Paintings Biography, mostly in the form of art books where text follows the illustrations.
3. Collections of Tang Yin's poetry and prose, with fewer publications in this category.
To date, there is no comprehensive book that includes all of Tang Yin's works, poetry, calligraphy, and paintings, presented in a richly illustrated, all-encompassing format. The compilation of this Complete Collection of Tang Bohu's Poetry, Calligraphy, and Paintings undoubtedly holds the significance of filling this gap.