Zhao Mengfu's Running Script and Cursive Script Thousand Characters

Author: Shanghai Shuxue Publishing House
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-03-01
Features: This book is one of the "Classics of Chinese Stele and Manuscript" series, showcasing the Running and Cursive "Thousand Characters" by Zhao Mengfu. The calligraphy in this volume is well-proportioned, with smooth and elegant brushwork, and a dignified and beautiful composition. This manuscript not only holds high artistic and collectible value but also allows calligraphy enthusiasts to appreciate the ideal realm of classical Chinese calligraphy, embodying gentleness within strength, soft yet firm. Beginners can study the brushwork, structure, and layout of each character for practice. This volume is truly a rare treasure and can be considered the best model for beginners.
Zhao Mengfu (1254–1322), styled Ziyang, was known as the Snow Pine Daoist. He was a native of Wuxing, Huzhou, Zhejiang. He was the ninth-generation descendant of Prince Defang, the fourth son of Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty. At the age of fourteen, he entered the imperial service through his father’s influence and later passed the imperial examination for the Ministry of Personnel, serving as a clerk in Zhenzhou. After the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, he retired to live in seclusion, studying diligently. At the age of thirty-three, Cheng Jufu, an imperial censor, was ordered to search for talents in Jiangnan, and Zhao was selected to attend the court as a ministerial official. He later became a direct scholar of the Jixian Academy, holding positions such as the Administrator of the Jinan General Road Management Bureau, the Chief of the Jiangzhe Confucian Academy, and the Court Academician and Lecturer. After his death, he was posthumously honored as Duke of Wei and posthumously titled Wenmin.
From a young age, Zhao was exceptionally intelligent, memorizing what he read and writing with ease. He learned calligraphy from Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty in his youth and later focused on the calligraphy of Zhong Yao and the Wang brothers (Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi) during his middle years. In his later years, he paid attention to Li Beihai’s style. According to Song Lian, he studied calligraphy with great diligence, saying, "He devoted himself to calligraphy, diligently learning ancient methods. He practiced the Xian and Xie scrolls a hundred times." He also traced back to the Qin and Han dynasties, studying seal script from the Stone Drums and "Chu’s Bite" (a variant of Chu script); he learned clerical script from Liang Huo and Zhong Yao, absorbing various styles to eventually form his own elegant and flowing calligraphic style. Yu Jie remarked, "His regular script deeply grasps the essence of the ‘Luo Shen Fu’ while capturing its elegance; his running script reaches the realm of the ‘Dui Jiao Xu’; and his cursive script, like the ‘Seventeen Treatises,’ measures its form.” His mastery lay entirely in "diligence and precision," making him a rare versatile calligrapher. The Yuan Shi (History of the Yuan Dynasty) states: "Zhao Mengfu excelled in seal script, clerical script, regular script, running script, and cursive script, surpassing all ancient and modern masters, and thus gained fame for his calligraphy." Among these, he was particularly skilled in running and regular script, and his small regular script was among his finest works.
It is said that he wrote with such speed that his brushwork was like the wind and rain, and he could write ten thousand characters a day, demonstrating extreme proficiency. As a descendant of the Song imperial family who later served the Yuan Dynasty, his loyalty was questioned, and his calligraphy was criticized as being overly subservient to the times. This was an unfair judgment based on his character rather than his art.
Zhao Mengfu left behind numerous calligraphic works and printed editions. The "Running and Cursive Thousand Characters" by Zhao Mengfu in this volume does not bear a date, but its brushwork is exceptionally warm, round, and vigorous, with precise and delicate strokes, and elegant yet simple compositions. As regular script, it is dignified and rigorous, clearly demonstrating the principles of calligraphy, making it an excellent model for beginners. It is now published in facsimile to allow calligraphy enthusiasts to appreciate and study it.