Zhuyuming's small regular script of the

Author: Compiled by the Press
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Publication Date: June 1, 2002
Features: Zhu Yunming was born in the fourth year of the Tianshu era of the Ming Emperor Yingzong (1460) and died in the fifth year of the Jiajing era of the Ming Emperor Shizong (1526). His courtesy name was Xizhe. Due to being born with extra fingers, he was a scholar. His grandfather, Zhu Hao, had previously served as a Cizheng (provincial administrative official) in Shanxi. His father-in-law, Li Yingzhen, was also a renowned calligrapher. It is said that Zhu Yunming was exceptionally intelligent in childhood and could write large characters over a foot in size at the age of five. By the age of nine, he could compose poems. As he grew older, he (read extensively), enjoyed drinking and was hearty, unbound by etiquette. His writing was often full of extraordinary charm. In the fifth year of the Hongzhi era (1492), he passed the provincial examination and became a Jinshi (provincial scholar). However, he repeatedly failed the imperial examinations in the court and only finally became the magistrate of Xingning, Guangdong, at the age of fifty in the ninth year of the Zhengde era. He took office the following year and was transferred to the position of Tongpan (assistant magistrate) of Yangzhou in the first year of the Jiajing era (1522). People then called him "Zhu Jingzhao." He soon resigned and returned to his hometown, building a residence called "Beixing Tang" in Suzhou. He was good friends with the calligraphers Tang Yin, Wen Zhengming, and Xu Zhenqing of the same prefecture, and they were known as the "Four Talented Scholars of Wu." He passed away later due to illness at the age of sixty-seven and left behind the collection "Huaxing Tang Collection" of poems and writings.
Zhu Yunming studied regular script under Li Yingzhen in childhood and calligraphy under Xu Youzhen in later years. After middle age, his interests broadened, and he absorbed the essence of calligraphers from the Wei and Jin dynasties to Zhao Mengfu of the Yuan Dynasty without exception. By his later years, he began to refine his style, fusing these influences into his own unique artistic voice. Wang Shizhen in his "Yiyuan Zhiyanyan" noted: "Zhu Jingzhao's regular script style is inherited from Cang Xiang, the Second Wangs, Yongshi, Mi Jian, Shu Geng, Henan, Yongxing, and his running script from Daxing, Yongshi, Henan, Kuang Su, Dian Xu, Beihai, Meishan, Yuzhang, and Xiangyang—all of whom he diligently practiced. In his later years, his style transformed unpredictably, his artistic spirit was brilliant, his natural and unrestrained brushwork truly matched that of Wu Xing, whom he did not surpass." This shows that in calligraphy, Zhu Yunming combined a transcendent spirit with meticulous craftsmanship, accumulating and then effortlessly releasing his talent. Thus, his calligraphy was already renowned throughout the land during the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Yunming excelled not only in running and cursive scripts but also in small regular script, which was considered unparalleled in the Ming Dynasty. His small regular script was modeled after the high classical styles of Cang Xiang and the Wangs, especially for the "Huangtong Jing" (Yellow Court Scripture), which he loved deeply. His brushwork was full of spirit. Wang Xiaodeng once praised: "Innumerable calligraphers have practiced the 'Huangtong Jing' throughout history, but they all focused on the shapes of strokes, hooks, and dots, lacking the freedom and elegance of the ancient masters. Only Zhu Yunming, in the confines of rules and regulations, managed to imbue his brushwork with boldness and unrestrained grace, like a beauty dancing the 'Nixiangyuwei' in a green and red pavilion—surrounded by the fluttering of the startled swan and the playful dragon. Truly, this is the skill of a calligrapher at the pinnacle of art."
Zhu Yunming's small regular script features clear, robust, and well-balanced strokes, with a slightly slanted structure and an expansive, dignified form that hints at the influence of clerical script. It exudes a classical elegance that is deeply thought-provoking. This book, "Zhu Yunming's Small Regular Script of the 'Preface to the Memorial on Sending Troops' and 'Postface,'" is one of his representative works, written when he was fifty-five. This album was first collected by his friend Huaxia, later by Liu Yong, and then engraved by Wu Yuanyi in the "Nansui Zhai Collection of True Calligraphy" during the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty. It is now preserved in the Tokyo National Museum in Japan. It includes inscriptions by renowned scholars such as Wang Fanggang, Li Tongshu, and Yu Ji, making it highly valuable for appreciation, practice, and research. It is now published in a photolithographic edition to delight all calligraphy enthusiasts.