Mi Fu's Shu Su Tuo · Sao Xi Shi Tuo

Author: Mi Fu (Song Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-12-01
Features: Mi Fu (1051–1107), originally named Fu, later changed to Fu, styled Yuanzhang, and known by titles such as Xiangyang Manshi and Haiyue Wai Shi. His ancestral home was Taiyuan, but he later moved to Xiangyang (now part of Hubei) and resided long-term in Runzhou (now Zhenjiang, Jiangsu). Mi Fu held the position of Yamen Yuanwailang in the Ministry of Rites, hence known as "Mi Nan Guan," and later self-styled as "Mi Lao" in his later years. He experienced career setbacks throughout his life and thus immersed himself in calligraphy and painting, expressing his life through a playfully indifferent attitude. He had an obsession with antiques and often feigned madness, earning the nickname "Mi Dian." The Shu Su Tie scroll is a work by Mi Fu at the age of thirty-eight and is a masterpiece of his running script. Dong Qichang praised this scroll as "[like a lion attacking an elephant, putting all his strength into it, it should be his best work in his life]." The three major characteristics of Mi Fu's running script are: first, its rich variety; second, its vigorous yet steady brushwork; and third, its emphasis on composition. The Taoxi Poem Tie mostly employs a round, central brushstroke, described as "[brushing freely, with an open structure, clearly imitating the style of Yan Wugu, utterly free of arrogance and ambition, a transcendent and marvelous work of Mi Lao]."