Complete Collection of Chinese Calligraphy. Vol. 44, Zhao Mengfu Volume

Author: Liu Zhengcheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-05-01
Features: Zhao Mengfu (1254—1322), styled Zi'ang, styled Songxue, was a native of Huzhou, Zhejiang. He was one of the most prominent painters and calligraphers of the Yuan Dynasty, exerting a wide influence on the history of Chinese painting and calligraphy. This descendant of the declining Zhao Song aristocratic family was summoned to serve as an official in the Yuan Dynasty and was later promoted multiple times, becoming a favored courtier of the Yuan Dynasty who "enjoyed honor across five dynasties and fame throughout the world." With his comprehensive expertise in poetry, painting, and calligraphy theory, he was rightfully regarded as the leader of Yuan Dynasty literati painting. This inevitably led to numerous controversies in historical records. His painting advocated for a return to antiquity, promoted the charm of brushwork and ink techniques, deliberately imitated the brushwork of Tang Dynasty masters while dismissing the declining styles of the Southern Song court painting. His calligraphy excelled in regular script and running script, synthesizing the great achievements of Jin and Tang calligraphy, reviving the styles of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, and earning the reputation of the "Zhao" style. The History of the Yuan Dynasty describes him as "master of seal script, clerical script, regular script, running script, and cursive script, none of which surpassed the ancients, and thus renowned for his calligraphy throughout the world," fully demonstrating his status in calligraphy history. Due to his wife Guo Daotai and his son Zhao Yong both being renowned in painting and calligraphy, Emperor Renzong of the Yuan Dynasty once compiled their calligraphy together into a set and secretly stored it in the palace. "Stone resembles flying white, wood resembles clerical script; writing bamboo follows the eight methods. If someone can understand this, they will know that painting and calligraphy are fundamentally the same." Zhao Mengfu's inscription poem on painting has become an axiom in the field of Chinese painting and calligraphy.