Selection of Ink Traces of Famous Calligraphers Through the Ages -- Ming Wen Huiming's Calligraphy (.Title: Song Emperor Gaozong's Gift to Yue Fei Handscroll with Forceful Words.) and Other Ink Traces

Author: (Ming) Wen Weiming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Wen Zhengming, styled Weiming, later changed to Zhengzhong, self-named "Hengshan Jushi," known as "Wen Hengshan," was from Changzhou. He studied calligraphy diligently, practicing the "Ganwen" script alone, up to ten copies daily. He was praised as "a connoisseur of ancient artifacts and a noble scholar, whose calligraphy is renowned under heaven." He excelled in various scripts, including running, cursive, regular, and clerical scripts, with particular skill in small regular script and running script, deeply mastering the brushwork of Zhi Yong. There is a saying: "The Ming dynasty's regular script is embodied in Hengshan." Over one hundred of his calligraphic works have been passed down. Among them, the "Red Cliff Ode" and "Seven-character Regular Verse" are particularly famous. The "Post Red Cliff Ode" is a regular script created by Wen Zhengming at the age of eighty-nine. Both the person and the calligraphy show the signs of age—ancient, profound, and divine, yet elegant, dense, and vigorous. The "Seven-character Regular Verse" in cursive script follows the style of Zhang Xu and Huai Su's, with bold, dynamic movements, flowing and ethereal, strong brushwork, and a rich rhythmic sense, making it an excellent piece of cursive calligraphy.