Clear Gu Lin Chen Yi Running Script Album

Author: Shanghai Shuhua Publishing House
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: Gu Gan (1476–1545), styled Huayu, known as Dongqiao, was from Shangyuan (now Nanjing). Gu Gan's family originated from Wu County, Suzhou, and his great-grandfather Gu Tong was conscripted as an artisan during the Hongwu era, moving the family's registered residence from Suzhou to Shangyuan. "Gu Gan was renowned for his talent in his youth, rivaling He Jingming and Li Mengyang." In his youth, Gu Gan achieved great success in the imperial examinations, passing the jinshi examination at the age of twenty-one in the ninth year of the Jiajing era (1496) and was appointed as the magistrate of Guangping. He was later promoted to the position of assistant director in the Personnel Department of Nanjing and further advanced to the rank of director. Gu Gan devoted himself to extensive learning in his youth and was particularly close to Chen Yi and Wang Wei, earning the reputation of the "Three Wits of Jinling." Later, Zhu Yingdeng followed suit, and they were known as the "Four Great Masters of Jinling." Gu Gan's poetry followed the model of Tang poets, excelling in style and tone. Wang Wei's works were graceful and delicate but somewhat weak. Chen Yi shared a similar style with Wang Wei. Zhu Yingdeng was a prolific writer, capable of composing thousands of characters at a sitting. However, Gu Gan and Zhu Yingdeng supported Li Mengyang, while Wang Wei and Chen Yi held differing opinions. Among the three, Gu Gan achieved the highest official rank, reputation, and poetic mastery.
Chen Yi (1469–1538), originally named Zonglu, later styled Lunan, and known as Shiting, was from Yinzhou and resided in Jinling. He passed the jinshi examination in the twelfth year of the Zhengde era (1517) and entered the Hanlin Academy. In the early Jiajing era, although he was involved in the Yi Li and Huamen incidents, he was not punished. However, due to his upright character, he was unable to gain the favor of Zhang Cheng and Du Ao, leading to his appointment as the Assistant Censor-in-Chief of Jiangxi and later as the Vice Governor of Shandong. He was then transferred to the position of Director of the Imperial Stables. Later, he retired from the Imperial Stables and died in depression.
The "Running Script Album" by Gu Gan and Chen Yi was donated to the Hubei Provincial Museum in 1960 by the descendants of the renowned collector Xu Xingke of Hankou. The album consists of paper and measures 29.9 cm in height and 30 cm in width, with a total of eighteen pages, including fifteen pages by Gu Gan and three pages by Chen Yi. Gu Gan was skilled in running and cursive scripts, with "a high and ancient brush force and a literary spirit that soared with the elegance of the Jin dynasty." Due to his close friendship with Wen Zhengming for nearly fifty years, his calligraphy was greatly influenced by Wen Zhengming. His style was rooted in the calligraphy of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xuanzhi, particularly the "Preface to the Holy Teaching," and was also influenced by Huang Tingjian of the Song dynasty. His characters were sharp and expansive, with a free and dynamic brushwork. Chen Yi's calligraphy was inspired by Su Dongpo, hence his self-styled name "Little Dongpo." His mastery of the Su style was comparable to that of Wu Kuan, another Wu scholar known as "My family's Wu master." Learning from Su meant absorbing the robust characteristics of Yan Zhenqing, with slightly thick and fleshy strokes but strong bone structure, neither flabby nor weak, fully embodying the spirit of Yan's calligraphy. Learning from Su often resulted in thick and plump characters, as recorded by Huang Keshi in his notes: "Stone Jade Toad." From Chen Yi's running script, his brushwork was plump and undulating, yet expansive and effortless, proving to be a carefully crafted work.
This album was provided by the Hubei Provincial Museum.