Yi Bingshou's Inscription on the Temple of Yu Zhongxiang at Guangxia Temple

Author: China Academy of Art Press
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-01
Features: Yi Bingshou (1754–1815) was a Qing Dynasty calligrapher. His courtesy name was Zousi, and his art names were Moxing and Moxan. He was from Tingzhou, Fujian (now Changting). He was known as "Yi Tingzhou." He passed the imperial examination during the Qianlong era and served as the magistrate of Yangzhou. His running script and cursive script followed Li Dongyang, tracing back to Yan Zhenqing. His style was vigorous, elegant, and pure, with exquisite skill in clerical script. His ink was deep, his brushwork was solid, and his style was mellow, ancient, and majestic. Jiang Baoling's Molin Jinhua described him as "renowned for seal and clerical script in his time, with a vigorous and elegant, ancient, and charming style, creating a unique style." Zhao Guang's Tuan'an Suibian said: "Moxing directly connects to the true tradition of Han clerical script, able to expand on it, becoming more grand as it grows larger." Modern Kang Youwei's Guang Yi Zhou Shuang Ji praised him as "Tingzhou excelling in clerical script, treating it as true script, and imitating Diao Bigan Wen with a lean and vigorous style unmatched by others." He also said: "Collecting the achievements of clerical script, it is Yi Tingzhou." He wrote Liuchun Cota Tang Ji. His son Nianzeng, styled Shaoyi, was also skilled in clerical script. Although Yi Bingshou passed away less than two hundred years ago, his influence has grown increasingly profound. At calligraphy exhibitions, works imitating his style are often seen. Writing the history of Qing Dynasty calligraphy cannot omit Yi Bingshou, and many works acknowledge him as one of the most outstanding calligraphers of the Qing Dynasty. His reverence continues to grow. Throughout the Qing Dynasty, many dedicated themselves to seal and clerical script, but why Yi Bingshou's influence was the greatest is worth pondering. This book was carved in stone in the sixteenth year of the Jiaqing era, a late-career masterpiece of Yi Bingshou. The characteristics of Yi Bingshou's calligraphy can be clearly seen in this stele.