Explanation of the calligraphy technique in Song Mi Fu's "Shu Su Tie"

Author: Wang Yi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: The Shu Su Tie was written on the twenty-third day of September in the third year of the Yuan You era (1088 AD). It is a silk scroll with a black silk border, measuring 284.2 cm in length and 29.6 cm in height, and is now preserved in the Taipei Palace Museum. The content consists of four five-character poems and four seven-character poems composed by Mi Fu himself. At the invitation of Lin Xi, the prefect of Huizhou, Mi Fu traveled to Huizhou. Lin Xi presented him with a Shu Su scroll, which had been in his family for over twenty years, asking him to write on it. Mi Fu gladly took up the brush. This Shu Su was meticulously crafted by a renowned craftsman from Dongchuan in the fourth year of the Qingliannian era of the Song Dynasty. It was later collected by Emperor Shao You and mounted as a scroll, with its tail inscribed to preserve it for future masters. Later, Hu Wanfu saw this silk and only inscribed his name on its tail. It was not until the third year of the Yuan You era in September that Mi Fu wrote on it. At this time, Mi Fu was in his prime, full of energy and creativity. He had a remarkable command of silk and excelled at gathering the brush hair and retracting the tip. This scroll extensively uses a dry brush technique, described as "[reaching the realm of perfection and divinity]". The brushwork is dynamic and lively, with each stroke connected in meaning and each character seamlessly linked. The brush falls decisively, yet everything appears natural. This scroll has clearly moved beyond the style of "[collecting ancient characters]" and has entered the realm of "[taking the strengths of others and combining them into something new]."