Tang Sun Guoting's Shupu

Author: Wang Ziqiang
Responsibility:
Publisher: Xiling Press
Publishing Date: 2005-11-01
Features: Shupu, ink rubbing, written and compiled by Sun Guoting. Written in the third year of Chui Gong (687), in cursive script, on paper. 27.2 cm in height, 898.24 cm in width. Each sheet contains 16 to 18 lines, with 8 to 12 characters per line, totaling 351 lines and over 3,500 characters. Over 70 variant characters, with 30 missing characters following "Han late Bai Ying" and 30 missing characters following "The heart is not tired of precision." Shupu originally had two volumes in the Song imperial collection, but the lower volume was lost, leaving only the upper volume in circulation today. Sun Guoting, through decades of calligraphic practice, believed that scholars of calligraphy since the Han and Tang dynasties "often involved in superficiality, failing to describe the form externally and losing the essence internally." Therefore, he wrote Shupu to elaborate on the brushwork, which was also known as Brushwork Theory during the Tang and Song dynasties. The authentic manuscript of Shupu has a clear lineage, originally stored in the Song imperial collection, sealed with "Xuanhe" and "Zhenghe." It was inscribed by Emperor Huizong of Song. Later, it belonged to Sun Chengze, then to An Qi, and finally to the Qing imperial collection. It was previously housed in the Palace Museum and is now kept in the National Palace Museum in Taiwan, commonly referred to as the authentic manuscript of Shupu. A photolithographic edition has been published. Shupu is a groundbreaking calligraphic treatise in the history of Chinese calligraphy, proposing his famous calligraphic philosophy: "Ancient does not deviate from the times, modern does not follow the flaws," laying the foundation for calligraphic aesthetic theory. His achievements in calligraphic art are as unified with his achievements in calligraphic theory. The artistic achievements of Shupu are also quite high. Sun Guoting's calligraphy "the Two Wangs" (Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi), with every stroke precise and highly regulated, embodying the style of the Wei and Jin dynasties, and highly praised throughout history. Song Mi Fu remarked: "Sun Guoting's cursive Shupu is deeply influenced by the style of Wang Xizhi. The way he terminates the bottom of the characters is close to the front and straight, which is characteristic of Sun's style. Whenever the world praises Wang Xizhi's calligraphy as having such characters, they are actually by Sun. Among Tang cursive scripts that inherit the style of the Two Wangs, none surpasses him." (Shishu) Qing Zhu Lüzheng said: "Only Sun Qianli's cursive Shupu fully follows Wang Xizhi, and the over 3,700 words flow in one breath, with the brushwork preserved, truly a treasure of cursive script." (Shuxue Jieyao) Wang Shizhen noted: "The Shupu is rich, smooth, and ripe, almost as if it were in the hall of Shan Yin. Later, it becomes unrestrained, with the momentum of a thirsty tiger and a dragon." (Shugai) However, because of its excessive smoothness, it also received criticism for being "the style of common folk, thousands of papers the same, one character repeated a thousand times" (Shushufu). The ink rubbing of Shupu is a single volume, with imprints and carvings throughout history, and the authentic manuscript is now kept in the National Palace Museum in Taiwan. The Song-era imprint of Shupu in the Palace Museum is a volume of the upper part, meticulously carved, and the first two lines have 17 more characters than the ink rubbing, which can supplement the missing parts. The original stone is long lost, making this imprint a unique treasure in China. The imprint bears inscriptions by Zhang Boying, Luo Dun, Lin Zhijun, Ma Xulun, Qi Yanming, etc., and seals such as "Shimen Wu Nichen Jincheng Zang" and "Chen Shutong." It consists of 14 pages, with 8 lines per page, and 10 to 14 characters per line. Each page measures 31 cm in height and 22.3 cm in width. Sun Guoting (648–703), styled Qianli, had two claimed places of origin: one said he was from Chenliu (now Kaifeng, Henan), and the other said he was from Fuyang (southwest of Hangzhou). Generally, he is considered a native of Fuyang, but he claimed to be from Wujun (now Suzhou, Jiangsu). Chen Zi'ang wrote his epitaph, stating that Sun Guoting "at the age of forty met the emperor and suffered from slanderous accusations." He was a contemporary of Emperor Gaozong and Wu Zetian of the Tang dynasty, serving as the Assistant Captain of the Right Guard and the Recorder of the Imperial Guard. He excelled in calligraphy and calligraphic theory, being erudite and skilled in writing. His regular, running, and cursive scripts were particularly outstanding. His cursive script followed the style of the Two Wangs. "Skilled in brushwork, sharp and decisive" (Shuduan), as described by Tang Wei Xu in Continued Book Grades: "Like a cliff and a deep gorge, the brushwork is firm and strong." Chen Zi'ang praised his calligraphy in Eulogy for the Recorder of the Imperial Guard Sun Chengze: "After Yuan Chang's death, the art of calligraphy was lost. Your calligraphy, unparalleled in generations, is like a celestial being in the Wei dynasty." He compared Sun's calligraphy to Zhong Yao of the Wei dynasty, showing his high regard for Sun's calligraphic prowess. Tang Zhang Huajin in Shuduan described him as: "Erudite and skilled in writing, following the style of the Two Wangs in cursive script, skilled in brushwork, sharp and decisive." The Continued Book Review of the Tang dynasty said: "Sun Guoting's cursive script is like a cliff and a deep gorge, with strong and vigorous brushwork." The Xuanhe Book Spectrum stated: "He gained fame in calligraphy, occasionally writing cursive script that closely resembles Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, especially skilled in brushwork." His surviving works include Shupu, Thousand Characters, and Eulogy for Jingfu Palace. His masterpiece Shupu is a calligraphic theoretical essay written and inscribed by Sun Guoting, also celebrated as a fine calligraphic work throughout history, still circulated today, becoming a model for learning cursive script. It is a groundbreaking calligraphic treatise in the history of Chinese calligraphy. Sun Guoting proposed his famous calligraphic philosophy: "Ancient does not deviate from the times, modern does not follow the flaws," laying the foundation for calligraphic aesthetic theory. The artistic achievements of Shupu are also quite high. Sun Guoting's calligraphy "the Two Wangs," incorporating the essence of cursive script and blending them into his own style, with every stroke precise and highly regulated, embodying the style of the Wei and Jin dynasties. Song Mi Fu remarked: "Among Tang cursive scripts that inherit the style of the Two Wangs, none surpasses him." Song Gaozong noted: "The Shupu is not only elegant in wording but also comprehensive in cursive script." This shows that the Shupu is not only rich, smooth, and ripe in calligraphy but also contains many insightful and unique perspectives in the text, making it a model of harmonious calligraphy and literature.