Complete Collection of Chinese Calligraphy (50) - Wen Zhengming of the Ming Dynasty

Author: Rongbaozhai
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-03-22
Features: [Editor's Recommendation] The "Complete Collection of Chinese Calligraphy" spans from the Shang and Zhou dynasties to the contemporary era, comprising one hundred and eight volumes. The volumes are divided into two major categories: 1. Period-specific volumes; 2. Master-specific volumes. Each volume is organized into ten sections based on the era, with additional sections for seal carving, treatises, appendices, and supplements. The collection meticulously prints over thirty thousand exquisite calligraphic works from Chinese history, preserved worldwide, and includes over twenty million words of academic papers and annotations. Many of the illustrations are published for the first time. Each volume contains: biographies of calligraphers (or period-specific discussions), illustrations, calligrapher's theories on calligraphy, calligrapher's chronology, diagrams of the calligrapher's life and travels, explanations and annotations of illustrations, and bibliographies. This book is not merely an artistic atlas but represents an unprecedented comprehensive, research, and introduction to the traditional Chinese art of calligraphy—spanning thousands of years of cultural heritage—following the Song Dynasty's "Chunhua Ge Tie" and the Qing Dynasty's "Sanxi Tang Fa Tie." Such a thorough, systematic, in-depth, and meticulous study of an art form is rare not only in China but also in the global academic community. It holds immense value for calligraphy experts, researchers, enthusiasts, and collectors.
ig">The collection of calligraphic works spans from the Shang and Zhou dynasties to the contemporary era, comprising over one hundred volumes. The volumes are divided into two major categories: 1. Period-specific volumes; 2. Master-specific volumes. Each volume is organized into ten sections based on the era, with additional sections for seal carving, treatises, appendices, and supplements. Period-specific volumes include works such as oracle bone inscriptions, bronze inscriptions, bamboo slips, silk documents, pottery and brick inscriptions, steles, epitaphs, carved stones, cliff carvings, sculptures, and Buddhist manuscripts. These works are classified and organized chronologically. Master-specific volumes are divided into three types: Class A volumes feature works by a single calligrapher; Class B volumes feature works by two to four calligraphers; Class C volumes feature works by multiple calligraphers from a specific era. The table of contents for each volume, excluding the preface and general index, follows the two categories of volume organization. Period-specific volumes include: color illustrations of artifacts or rubbings, general and specialized discussions, illustrations of works, explanations of illustrations, chronology, diagrams showing the distribution of artifact and work discoveries, main reference bibliographies and literature, and an index of illustrations. Master-specific volumes include: portraits of calligraphers (Class A volumes), color illustrations of calligraphy albums or selected works, biographies and specialized discussions of calligraphers, general discussions of calligraphy for a specific period (Class C volumes), illustrations of works, explanations of works, selected annotations of calligrapher's theories on calligraphy, chronology of calligraphers, diagrams of calligraphers' life and travels, main reference bibliographies, and an index of illustrations. In Class A master-specific volumes, supplementary volumes feature relatives and personally instructed disciples of the calligrapher to clarify mutual influences. The supplementary sections include: "Chronological Table of Chinese Calligraphy" (with name index and work index), "Illustrated History of Calligraphy in Minority Scripts," "Illustrated History of Calligraphy Abroad," and "Illustrated History of Four Treasures of the Study." Several supplementary volumes compile important works that could not be included in the main sections. The maps in each volume are based on the "Historical Atlas of China" edited by Tan Qixiang. The entire book is printed in traditional characters to avoid confusion between ancient and modern scripts.