Qiao Dazhuang's Seal Carving and Its Composition

Author: Zhang Guo'ai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-04-01
Features: Qiao Dazhuang (1892—1948), whose given name was Zeng Qu, used his courtesy name to go by, also known as Zhuang Ou, and had other aliases such as Bo Ji and Lao An. He named his residence "Bo Wai Lou," "Jiu Bei Ting," and "Yong Xi Shi," among others. His grandfather, Qiao Mao Xuan, served as the Left Commissioner of the Department of Education during the late Qing Dynasty. After the failure of the Hundred Days' Reform, when the "Six Gentlemen" were executed, Qiao Dazhuang acted with justice by collecting their remains, gaining considerable reputation at the time. From a young age, Qiao Dazhuang was disciplined strictly by his grandfather and became proficient in classics, poetry, and literature. He later entered the Translation Academy and mastered the French language. Initially, he learned calligraphy from Xu Ji Hai (Hao) and later from Yu Yong Xing (Shi Nan). His style is elegant, pure, and subtle, embodying strength within gentleness. He was particularly skilled in writing ci poems and was hailed by Mr. Tang Gui Zhang as "a master general of the ci poetry world." He authored "Bo Wai Yue Zhang" (two volumes) and "Bo Wai Lou Shi" (two volumes).
Zhang Guo'ai, pen name Du Yan, alias Lao Ai, male, was born in Huai'an, Jiangsu in 1967. He graduated from the Calligraphy and Seal Carving program at the China Academy of Art, earning a Master's degree in Literature. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Calligraphy at the China Academy of Art. He currently teaches at the Adult Education College of the China Academy of Art. He is a member of the China Calligraphers Association, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Zhejiang Calligraphy Education Research Association, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Education Committee of the Zhejiang Calligraphers Association, a member of the Academic Committee, a specially appointed painter at the Xiling Fine Arts Institute, and a researcher at the Modern Calligraphy Research Center of the China Academy of Art.