Yu Xianyu's calligraphy of Han Yu's "Preface to Li Yuan's Return to Pan Valley"

Author: Shanghai Shuhua Publishing House
Publisher:
Publish Date: July 1, 2003
Features: In the Yuan Dynasty's calligraphy scene, the calligrapher Xian Yu Shu is renowned alongside Wu Li Mengfu, together hailed as the "Two Heroes." Xian Yu Shu (1256–1301), styled Boji, was also known as Kunxue Shanmin, Hu Lin Yinshi, and Zhi Ji Laoren. Born in Yuyang, Hebei (now Jixian, Hebei), he resided in Hangzhou. During the Zhiyuan era, he served as the Chief Clerk of the Jiangzhe Provincial Administration. Despite being recommended multiple times for court positions, he was not appointed. He eventually rose to the position of Libu Dianbu. In his later years, he built a studio called Kunxue Zhai by the West Lake in Hu Lin, shutting himself off from guests and worldly affairs, dedicating himself to playing the qin, writing calligraphy, appreciating antiques, and studying classics until his death.
Yuan Dynasty calligraphy was characterized by its adherence to tradition and a return to the styles of the Jin and Tang dynasties. Unlike the Song Dynasty's calligraphy, which blended the styles of the Jin and Tang while advocating the "Shangyi" (upholding meaning) aesthetic, Yuan calligraphy emphasized a comprehensive return to the Jin and Tang. This wave of revival was closely tied to the social, political, economic, and cultural developments of the time. On one hand, the Mongol rulers, seeking to compensate for their cultural and historical shortcomings, adopted some conciliatory policies that allowed Han culture to gradually permeate. On the other hand, Han calligraphers, striving to prevent the ancient art of calligraphy from fading away, naturally advocated a return to the Jin and Tang styles as a form of resistance against the ruling class's ethnic discrimination. Xian Yu Shu's calligraphy emerged from this historical and cultural backdrop.
Rooted in tradition, Xian Yu Shu, like Zhao Mengfu, promoted the idea of revitalizing the old with the new, drawing artistic nourishment from the calligraphers of the Wei, Jin, and Tang dynasties. His dedication to tradition was so profound that Zhao Mengfu sighed, "Boji surpasses me greatly; even with my utmost effort, I cannot catch up." Xian Yu Shu excelled particularly in running and cursive scripts. His style was described as "unconstrained in stroke yet deliberate in every point and line, leaving the viewer undisturbed. Unlike modern calligraphers who, unacquainted with Ou and Yu, rush into the chaotic styles of Bian and Su, their scattered and sprawling brushwork ultimately resembles untamed tumbleweeds" (as quoted in Ming Wu Kuan's Pao Weng Jia Qiu Ji).
The Preface to Han Yu's Sending Li Yuan Back to Pan Valley is a representative work of Xian Yu Shu's running and cursive scripts. The scroll is on paper, measuring 48.6 cm in height and 53.3 cm in width. The beginning is missing eight characters. At the beginning of the scroll is a Lishu preface by Ming Wang Shideng, followed by a title by Qing Wang Shu. At the end are inscriptions by Ming Wang Shideng and Song Jue. According to Wang Shideng's inscription, this scroll was once owned by Ming Zhao Guang and later passed through the hands of Qing Miao Ruya and Zeng Yu.
Admiring this scroll's calligraphy, one can sense a majestic and uplifting aura permeating every stroke. Although the author claimed it took four or five revisions to complete due to unsatisfactory brushwork, the strokes are sharp and powerful, maintaining a consistent momentum without flaw. As the Republican calligrapher Di Pingzi noted in his inscription, "Precisely for this reason, the structure and brushwork are even more refined. Though the ink is applied, the brush tip disperses, yet the calligrapher remains in full control, making the brush and ink his own rather than being mastered by them. This single point is something neither the Ming nor Qing dynasties could achieve, let alone forgers or imitators."
"To make the brush and ink his own rather than being mastered by them" reflects what kind of skill and realm! It fully embodies the author's bold and unrestrained, extraordinarily talented and heroic spirit, as well as his solid and profound traditional foundation. Considering historical records of Xian Yu Shu's "courageous" brushwork and the legend of him "realizing the secrets of calligraphy while witnessing two men driving a carriage through muddy tracks," one can better appreciate how, as a calligrapher, Xian Yu Shu's experiences in learning calligraphy offered invaluable insights for later generations.