Western Jin Running Script Ink Traces

Author: Zhuang Xingxing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-07-01
Features: The Great Series of Chinese Folk Calligraphy. The earliest extant cursive calligraphy from the Western Jin Dynasty, the "Wooden Slip of 'Black Millet Three Hops Six Dou on the First Day of the Second Month of the Third Year of Xianxi'" unearthed from the ancient Lop Nur site, is currently known. [Xianxi] was the last era name of the Wei Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period. In the fifth month of the lunar calendar in 264 AD, Emperor Wen of Wei established it. In the twelfth month of the second year of Xianxi, Sima Zhao's son, Sima Yan, who held great power in Wei, abolished Wei through the so-called method of abdication and established the Jin Dynasty, simultaneously adopting [Taishi] as the era name. Therefore, the Taishi era existed for less than a month. Based on this historical context, the so-called [Second Month of the Third Year of Xianxi] is actually the [Second Month of the Second Year of Taishi] in the Western Jin Dynasty. The early Western Jin cursive calligraphy with clear dating unearthed from the ancient Lop Nur site is mostly written on wooden slips, with varying numbers of characters in each piece. According to the scribe's signature, they can be traced to different calligraphy tools. Although these calligraphy pieces bear the aesthetic individuality of their scribes, they cannot conceal the generational commonalities in their script style and brushwork. These calligraphy pieces, in terms of the starting and ending of strokes, turns, hooks, and tines, still retain the influence of clerical script. Some structures even have a strong clerical script flavor. The cursive calligraphy of the Western Jin period is a crucial and indispensable part of the development of Chinese cursive calligraphy in history. It had entered a period close to transformation, with a unique style, and still holds extremely important research and reference value for the development of calligraphy today.