Yuan Zhao Mengfu's Calligraphy: Record of Miaoyan Temple

Author: None
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-07-01
Features: Zhao Mengfu, styled Zi'ao, known as Songxue Daoren, was a native of Huzhou (now Wuxing, Zhejiang). He was born in the second year of the Baoyou era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1254 AD) and died in the second year of the Zhizhi era of the Yuan Dynasty (1322 AD), at the age of 69. Zhao Mengfu was a renowned calligrapher of the Yuan Dynasty in China. He excelled in various scripts, including regular, running, cursive, clerical, and seal scripts, with particularly deep mastery in running-script and regular-script calligraphy, possessing a unique style. The Record of Miaoyan Temple was written and inscribed by Zhao Mengfu. Yang Shoujing commented on the stele: "This stele does not bear a date, and it should have been created before the Foba Stele, as can be deduced by examining Wenmin's (Zhao Mengfu's) official records. The calligraphy is also less robust than the Danhua Stele, as one matures in calligraphy over time, even for great masters. However, the (immature brushwork) of the Yuan Dynasty has made it unique in history." This stele features precise brushwork and rigorous structure, making it a representative work of the author's running-script and regular-script calligraphy. It was recorded in works such as the Qing Dynasty's Shigu Tang Shuhua Huikao. During the Republican era, it was transmitted overseas. This edition is a photolithographic reprint based on the surviving ink rubbing. The original manuscript had eight characters per line, but it is now mounted with six characters per line for the reference of beginners.