Zhao Ji's Cursive Calligraphy of the Thousand Characters--Selections of Ink Rubbings by Famous Artists of Past Generations 26

Author: Sun Baowen
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2007-01-01
Features: In the year 1122 AD, Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji, wrote this scroll of Running Script Thousand Characters. This scroll of (crazy grass) Thousand Characters follows the style of Huai Su's (crazy grass). It spans several zhang (Chinese units of length) and is executed in one continuous flow without any hesitation, making it quite spectacular. In the "Gengzi Xiaxia Lü" (Record of Summer Disposal of Geng Year), the scholar Sun Chengze of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties noted: "Emperor Huizong's Thousand Characters follows the style of Huai Su." The contemporary calligraphy and painting appraiser Yang Renkai remarked: "This scroll of running script is strange and extraordinary, varying in size. Some resemble a flying monkey leaping over trees or an agile dragon diving into water; some are connected or disconnected, like flowers scattering in the air; some resemble a withered pine lying on a high ridge or a massive stone reclining in a deep (valley); some are like birds flying out of the forest or snakes sneaking into the grass." The inscription at the end of the scroll is dated to the Xuanhe Renyin year, which coincides with Zhao Ji turning forty. This work is a mature creation of his prime. The scroll measures 35.1 cm in height and 1,172 cm in width, with 99 lines of calligraphy, written on gold-leafed cloud dragon paper. This scroll has passed through the hands of numerous collectors since the Xuanhe era of the Song Dynasty, including the Jin Changming imperial collection, the Southern Song prime minister Jia Sidao, the Ming Jinfu imperial collection, Xiang Yuanbian, and the Qing Liang Qingbiao, among others. It is now housed in the Liaoning Provincial Museum. This book is one of the volumes in the "Selected Calligraphy of Famous Masters Through the Ages," featuring this calligraphic work by Zhao Ji, and is available for collection and appreciation by calligraphy enthusiasts.