Books in several lines: Wang Duo and his calligraphy art

Author: Gao Canzhang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: In the history of Chinese calligraphy, those who have left behind "a few good calligraphic lines" are truly few and far between. It is precisely these masters who, throughout different eras, reached the pinnacle of calligraphic art, established schools, created immortal calligraphic marvels, and propelled the continuous advancement of Chinese calligraphy. Wang Duo is one of the outstanding figures among them. History is like a stage, with characters playing different roles. Positive roles are revered and praised, while negative roles are despised and scorned. As individuals, when it comes to choosing between being a positive or negative role, due to the limitations of history and numerous subjective and objective factors, they cannot determine their own fate. Although an individual's internal factors play a decisive role, under the influence of external factors, their choices may turn them into the opposite side. Therefore, the original intentions of historical figures' roles are often altered. For Wang Duo, choosing the role of a "traitor to two sovereigns" may not have been his true intention. After Wang Duo surrendered to the Qing dynasty as the Minister of Rites of the Ming dynasty in May 1645, he was appointed as the Minister of Rites and concurrently the Scholar-in-Residence of the Hongwen Academy, as well as the Vice-Chancellor of the Ming History in the following January. In 1659, he was promoted to the position of Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent. He passed away in March 1662 in his hometown of Mengjin, Henan, and was posthumously honored as Wen'an. During the Qianlong era, when overseeing the compilation of the Siku Quanshu, Wang Duo was listed as a "traitor to two sovereigns" in the Biographies of the Qing Dynasty (Volume E). Under the constraints of feudal ethics in China, a minister who served two sovereigns, or a woman who married two husbands, was considered to have "defiled their great virtue" and was "not worthy of being counted among humanity." A single "traitor to two sovereigns" branded Wang Duo's political integrity onto a, making it impossible for him to be redeemed in eternity. However, from the standpoint of not judging a person by their deeds, when evaluating Wang Duo's calligraphy and his influence on calligraphy after the Qing dynasty, we should adopt an artistic, scientific, and objective approach to understand him, giving Wang Duo and his art a fair and truthful assessment. As an outstanding calligrapher in the history of Chinese calligraphy, Wang Duo is worthy of being recorded in history in great detail.