Wang Duo's Copy of the Holy Teaching Order

Author: Wang Duo (Qing Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-06-01
Features: Wang Duo (1592—1652) was a calligrapher and painter, known by the courtesy name Juesi, the sobriquets Chian’an and Songqiao; also by the aliases Yantan and Yisou. He was also known as Wang Mengjin because his ancestral home was in Mengjin, Luoyang. He achieved great proficiency in calligraphy and painting, standing out as a renowned calligrapher during the transition from the Ming to the Qing Dynasty. He was granted the title of Taishao (Grand Protector) by both the Ming and Qing courts and served as Minister of Rites. His former residence, located in the old city of Mengjin, consists of a 2646-square-meter main house and an 80-mu garden. Wang Duo was born here in the 20th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty. As a posthumous honor bestowed by the Qing court, the residence was renamed the "Taishao Mansion." Today, it houses stone carvings of Wang Duo's representative works, "Nishanyuan Tie," and is a key cultural relic protection unit in Henan Province.
The Wang Duo Former Residence faces south and is adjacent to the old city street. It is a deep courtyard complex with multiple layers of traditional Ming and Qing architecture, extending eight layers deep. The front row features a grand hall with five bays and three depths, imposing and majestic. At the center of the courtyard stands a double gate, with stone lions placed on both sides of the entrance. Wang Duo, a native of Mengjin, was a famous calligrapher and painter of the late Ming and early Qing periods, serving as Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion.
"Nishanyuan Tie" was written by Wang Duo and compiled by his son, Wang Wugou, into stone carvings in the ninth year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty. The inscriptions were written by Zhang Jianyan and Gong Dingxie, and the stone carvings were executed by Zhang Feiqing. After nine years of effort, the project was completed in the sixteenth year of the Shunzhi reign. Additionally, works such as "Langhua Tie" and "Guilong Tie" were created, pioneering a new trend in the calligraphy circles of the Ming and Qing dynasties and holding an important position in the history of Chinese calligraphy.