Weibei calligraphy book

Author: Dan Ting
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1996-12-01
Features: Wei Stele is the inscribed texts of steles, cliff carvings, sculptures, etc., from the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534). It has a unique style in Chinese calligraphy art. During the evolution of Chinese characters from clerical script to regular script, Wei Stele inherited the style of Zhong Xuan and Wang Xizhi, and paved the way for the Sui and Tang dynasties, demonstrating bold revolutionary spirit in art. Kang Youwei believed that "the Northern Wei Steles are the most magnificent and comprehensive," and described them as "possessing a robust brushwork, dynamic and lively posture, varying in length and size, each according to its momentum; the arrangement of characters and spacing is naturally exquisite. They embody changes within unity, and conceal the extraordinary in the ordinary, all reaching the pinnacle of excellence." (From Wang Yi Zhou Jie - "Comprehensive Wei Steles") In the Qing Dynasty, after being promoted by Ruan Yuan, Bao Shichen, and Kang Youwei, the study of the "Wei style" flourished, giving rise to the Stele School.