Huai Su's Self-Portrait Scroll

Author: Ji Lin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Huaisu, born in 725 and died in 785, was of the surname Qian. He entered monastic life in his childhood and became a disciple of the Tang Dynasty eminent monk Xuanzang. His courtesy name was Zangzhen, and he was from Changsha in the Tang Dynasty (now part of Hunan Province). He had an open and free spirit, loved wine, and was known as "Drunken Su" during his time. Since childhood, Huaisu was passionate about calligraphy and practiced diligently, even writing on banana leaves and using wooden boards as paper. The boards were worn through by the leaves, and he wrote on walls, clothes, and utensils wherever he went, so much so that his worn-out brushes piled up into a mound. Later, his brushwork became as fluid as dragons and snakes, with clouds and mist filling the paper. His cursive script was lean and vigorous, dynamic and natural, like sudden rain and whirlwinds, changing endlessly with each stroke. Though seemingly unrestrained and eccentric, with endless variations, his work adhered to strict rules and was renowned as "Crazy Cursive." Historically known as the "Sage of Cursive," he was celebrated alongside another great Tang Dynasty cursive calligrapher, Zhang Xu, as the "Mad Zhang and Crazy Su."
Huaisu's Bai Xutie is a paper-based ink scroll, measuring 28.3 cm in height and 775 cm in width. It consists of 126 lines, with the first six lines damaged and later completed by Su Shunqin of the Song Dynasty, totaling 698 characters. At the beginning of the scroll is a seal script preface by Li Dongyang inscribed with the characters "Zangzhen Zi Xiu." At the end of the scroll are inscriptions by Li Jianzhong, Su Zhe, Wu Kuan, Wen Zhengming, Gao Shiqi, and others. The original scroll is now preserved in the Taipei Palace Museum.
The Bai Xutie is entirely in crazy cursive script, with every stroke executed with the central brush technique, as if carving in sand. The lines are both horizontal and vertical, with no stroke left unrestrained. The upper and lower parts echo each other like sudden wind and rain, evoking the scene of Huaisu writing at his desk, where his mind and hand moved in perfect harmony, full of passion and executed in a continuous flow.
The Bai Xutie is the longest surviving work of Huaisu and a representative of his late-career cursive script. Ming Dynasty calligrapher Wen Zhengming once wrote: "Zangzhen's calligraphy is like a mad monk entering sainthood—his wildness is never out of bounds." Anqi described the scroll: "The ink and paper exude a captivating brilliance, with the emerging from the tip of the brush, an extraordinary and indescribable artistry."