Huaisu's Self-Portrait Scroll - Selections of Ink Rubbings by Famous Artists Throughout the Ages (10)

Author: Sun Baowen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: Huaisu (725–785) was a Tang Dynasty calligrapher specializing in cursive script, styled Zanzhen, with the secular surname Qian, from Changsha, Hunan. Legend has it that he planted over ten thousand banana trees to practice calligraphy, using banana leaves as paper and diligently studying and refining his skills. He also used lacquered plates and boards as substitutes for paper, writing repeatedly until the plates and boards wore through, and his worn-out brushes piled up into mounds. He became famous for his "" (crazy grass script). His brushwork was swift, like a sudden rainstorm or swirling wind, with flying, round, and ever-changing movements while maintaining proper structure. Previous generations praised his cursive script as inheriting Zhang Xu while also developing new techniques, calling it "crazy following the mad" and referring to them as "the mad Zhang and drunken Huai." His influence on later generations was also significant. Huaisu's cursive script became more subdued in his later years. "Self-Composition Scroll" is one of his famous works. The "Self-Composition Scroll" is on paper, measuring 28.3 cm in height and 775 cm in width; it has 126 lines with a total of 698 characters. It is inscribed at the beginning with the four characters "" (Zanzhen's Self-Composition) in Lixiang's seal script. At the end of the scroll, there are inscriptions by numerous scholars, including Su Zhe and Wen Zhengming. It is currently housed in the Taipei Palace Museum. The "Self-Composition Scroll" is a representative work of Huaisu's late cursive script. The entire scroll is filled with cursive script, with every stroke executed with the central brush technique, like a cone scratching sand, with no stroke going unrestrained in any direction. The upper and lower strokes resonate like a sudden storm, allowing one to imagine the passion and vigor of his brushwork when he was practicing, with his mind and hand working in harmony, full of enthusiasm and executed in one breath. In the Ming Dynasty, Anqi described this scroll: "The ink and paper exude a captivating brilliance, with the intricate changes and transformations emerging from the tip of the brush, presenting an extraordinary and indescribable momentum."