Record on the Pavilion of the Old Drunk |
Wen Cheng-ming (1470-1559), Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Wen delved into the connoisseurship and copying of ancient calligraphy, from which he received inspiration. The calligraphy in this masterful work done in small standard script in 1551 at the age of 81 is like that mentioned by connoisseurs of Wang Hsi-chih’s work--"iron strokes and silver brushwork”. Afterwards is a long colophon by Wen in which he discusses his experiences in calligraphy resulting from his transcription of Ou-yang Hsiu's (1007-1072) "Record on the Pavilion of the Old Drunk". Ou-yang Hsiu in turn had been inspired by an essay by Han Yü. Wen Cheng-ming had hoped that, in his diligent study and pursuit of Wang Hsi-chih's calligraphy, his style would also achieve an air of elegant simplicity both pure and noble.
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