The History of Chinese Calligraphy-Song Dynasty 960 - 1279

The History of Chinese Calligraphy

Song Dynasty 960 - 1279

The Song lived out its days with constant pressure in the west and north. In 1005, a series of defeats to the Khitan forced the Chinese to buy peace by tribute. In 1127, the Nuchen who vanquished the Khitan crossed the Great Wall, seizing the north of China. In 1276, a huge force of Mongol troops stormed the Song's capital after beating the Nuchen, and soon the whole of China became part of the Mongol Empire. Copybook of Chunhua. Fully developed xylograph lent possibility of a printed model. In 992 second emperor Taizong ordered his secretary to compile a copybook for calligraphy, upon which 420 masterpieces from royal collection were traced, transferred and engraved onto jujube wood, printed on fine papers, bound by thread in ten volumes and distributed among his ministers as a reward. The finished series was entitled Copybook of Chunhua after the title of the emperor's reign. A string of other copybooks then multiplied from this master copy. Setting the fashion of practicing calligraphy by a model not original, these reproductions technically contributed to the starting languor of Chinese calligraphy. Sentimental styles. Filled with innovative spirit, poets, painters and thinkers departed from the orthodox Chinese calligraphy, seeing the art of handwriting as primarily expressive of the personality of an inspired, self-cultivated scholar. Fine nuances of mood were captured between improvised lines. Technical accuracy was de-emphasized in favor of an unvarnished statement of immediate impression of life. The leading figures were Four Song Masters, and their uneven, exaggerated characters inspired many generations to come.

	Ouyang Xiu (1007 - 1072) Acupuncture Ink on rice paper
	Cai Xiang (1012 - 1067) 4 Purity Hall Rice Paper
	Wang Anshi (1021 - 1086) Buddhist Sutra
	Su Shi (1037 - 1101) 1 Prose of Wine Poem of Cold Food Festival
	Huang Tingjian (1045 - 1105) 2 Poem
	Mi Fu (1051 - 1107) 3 Silk of Sichuan
	Zhao Ji (1082 - 1135) Poem
	Zhu Xi (1130 - 1200) Manuscript
	Xin Qiji (1140 - 1207) Correspondence
	Wen Tianxiang (1236 - 1283) Motto

Yuan Dynasty 1271 - 1368

Back to the ancients. The Yuan, a dynasty of the Mongol invaders, ranked the people into ten major groups: high officials, low officials, Buddhists, Taoists, doctors, artisans, hunters, streetwalkers, scholars and beggars, in that order. Utterly embittered, many of scholars chose exile in the provinces rather than serve to the barbarian usurpers in Beijing. In search of moral support, they retreated back to the ancients, when aloof glory of the Jin was found. To define the incomparable quality in a scholar, poem, calligraphy and painting were combined as an indivisible whole. This movement wiped out all shadows of Tang vulgar styles, bringing gracefulness of Jin calligraphers back to the scene.

	Zhao Mengfu (1254 - 1322) Goddess of Luo River Renovation of Xuanmiao Temple
	Xianyu Shu (1256 - 1322) Poem of Autumn
	Kangli KuiKui (1295 - 1345) Calligraphy
	Yang Weizhen (1296 - 1370) Jujing Nunnery

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