Advanced Search

The story appears on

Page B6

May 14, 2014

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » City specials » Hangzhou

Strokes of genius by ancient emperors

By Qu Zhi | May 14, 2014, Wednesday | Print Edition

TIME is ticking down on a chance to see rare works of art by ancient emperors and other artists. The pieces include significant paintings and calligraphic works on display at Zhejiang Museum until Sunday.

The 35 masterpieces date from the Tang (AD 618-907), Song (907-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties. Three of the pieces have never been shown to the public while the other 32 have been loaned by Liaoning Museum. Exhibition curator Wang Xiaohong said the exhibition, which started on April 18, is only a month long because they don’t want to risk any damage to the artworks.

“Even for 30 days, this exhibition is a luxury,” Wang said. “Although we have prepared everything, including temperature control, to protect the artworks, they are too rare and significant to risk a longer exhibition.”

Song Dynasty masterpieces are one of the highlights of the exhibition since Hangzhou was named capital of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) in 1132.

“The Song Dynasty was the heyday of China’s art and culture. Refined scholars and elite social classes became the main force of rule in society,” Wang said.

One piece of calligraphy is by Emperor Gaozong. He was strolling near West Lake when he suddenly became inspired, writing a romantic poem by Cao Zhi. The result was a nearly 4-meter-long scroll.

Art critics say Gaozong had an enormous impact on calligraphy. His version of the poem has elements of running script that is consistent from beginning to end. His stroke and dots are refined and forceful, one of the best surviving pieces by the emperor.

Gaozong was heavily influenced by his father, Emperor Huizong of the late Northern Song (960-1127) and traced his studies back to Wang Xizhi, who was known as the “Sage Calligrapher.”

While Huizong invented the “slender gold” style of calligraphy, Gaozong was known for his diligence and specializing in the styles of Northern Song calligraphers while also copying the brush methods of ancient masters from the Wei (AD 220-265) and Jin (AD 265-420) dynasties.

Huizong was known as an excellent painter, but he was also a gifted calligrapher and poet. This emperor was also a gracious patron of artists and reformed the Painting Academy during his reign.

Only two works of his cursive script still exist today. One is preserved at Shanghai Museum while the other is part of this special exhibition.

The piece is 11.72 meters long and written in the year 1122, when Emperor Huizong entered his 40s, the golden period of his art achievements. Energy is the key to make the work consistently good and a continuous cursive force permeates this entire piece. The brush skirted up, down, right and left, leaving heavy and light ink exactly where he wanted.

Curator Wang also said the paper used for the piece is a work of art in itself.

“For such large works, separate pieces of paper were joined together,” Wang said. “This is just one piece, which would have required hundreds of procedures to make. Artists also traced dragons in gold with extremely slim lines on the paper. The techniques used to make this paper has long been lost.”

A piece by calligrapher Zhang Xu, known for his expertise in cursive script during the Tang Dynasty, is also worth a look.

Zhang employed an unusual technique in his calligraphy. When drunk, the legend goes that he used his hair as a brush. Upon waking, Zhang would be stunned by his creations, but could never duplicate them while sober. It is said Zhang grasped the essence of cursive writing by observing porters fight and watching the solo performances of famous sword-dancer Lady Gongsun.

This scroll is a significant example of the “wild” cursive script form in which the relentless force of the brushwork balances freedom and restraint. Critics say his calligraphy is like a symphony in that everything is wonderfully orchestrated and gives an overall sense of depth.

Wang said the exhibition includes a few anonymous pieces, but that should not diminish their importance.

“Some of them are copied from the work of ancient masters, but they are still of great value as they reflect the development of art in the country,” said Wang.

Date: Through May 18, 9am-5pm

Address: Zhejiang Museum’s Wulin branch, Zone E, West Lake Culture Square, 581 Zhongshan Rd N.

Admission: Free

Hangzhou


 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend