Ming Dynasty

滕王阁序并诗01

滕王阁序并诗02

Zhu Yunming

Zhu Yunming (1460-1527) styled himself Xizhe and Zhishan. He was also named "Zhizhisheng" for he had six fingers on his right hand since he born. He was also named "Qiaoshanlaoqia" and "Zhizhishanren". He was Hans and he was from Changzhou (now Suzhou, Jiangsu Province). He had good educated.  He could write poems and compositions. He did well in calligraphy, especially his cursive script. People think highly of his cursive script. There was a wide spread saying in his times, 'Tang Bohu's painting is best and Zhuzhishan's calligraphy is best". His works, including "Poetry of LiuTiShu", "DuFu's Poems in Cursive Hand", "Tangs' Poetry in Cursive Hand" and "Poetry of Cursive Hand", are regarded as first-class works in history of calligraphy.

His small regular script is strict, his cursive script is flexible, and his layout is well-designed. He is as famous as Tang Yan, Wen Zhengming and Xu Zhenqing, and he is regarded as one of the four talented persons in Wuzhong.

行书五律

Wen Zhengming

Wen Zhengming (1470-1559), original name was Bi, and he styled himself Zhengming. For the ancestors were from Hengshan, he was also called "Hengshan Jushi", and people called him Wen Hengshan".

He was a painter, calligrapher and litterateur in Ming Dynasty. He was Hans and he was from Changzhou (now Suzhou, Jiangsu Province). In his early years, he took part in an exam, but he failed for his bad handwriting. Since then, he studied hard and finally he made a great achievement.

Wen Zhengming learned from the previous calligraphers in Jin Dynasty and Tang Dynasty. He was good at small regular script and running script. The structure was in strict order, and the layout was balanced.

In poetry, he, Zhu Yunming, Tang Yin and Xu Zhenqing are regarded as the four talented persons in Wuzhong. And in Chinese painting history, he, Shen Zhou, Tang Yin and Qiu Ying are regarded as the most famous four persons in Wumen.

李白古风诗卷

Wang Chong

Wang Chong(1494-1533) styled himself Lvren, Lvji, and Yayishanren. He was born in Wu county, Jiangsu province.He was knowledgeable and versatile. He was good at seal cutting and painting of landscape, birds and flowers. He also gained great achievement on poetry and calligraphy. Wang Chong was good at small regular script and running hand. The strokes in his small regular script calligraphy works are not linked to each other tightly, but the whole structure of characters is well-balanced, not loose.

Wang Chong's works include "Yayishanren Anthology" and calligraphy works "Poetry", " Poetry Volume", "Qianziwen", "Nineteen Poems", "The Poems of Li Bai Volume" and so on.

《题墨葡萄诗》

Xu Wei

Xu Wei (1521-1593) was Hans and he was born in Shanyin, Zhejiang Province. Initially, he styled himself Wenqing, and then styled himself Wenchang, also styled himself Tianchishanren, Shutianshuiyue, Qingtengjushi, Tianchiyuyin, Jinlei, Jinhuishanren, Shanyinbuyi and so on. His cursive script is hard to imitate: the characters are sometimes large and sometimes small, the strokes are sometimes thick and sometimes thin, the brush is sometimes wet and sometimes dry. There is a big contrast and the layout was dense. His calligraphy works are really hard to understand by normal people for strokes join together and characters executed swiftly.

行书五绝

Dong Qichang

Dong Qichang (1555-1636) was Hans and he was born in Huating, Shanhai Province. He was the famous representative of Huating genre in late of Ming Dynasty. He was also considered as a famous painter, calligrapher and calligraphy and painting theorist and connoisseur.

He was good at calligraphy and painting appreciation. He collected a lot of famous works, especially those related to calligraphy theories, such as "Southern and Northern Genre" which had a deep influence on painting history.

Dong Qichang was good at calligraphy. He claimed that he just followed his feeling and then came out the calligraphy works. His calligraphy works have a great influence on calligraphy history.

喜雨诗轴

Huang Daozhou

Huang Daozhou (1585-1646) styled himself Youxuan (or Youping) and also styled himself Liruo, Liping and Shizhai. He was Hans and he was born in Dongshan, Fujian Province.

He was a famous scholar, painter, calligrapher and national hero. He was an officer. After the collapse of Ming Dynasty, he resisted Qing Dynasty and finally was killed by Qing Army. He was regarded as a hero.

Huang Daozhou is good at painting, poetry and calligraphy like clerical script and the cursive script. He is considered as the most creative calligrapher in Ming Dynasty. In his works of running script and the cursive script, the strokes are powerful, the structure is balanced and the works are written in a vigorous and racy way.