Revelatory Brushwork: A Guide to Calligraphy in the National Palace Museum Collection (2025-I)

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Donated to the NPM by Mr. Yeh Kung-chao

This ink rubbing of a roofing tile endcap (wadang) features a pair of line-drawn fish, Chinese characters written in seal script (zhuanshu), and a raised ridgeline circumscribing the tile’s rim, drawing attention to its roundness. The composition is symmetrical along its vertical axis, with a four-character auspicious maxim meaning “your nobility is suited for kinghood” written along the centerline. The spritely fish on either side are both hanging from strings with their mouths agape, as though they’ve just been pulled, writhing and tossing, to the water’s surface. Motifs combining pairs of fish with auspicious sayings were commonly added to cylindrical cleaning vessels during the Han dynasty. Although this roofing tile’s design is somewhat different from those motifs, the stylistic flair of its period is still perceptible. This piece embodies the way the ancients expressed warm wishes for one another to achieve high posts in government and generous salaries, and to live in eras of prosperity. 

Anonymous, Han dynasty 
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Donated to the NPM by Mr. Yeh Kung-chao

This rubbing features six Chinese characters written in clerical script (lishu) which translate as “ranked among the three officials” and “greatly auspicious,” alongside a picture of a sheep. A later calligrapher added an inscription in regular script (kaishu) that reads “greatly auspicious sheep vessel.” It refers to the way in which the character for “sheep” (羊) looks and sounds similar to the character for “auspicious” (祥), and therefore carries felicitous implications. The “vessel” being referred to is a xi. Xi were commonly used for personal hygiene in the Han dynasty, but the character was also later incorporated into the term for the vessels scholars kept on their desks to rinse the bristles of their calligraphy brushes. The “three officials” refers to the three highest-ranking posts in the imperial governments of ancient times. This combination of elements gives us a glimpse of people in the Han dynasty’s wishes for wealth, honor, and good fortune. 

Wang Xizhi, Jin dynasty
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The story of Cao E (130-143) was recorded in the Eastern Han dynasty. When Cao E was fourteen years old, her father drowned in a river. Cao spent seven days and nights tearfully searching for him by the riverside, and then threw herself into the water out of despair. When her corpse washed up embracing her father five days later, she became a symbol of filial piety, and a shrine and stele were erected where she threw herself into the river. Not only was the text on the stele very cleverly written, but when the calligrapher Cai Yong (132-192) saw it, he was inspired to come up with a riddle that has been praised and passed on ever since. It is said that the text of the version of the “Cao E Stele” from which this rubbing was taken was written by Wang Xizhi (303-361). Written in small regular script, it features unembellished brushwork and wide, slightly flattened character structures. Numerous subtly varied versions of this stele still exist. Because they have long been attributed to Wang Xizhi, they have exerted lasting influence on calligraphers throughout the centuries. 

Xian Yushu, Yuan dynasty
Certified as an Important Historical Artwork
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Xian Yushu’s (1246-1302) style name was Boji. A talented poet and writer, he was also versed in music and skilled in calligraphy, and was a capable appraiser of calligraphic and painted artworks as well as ancient vessels. The important Yuan dynasty calligrapher-painter Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322) once said of him that “Boji by far surpasses me—I’ve been chasing after him with all my strength, but I can’t keep up.” This praise suffices to demonstrate the esteem in which Zhao Mengfu held Xian Yushu. 
The inscription exhibited here discusses the relationship between Tang and Song dynasty cursive script (caoshu) and calligraphic rules. The text, which names Zhang Xu  (ca. 675-759), Huaisu (fl. ca. mid-8th century), and Gao Xian (dates unknown) of the Tang dynasty, along with Huang Tingjian (1045-1105) of the Song dynasty, generally extols Tang calligraphers and disparages those of the Song. Xian wrote this piece with frequently conjoined vertical and horizontal brushstrokes. He brandished his brush with a strength and vigor that reveals the influence of Huaisu’s cursive calligraphy. 

Wen Zhengming, Ming dynasty
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Wen Zhengming (1470-1559) of Changzhou (present-day Suzhou in Jiangsu province) had the sobriquet Hengshan Jushi (“Recluse of Mount Heng”). Equally skilled as a poet, essayist, calligrapher, and painter, he is named alongside Shen Zhou (1427-1509), Tang Yin (1470-1524), and Qiu Ying (ca. 1494-1552) as one of the “four great masters of the Ming dynasty.” This work features two of Wen’s poems—“Lantern Flowers” and “Burning Incense”—written in large characters with energetic brushwork. The brushwork maintains its uniformity throughout the entire piece, which was written when Wen was in his later years. The character structures and calligraphic techniques are strongly reminiscent of Song dynasty calligrapher Huang Tingjian’s (1045-1105) unrestrained, leisurely spirit. The term “lantern flowers” refers to the sparks that can fly from the burning wicks of oil lamps and candles, as well as to the flower-shaped patterns found when lamps are spent. Traditional custom holds that lantern flowers are an auspicious sign. When Wen announces in his poem that something wonderful will happen tomorrow, he might have been interpreting the appearance of a lantern flower as a sign of things to come.

Shen Du, Ming dynasty
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Shen Du (1357-1434) was an important Ming dynasty court calligrapher who served from the Yongle reign period through to the early Xuande reign period. A talented scribe of seal, clerical, regular, and running scripts, he enjoyed the approbations of Ming dynasty emperor Cheng Zu (1360-1424), who referred to him as “our dynasty’s Wang Xizhi.” 
The “Homecoming Ode” is one of Eastern Jin dynasty poet Tao Yuanming’s (ca. 365-427) representative works. In the essay Tao describes his disaffection with fame and fortune along with his desire to find happiness living with simplicity, contentment, and grace on his secluded rural farm—sentiments such as his became an ideal yearned for by scholars and erudites throughout China’s dynastic history. The forms of the characters in this work of clerical script (lishu) calligraphy are slightly elongated, and Shen’s brushwork is filled with verve. Regularity is evident in the writing’s lines and dots, while the character structures are quite compact. Shen Du used his simple, unaffected clerical script calligraphy to evoke the state of mind conveyed by Tao Yuanming’s poetry and prose. 

Mo Shilong, Ming dynasty
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Mo Shilong (1537-1587) had the style names Yunqing and Tinghan, and the sobriquet Qiushui (“Autumn Water”); a Ming dynasty calligrapher and painter, he was the author of a treatise entitled “Painting Explained.” This scroll’s character structures are slightly inclined, while the linework is rich with alternations between lifting and pressing of the brush, and the spaces between each brushstroke are set off by thread-like traces of the bristles’ movements. The work is rich with refinement and liveliness. 
Flower offering was a custom that originated in Buddhist rituals but later became an elegant pastime beloved by the literati. This inscription describes how different types of flowering plants possess their own distinct characters and suitable display settings. It explains how it is important to artfully orient flowers so that some face up and others face down, and how there must be a balance between blossoms with high and low positions. It stresses that there should be a mix of upright and inclining flowers, and that a happy medium between density and sparseness should be sought—the art of composition is as important to flower arrangers as it is to painters. Finally, the essay describes how vessels complementary to the floral selection are needed to evoke a sense of natural charm. This text reveals the intricacies in ancient scholars’ approaches appreciating and arranging flowers. 

Wang Tubing, Qing dynasty
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Wang Tubing (1668-1743) was an adept poet and calligrapher who especially excelled at running script (xingshu) calligraphy. This poem is one of four pieces by Ming dynasty scholar-official Jin Youzi (1368-1432) collectively titled “Gazing at the Lantern at the Palace Gates on Lantern Festival”. “Imperially commissioned poems” were pieces of verse written upon the command of an emperor. The poem seen here is devoted to a “tortoise mountain lantern” erected outside of the entrance to the imperial palace during the Lantern Festival (the 15th and final day of Chinese New Year festivities). Its descriptions of the glorious light created by the burning lamps inside of the lantern and the scene of bubbling excitement all around it create an atmosphere representative of both the emperor and the general populace sharing in the joy of widespread peace and prosperity. There is fluency and naturalness to the calligraphic brushwork that yields a charming, spirited appearance. The linework is rounded, ample, and sumptuous and yet filled with strength and vigor. Wang moved his brush with rhythm and alacrity, filling this scroll with a lively sense of nimbleness. 

Qian Feng, Qing dynasty
Donated to the NPM by Messrs. Tan Bo-yu and Tan Ji-fu

Gaoshen were an ancient form of formal document issued by the imperial government to announce official appointments or recognize people for their merits. Typically, offices in the central government would dispatch scribes to copy these documents, which were then approved with an official seal before being distributed. However, according to an old legend, Yan Zhenqing wrote his own gaoshen when he was appointed to serve as tutor for a Tang dynasty prince. 

Qian Feng (1740-1795) had the style name Yuefu and the sobriquet Nanyuan. Famous for the regular script (kaishu) that he developed from his studies of Yan Zhenqing’s (709-785) calligraphy, Qian observed and emulated Yan’s original calligraphic works and stele rubbings, a process that deeply influenced him. The piece on display here features resolute, rectilinear brushstrokes, firm and steady brushwork, tightly-knit character structures, and a sense of unflappable strength. Qian deftly captured Yan Zhenqing’s spirit with this work.