Qin Fugue– Regular Script Masterpieces
In the history of calligraphy, Wen Zhengming is known for his mastery of all styles, especially the small regular script, which became more refined and lighter as he grew older. In the Qing dynasty, Zhu Hezhu even said, “Wen Hengshan is the best in regular script in Ming.
Portrait of Wen Zhengmin
This is a small regular script “Qin Fu” written by Wen Zhengming when he was seventy-four years old. The character is about 1.5 cm in size, with a precise structure and unfailing penmanship. Although he said in the inscription, “I am old and blind“. However, this post is still a masterpiece of small regular script in Wen Zhengming’s mature period, with a rigorous and pure law, a robust structure, and good at leaving white space.
First Page of Wen Zhengming’s booklet in small regular script, “The Qin Fugue” on paper 20.5×10cm×24 ，1543
Inscribed with the following signature: “An essay on jin bribery, a qin fugue by Wen Taishi, signed by Bu Yue.
Postscript: Zhou Tianqiu, the eighth day of the eleventh month of the year wuyin.
Inscription: On the sixth day of the tenth month of the twentieth year of Jiajing, when the weather was cold and the snow was several feet long, I was writing a book on qin fu under the window.
Inscription: Seal in white: Seal of Wen Zhengming, Seal of Wuyin Room
Seal in vermilion: Hengshan, Tianqiu, Stop Cloud
Seal of Collection: Vermilion Seal: Wu Wanbao Collection, Ancient Wu Miao Collection, Jianzhai Collection
Description: This work was appraised and collected by the famous collectors Wu Da-Zhao and Wu Hufan.
Work Appreciation
Wen Zhengming’s calligraphy is composed of seal script, clerical script, regular script, running script and cursive script. He is especially good at running calligraphy and lower case calligraphy, which is gentle and vigorous, with a rigorous and vivid style. He is known as “the best of the Ming Dynasty” because of his gentle strokes and gentle rhythm, which are in harmony with his painting style. His calligraphic style is less flamboyant and often reveals a gentle and elegant air in his exuberant writing.
Wen Zhengming’s fine and neat lower case script is mainly derived from Zhong Yao, Wang Xizhi, Wang Xianzhi, Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang and Ouyang Xun. The style is clean and elegant, with a rigorous, strong brush, and a dignified physique. In his later years, after the age of eighty, his small regular script is particularly impressive. All of Wen Zhengming’s works are neatly written, even when he was approaching his ninetieth year, which is extremely rare among Chinese calligraphers of all generations.