Wu Chang Suo · A ‘Zhuan Shu’ Couplet

时代：近代

名称：吴昌硕篆书对联

作者：吴昌硕（公元1844年-公元1927年）

简介：

书体：篆书

Era: Modern history

Calligrapher: Wu Chang Shuo (1844 – 1927)

Overview: Wu Chang Shuo was a famous painter, calligrapher and seal engraving expert (or seal artist) of the late Qing Dynasty. He was an icon of Shanghai’s creative arena, being the inaugural principal of the Xiling Society of Seal Arts in Hangzhou. His derived his calligraphy aspirations from Yan Zhen Qing initially, followed by Zhong Yuan Chang. For calligraphy stone engraving, he preferred the ‘Li Shu’ school of thought of the ancient Han Dynasty. His ‘Zhuan Shu’ calligraphy was inspired by the script engraving on the stones of the ancient Qin Dynasty. Wu’s ‘Xing Shu’ calligraphy manifests the tilting strokes of Huang Ting Jian and Wang Duo’s. It oozes the art of composition of Huang Dao Zhou’s. Wu’s calligraphy also took in the essence of ‘Zhuan’ and ‘Zhou’ scripts of the Northern Dynasties. His stroke-work could be dramatic, bold and unrestrained, yet flamboyant at times. In his later life, Wu pushed his calligraphy mastery to the next level, breaking the boundaries of the ancient stone-based script engraving. He injected the ‘expressionist’ elements into his ‘Zhuan’ calligraphy works to amplify the artistic transformation by using added inking concentration and getting motivated by the art of stone engraving. His new perspective on ‘Zhuan Shu’ creation helped redefine and add a new value to the aesthetic aspect of calligraphy. The former principal of the Xiling Society of Seal Arts bolstered up his influential role in the creative arena with his ingenuity in fusing calligraphy, painting and stone engraving into a creative masterpiece.

Calligraphy Style: Zhuan Shu