Browse Items (43 total)

"Poem on the Hall of Pines and Wind (松風閣詩)" express Huang Tingjian (黃庭堅)'s melancholy within his joyfulness. At first, he depicts the beautiful scenery of the Hall of Pines and Wind. Then he shows his sadness towards his friends including Su Shi…

This piece was created by Zhao Mengfu after he returned from his travels from Jinan (濟南). It was dedicated to his old friend Zhou Mi (周密), a native of Shandong (山東) who had never been to Jinan, so Zhao especially wrote this scroll of poetry as a…

Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion (蘭亭集序) or known as ‘Lanting Xu’, is the most notable piece that was self-composed and handwritten by Wang Xizhi (王羲之). Before Xizhi’s official retirement as a governor on 353 CE, he invited more…

Regular script is also known as “uniform script” and “real script”, referring to a typeface of order. Regular script is a regular typeface directly evolved from clerical script. It turned the “silkworm head and wild goose tail” of clerical script…

Running script is a cursive style of Chinese characters. Because it is not as abbreviated as cursive, most people who can read regular script can read running script. It is highly useful and also artistic.

Running script had already been formed in…

Seal script (篆書) developed in the Zhou Dynasty and was adopted as the final script for all of China during the Qin dynasty. It was widely used for decorating and engraving purposes during the Han Dynasty. It belongs to the Bronze Age of China and in…

She inkstones come from the She County (Anhui Province) and Wuyuan County (Jiangxi Province). Both counties were under jurisdiction of the ancient She Prefecture of Huizhou during the Tang Dynasty when the She ink stone was first made. This stone is…

Sheng Xuan is a type of Xuan paper that is usually not processed, and has high ink absorbance abilities and has high flexibility. It is difficult for beginners to use Sheng Xuan paper because the ink is absorbed quickly, causing it to blur. Sheng…

Shu Xuan paper, has Potassium alum worked into it during production, which results in a stiffer texture, a reduced ability to absorb water, and less resistance to shear stress (meaning that it can be torn much more easily). Shu Xuan Paper is usually…

Su Shi (蘇軾) was known as a great scholar with an unstable career. Ever since he got falsely accused of Wutai Poem Incident (烏台詩案) and exiled to Huangzhou (黄州), he was left in poverty. That time, he experiences a turning point of his life, and he…