The Thousand-Character Classic
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.明 文彭 隸書千字文 冊 紙本
When Wen Peng created this album in 1561, his choice of clerical script was unusual, as was the oversized scale of the characters. The text, known as the Thousand-Character Classic, was used by nearly all calligraphers to hone their skills, but it was more commonly written in semicursive, cursive, or standard script. Writing it in clerical script was a slow and laborious process, but the result is novel: a bold, muscular twist on a classic. Wen was one of the first calligraphers to look back to clerical script for inspiration. This practice became common three centuries later.
When Wen Peng created this album in 1561, his choice of clerical script was unusual, as was the oversized scale of the characters. The text, known as the Thousand-Character Classic, was used by nearly all calligraphers to hone their skills, but it was more commonly written in semicursive, cursive, or standard script. Writing it in clerical script was a slow and laborious process, but the result is novel: a bold, muscular twist on a classic. Wen was one of the first calligraphers to look back to clerical script for inspiration. This practice became common three centuries later.
Artwork Details
- 明 文彭 隸書千字文 冊
- Title: The Thousand-Character Classic
- Calligrapher: Wen Peng (Chinese, 1498–1573)
- Period: Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
- Date: 1561
- Culture: China
- Medium: Album of eighty-five double leaves; ink on paper
- Dimensions: Image (each leaf): 13 3/4 × 24 in. (34.9 × 61 cm)
- Classification: Calligraphy
- Credit Line: Lent by Guanyuan Shanzhuang Collection
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art