Imitation of Yu Shinan's Writing of One Thousand Characters
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Zhao Gou (1107-1187)
Cursive script
Zhao Gou was the first emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty. In this scroll he
demonstrates his prowess at both regular and cursive forms. It is a copy of a scroll by Yu Shinan, a master
calligrapher who worked in the Tang court. During both the Northern and Southern Song, imitation of the Tang
masters was taught within the Academies. The Thousand Characters has often been the subject of calligraphy. It is
a primer for children written in the Liang Dynasty (502-556) and may be written with alternating scripts or in one form.
It's an excellent way for the calligrapher to demonstrate his or her skill and an excellent resource for the beginning
connoiseur to understand the relationship between different forms of calligraphy. Focus in on pairs of characters
to see how the strokes are expressed in each.
Southern Song Dynasty

http://hua.umf.maine.edu/China/SMcalligraphy/index.html
(c) Marilyn Shea, 2006, 2007