Calligraphy Classics Series Vol. 4: Stele of Cao Quan (Tenrai Shoin)

This is one of the masterpieces representing the Later Han Dynasty's Clerical Script Steles. It displays the typical characteristics of the eight-part clerical script, and its elegant and graceful style was highly praised in China from early on. It also had a major influence on calligraphy in Japan from the Edo period through the late Edo and Meiji periods. It represents the pinnacle of clerical script sophistication, with an emphasis on the flowing wavy lines and flat character shapes, earning it a reputation for being feminine.

Table of Contents

Features of this series / What is copying classical calligraphy? / About cursive writing / Illustrations (stones) / Illustrations (stones) / Interpretations, Japanese-translated texts, and outlines / Modern Japanese translations / Commentaries / Sculptural features / Character shapes and stroke order for creating calligraphy works (sections suitable for copying)