Calligraphy Classics Series Vol. 22: “Wenquan Ming” & “Jinci Ming” / Emperor Taizong of Tang

Volume 22 of the "Classics of Calligraphy" series (30 volumes in total).

Two large-scale masterpieces by Emperor Taizong of Tang, renowned as a great ruler, are meticulously restored to their original size.

"Hot Spring Inscription" is a calligraphy piece from Emperor Taizong's final years. The brushwork is rich and powerful, with a bold and majestic style, evoking the character of this great emperor. The rubbing, discovered by Pelliot in the Thousand Buddha Caves of Dunhuang in 1908, is a meticulous rubbing made just five to six years after the monument's erection, and possesses the vividness of a handwritten work. Currently housed at the Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris, it was restored in the 1960s and 1970s, with many characters, including the opening section, being redesigned and made clearer. Unfortunately, some sections were damaged.

In 1978, Nankoku Hidai used a new rubbing photograph and supplemented the damaged sections with photographs from the Shogakuin Institute, completing the finest example available today. This work uses a print made from the platemaking film from that time, which was then contact-printed.

The "Jinci Inscription" was written two years before the "Onsen Inscription," making it the oldest running script stone in the history of calligraphy. While traditional stone monuments were written in seal script, clerical script, and regular script, Emperor Taizong of Tang, who revered Wang Xizhi, is believed to have broken away from the conservative style of stone monuments and written in this style, which he believed to be the best and which he was most adept at. It is a magnificent piece of calligraphy that is unconstrained by form and features bold, free-flowing brushstrokes.