Four Characters in Clerical Script
Ho Shao-chi (1799-1873), Ch'ing Dynasty
Hanging scroll, ink on paper, 40.5 x 114.4cm


        Ho Shao-chi (tzu Tzu-chen, hao Tung-chou chu-shih, wan-hao Yuan-sou,) was a native of Tao-chou (modern Tao-hsien), Hunan province. He passed the chin-shih examinations in the 16th year of the Tao-kuang reign (1836). He particularly excelled in textual research of the Shuo-wen dictionary and metal and stone script. His calligraphic style is based on the work of the T'ang master Yen Chen-ch'ing, though it also bears influences from the seal and clerical script of the Chou, Ch'in, and Han dynasties up to the stele rubbings produced in the Six Dynasties and Northern and Southern Dynasties. Later in his career, Ho fused clerical, seal, standard and running scripts together to produce an exemplary calligraphic style of his own.

        This work is a large-character scroll with four characters; "yi-ssu chih-ao." They are executed in a natural and powerful style, contrasting markedly with the idle charm of his running script. The brushwork is full and gracefully rounded, yet each stroke is vigorously executed, showing Ho's mastery of clerical script.