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@@Wang Hsi-chih, a native of Shantung, followed his father
south at the end of the Western Chin and rose to the rank
of General of the Right. Like other scholars in the Eastern
Chin, he leaned towards Taoism and enjoyed the landscape.
His calligraphy has a poetic sense and a spiritual quality
that precisely reflects the individual freedom sought by scholars
and artists of the period.
This scroll includes three works
mounted together. All are tracing copies done before the T'ang
dynasty (618-907), but they were so faithfully done that they
still reveal the speed and variety of brushwork, even where
the brush turned and was lifted up. In other words, the lines
appear to have a life of their own. They depart from the formal
qualities of ancient clerical script and take the art of calligraphy
to a realm of freedom that clearly expresses the individuality
of the artist, which is why Wang became revered as "The
Sage of Calligraphy".
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