Collecting Guide: 5 Chinese traditional calligraphy artists to follow at auction

The elegant marks within the traditional Chinese art form of Calligraphy may seem indecipherable to the Western viewer but they belie a long history of scholarly tradition from the Ming dynasty to the present day.

‘Chinese calligraphy covers five scripts: standard, clerical, seal, running and cursive, of which the last is by far the most fascinating,’ says Jessie Or. ‘In the modern world there are many ways to be successful, but centuries ago, the final goal for studying hard was to enter the government as officers and one day become a known figure. In the Ming Dynasty (14th–17th century), not many scholars could position themselves in the imperial court, but luckily a few of them managed to make their names known in the history of a different field — Chinese Calligraphy.’

Wang Duo

Wang Duo (1592–1652) studied calligraphy since childhood and became an officer in the court of the late Ming Dynasty. When he was turning 50 however, he encountered obstacles in his court career and turned instead to calligraphy, developing the cursive script into his own special style of the ‘one-line brush’. This important handscroll is one of the works created during this period.

Zhao Zhiqian

Zhao Zhiqian was a noted calligrapher, seal-engraver and painter of the Qing Dynasty. All his life, he strived to improve his poetry, calligraphy, seal engraving and painting, and in doing so, he became one of the best among his contemporaries. He successfully refined the techniques initiated by masters before him and managed to create his own style which is admired even now.

Zhang Ruitu

This cursive-running script by Zhang Ruitu (1570–1641) is painted on satin — making it very difficult to control the flow of ink. The artist must be experienced and familiar with the nature of material to regulate the timing of the ink writing. The last part of the brushstroke has a special term, ‘fei bai’ (flying white) as a result of the effect of the drying ink. Another difficulty presented by a long scroll is that the artist must keep to the vertical line while giving each word its own individual personality.

Wang Jiqian

The late C.C. Wang (1907–2003) was a collector, connoisseur and painter, who enjoyed classical paintings and calligraphy and appreciated the joy to be had in the creation of these works. Scholars tended to use calligraphy as a means of personal expression for their thoughts, feelings and knowledge; in this work Wang writes out a line of seven characters originally composed by the 8th century poet Du Fu: ‘Respect the sage of the past, whilst not belittling those in the modern world.’ Though the message is traditional, the style is contemporary.

Wang Dongling

Wang Dongling (b. 1945) practises Chinese calligraphy in a modern way by a combining classical style with various forms of art and culture. He believes that the line is the most important element in calligraphy and that by experimentation and development, Chinese calligraphy could be shown to the world as an international genre.

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