Qizhen Gazetteer-China Archive

Image Number: K2B000126N000000000PAA
Dynasty: Ming dynasty
Category: Calligraphic works
Author: Dong Qichang;董其昌
Form: 卷
Exhibition dimension: 26.5×276.4
Description:
Dong Qichang (1555-1636), born in Songjiang (today’s Shanghai), Jiangsu Province, has the name Xuanzai and the name Huating. He likes calligraphy and painting in his spare time. His cursive writing is based on the two kings’ style and the posture of Li Yong in Tang Dynasty. “Qizhen Zhi” was compiled by Xia Shufang at the end of the Ming Dynasty. It records the deeds of people who practiced Taoism from the Pre Qin Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty, leaving some traces of the words and deeds of the hermits in the Qing Dynasty. There are several records written by Dong, including Xie Xuanqing, Zhang Zhihe, Xu Xuanping, Tian Youyan, Xu Qiyan, and others. The cursory writing is not clumsy, and the breath is as elegant as Dong’s self assessment: “My book is beautiful because of its birth.”