Dong Qichang’s praise scroll of the portrait tablet of Dongfang Shuo in regular script

[Dong Qichang’s regular script Dongfangshuo’s portrait tablet praise volume]

“Mr. Dongfang’s painting praise tablet” volume, Ming Dynasty, Dong Qichang’s book, paper book, regular script, 24.5cm in length and 558.6cm in width
Self-knowledge at the end of the volume: “Yan Shangshu wrote this tablet, which was written by the Su Scholar. The person who was known as Su Xuexu Hao was a kind of ear in regular script. Yu Lian was near the” Duobao Pagoda Stele “, and now imitated the” Portrait Praise “, which is like the dancing of Gaye. The candle was lit on the eve of the New Year’s Eve at the noon of the third lunar month. Dong Qichang.” Four words in regular script across the water before the volume: “Refer to the head meditation”. After the volume, there are four inscriptions and postscripts, including Song Bolu, Pei Jingfu, Li Yumei, and Shen Yinmo. There are 28 seals, including “Qianlong Imperial Treasure”, “Sanxi Hall Precise Seal” and “Shiqu Treasure Collection”
This volume is attached to Tang Yan Zhenqing’s “The Praise of the Portrait Stele of Dongfang Shuo” (the stele is in Lingxian County, Shandong Province), written on December 28, the 34th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty (February 5, 1606). Dong Qichang was 52 years old when he was forced to resign as the deputy envoy of Huguang University
This volume, modeled after Yan Zhenqing, has excellent writing skills, vigorous strokes, and high artistic conception. It is a representative masterpiece of regular script of Dong’s middle age. Pei Jingfu of the Qing Dynasty called it the beauty of “clouds and cranes travel in the sky, and the vast numbers of people play in the sea”. The inscription on the top of the scroll, “Mr. Dongfang, a doctor in the Han Dynasty, praised the tablet”, is even more rare
When Dong began to learn calligraphy at the age of 17, he took Yan Zhenqing’s “Duobao Pagoda” as his ancestor. He has been studying Yan calligraphy for decades, and has avoided the “vulgar” style of mellow brushwork with the simplicity of his face.