In addition to his accomplishments as one of the founders of the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang中國國民黨), an educator, a poet and a journalist, Yu Youren (1879–1964) was one of the most important calligraphers of the Republican period. Well known for his stele school (beipai 碑派) calligraphy and the standard cursive script, he was named “The Sage of Cursive Calligraphy草聖”.Lin Juquan, “Caosheng Yu Youren草聖于右任,” in Sanbai nianlai yi caosheng: Yu Youren xiansheng baiershi sui danchen jinianzhan 三百年來一草聖—于右任先生百二十歲誕辰紀念展 (Taipei: Hechuangshi shufa yishu jijinhui, 1998): 9-11. This poetic couplet, two hanging scrolls of five characters each, was written for his friend Song Yuanyuan 宋淵源 (1882–1961), who participated in the 1911 Revolution, served as an official in the Republican Period, moved to Taiwan in 1950 and died there in 1961. Describing Song Yuanyuan as a comrade “tongzhi” 同志 in the couplet suggests the two men shared a vision for China’s future.

The couplet was extrapolated from the poem, Inscription for the Southern Pavilion in Hangzhou (Ti Hangzhou nanting 題杭州南亭) by the Tang poet, Yao He 姚合 (775?–854?). The poem alludes to progress and change. Yu Youren, in fact, wrote this same couplet many times.Examples can be found in Zhu Yilong ed., Yu Youren xian sheng mo bao 于右任先生墨寶 (Beijing: Zijincheng chubanshe, 2004), fig. 19, 23.

It can be argued that Yu’s style was a product of his time. The popularity of textual studies and epigraphy in the early Qing period led calligraphers to model their calligraphy after inscriptions on steles, as opposed to the model-book school (tiepai 帖派) of the “Two Wangs” tradition.For the calligraphy revolution in the Qing dynasty, refer to Qianshen Bai, Fu Shan’s World: The Transformation of Chinese Calligraphy in the Seventeen Century (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2003); “Chinese Calligraphy in the Mid to Late Qing and Republic Periods (1850–1950),” in Stephen Little, New Songs on Ancient Tunes: 19th–20th-Century Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy from the Richard Fabian Collection (Honolulu: Honolulu Academy of Arts; Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2007): 66-79. Born in the late Qing period, Yu studied model-book before the age of forty, in preparation for his civil examination. Afterwards, he shifted his focus to studying calligraphy carved on steles. A poem composed by him describes his dedication to copying the Stone Gate Inscription (Shimen ming 石門銘) in the morning and inscriptions found at the Longmen caves in the evening.The transcription of the original poem reads “朝寫石門銘，暮臨二十品。竟夜集詩聯，不知淚濕枕。” See Yu Youren shicun quanji 于右任詩存全集 (Jiayi: Wenzhi chubanshe, 1975): 136-137.

This couplet bears a stylistic affinity to the Stone Gate Inscription, each character having an expansive quality as brushstrokes flare out to the left and right, while the center of each character is tightly structured. The characters tilt to the right, so that the right side is slightly higher than the left. Most strokes are rounded—for example, the first horizontal strokes of the characters gu古and song (松)—however, some strokes are angular, such as the horizontal stroke of the character cao (草). Furthermore, some characters, like shi (石), are nearly identical to the stone inscription.For a reproduction of the Stone Gate Inscription, see Ouyang Zhongshi, Wen C. Fong et. al., Chinese Calligraphy (New Haven: Yale University Press, Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2008): 180.

Unlike his contemporaries who used ragged lines to simulate engraving, Yu's swiftly executed, forceful strokes capture the strength and monumentality of the stele. Meanwhile, he made sure that characters with the same radical—the two characters song (松) and qi (棲)—do not appear repetitious and hence static by shifting the qi character slightly to the left. Although Yu did not date the couplet, it closely resembles another couplet he wrote in 1930.Li Zhigang ed., Master of Cursive Calligraphy: Yu Youren 1879-1964 (Hong Kong: The Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005), pl. 11. Hence it is likely that this work was done when he was in his early fifties.

Yu was commonly acknowledged for his contribution in standardizing cursive script.Harold Karleung Mok, “Shufa shishang de Yu Youren” 書法史上的于右任, Mingpao Monthly (September, 2005): 94. Yet his integration of the “stele school” and “model-book school” was also significant. This couplet is a prime example of that effort.

© 2013 by the Seattle Art Museum