Steeped in the “model-calligraphy-book” (tiepai 帖派) tradition of the Two Wangs, Shen Yinmo (1883–1971) is regarded as the most influential calligrapher of 20th-century China. An advocate of the New Cultural Movement and a professor in the Department of Chinese Studies at Peking University, he also composed many poems, although he was not known as a poet. This ten-page album, made for Ch’ung-ho Chang Frankel 張充和 (born 1913), is a rare anthology of twenty-five poems composed by Shen. One inscription notes,

"Last year Ch'ung-ho brought this silk, requesting me to write; I put it aside for a year. This summer she visited my home ‘Small Hut in a Field of Stones.’ Inspired, I wrote a number of my recent poems to present to her.

—The jiashen year (1944), the fifth month. (Shen) Yinmo.” The original text is “充和舊歲持此絹來索書。閣置經年。今夏過余石田小築，乘興為錄近作數首歸之。甲申五月，尹默.”

Shen Yinmo was in Chongqing, Sichuan province at this time, during China’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45).Qianshen Bai notes in his article, “Shen Yinmo yu Chang Ch’ung-ho沈尹默與張充和,” that Shen was in Chongqing from the end of 1938 to 1946 [See Ch’ung-ho Chang’s collection, Shen Yinmo shuzhong moji沈尹默蜀中墨蹟 (Nanning: Guangxi meishu chubanshe, 2001): 11, 16-17]. Another source notes that Shen was there from the fall of 1939 to 1946 [See Dai Zizhong 戴自中, “Biography.” In Wu Yaohui 吳耀輝, Lu Zhizhang 盧之章 ed., Ningjing: Yinmo ershi zhounian ji 凝靜 — 尹默二十年祭 (Beijing: Beijing yanshan chubanshe, 1991): 104-106].

The whole work shows slight variations in calligraphic style and can be divided into three sections, which may have been written at different times under various conditions. The first section, comprising the first three leaves, features two poems: one poem is inspired by a painting by Jin Nanxuan金南萱 (1903–1989) and the other poem he composed after visiting an exhibition of Xie Zhiliu’s 謝稚柳 (1910–1997) paintings. Each leaf contains twelve vertical lines or columns, each line is composed of seven characters. The script is technically running script, but a few characters are written in cursive script. The pie (撇) and na (捺) strokes are sharp, giving an unhindered quality that is also enhanced by the modulation of the line, the contrast of thick and thin strokes. Moreover, some characters with fewer strokes, e.g. “bairi” (百日) in the forth column of the first page, are written smaller in size, which makes the overall composition less predictable and more interesting. Yet most characters remain separate from one another, except on a few occasions when two characters are linked. The fluency of the brushwork recalls the style of the Two Wangs.

Section two consists of leaves four to seven, featuring sixteen poems. They are meticulously written in standard-running script. Every page contains twelve columns with eleven or twelve characters per column. The characters are small in size, featuring crisp, clean strokes. This section shows Shen’s indebtedness to the Preface to the Sacred Teaching in Wang Xizhi’s Handwriting by Huairen (active ca. 627–649) (Huairen ji youjun shengjiaoxu懷仁集右軍聖教序), which other scholars have noted was a model for Shen.Qianshen Bai, “Shen Yinmo yu Chang Ch’ung-ho” (沈尹默與張充和). In Shen Yinmo shuzhong moji 沈尹默蜀中墨蹟: 15. Shen evidently made a concerted effort to write this section neatly, adding a footnote after the first poem in smaller characters to explain its reference to Wang Anshi's poem. In this way he demonstrates his broad and deep knowledge of Chinese classical poetry.

Section three, consisting of the final three leaves, has six poems written in cursive-running script. In several poems Shen expresses his abomination of war. While the size of the characters in section three is nearly the same as that in section one, the characters are not neatly aligned. The swift brushwork also creates links, joining multiple characters together. For example, the three characters “qing he xian” (情何限) are continuously written and linked together in the second column on leaf ten (fig. 3). This is very similar to the Mid-Autumn (Zhongqiu tie中秋帖).Mid-Autumn (Zhongqiu tie中秋帖) was regarded as one of the “Three Rarities” by the Qianlong Emperor (1711–1799). It was previously attributed to Wang Xianzhi王獻之 (334–386), but now is believed a partial imitation of Wang Xianzhi’s The Twelfth Lunar Month ( Shieryue tie十二月帖) by Mi Fu (1051–1107). Shen Yinmo copied it before (fig. 5), see Shen Yinmo shu zhong moji 沈尹默蜀中墨蹟: 87.

It is said Shen Yinmo’s calligraphy matured during his stay in Chongqing, when he had time to focus on calligraphy.Shen C Y Fu, “Minchu tiexue shujia Shen Yinmo” 民初帖學書家沈尹默. In Shen Yinmo xiansheng dansheng yibai ershi zhounian jinian wenji沈尹默先生誕生一百二十周年紀念文集 (Shanghai: Shanghai hongkouqu wenshiguan, Shen Yinmo xiansheng guju; Shanxi: Hanyin sanshen jinianguan, 2004): 40. This album represents the work of his golden age.A handscroll written in the same summer of 1944 can be used for comparison. See Qiuming yimo (Singapore: Singapore Cultural Studies Society, 1991): 19-30. Despite the fact that silk is often a slippery and hence challenging medium for artists, Shen’s mastery of the medium can be seen in his clean execution of the characters and his control of brush and ink. Perhaps Shen’s maturity as a calligrapher was also due to the frequent literati gatherings at his home, which were conducive to creativity.Ch’ung-ho Chang, “Cong xiyan shuoqi: jinian Shen Yinmo shi” (從洗硯說起 — 紀念沈尹默師). In Shen Yinmo shuzhong moji 沈尹默蜀中墨蹟: 5-6.

© 2013 by the Seattle Art Museum