This standard script couplet was written by Shen Yinmo (1883–1971) on May 14th, 1942, in Chongqing, Sichuan province, the temporary capital of the Chinese Republic Government during the Sino-Japanese War (1937-42).Qianshen Bai in his article “Shen Yinmo yu Chang Ch’ung-ho” 沈尹默與張充和, said 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. However, Shen’s biography records it’s 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. This is a ten-character per line couplet in standard script, with three columns of secondary inscriptions in running script. The text was composed by Wang Dong 汪東 (1890–1963), who extrapolated lines from various Chinese poems to form the couplet. The first line of the couplet is from the poem “Ying Chang” (應瑒) by the poet Xie Lingyun 謝靈運 (385–433) of the Liu Song (420–479) dynasty, while the second line is derived from the poem “Junnei gaozhai xianwang da Lu Facao shi ” (郡內高齋閑望答呂法曹詩) by the Southern Qi (479–502) poet, Xie Tiao謝朓 (464–499). Shen was pleased with this couplet,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: 16. which he wrote for Ch’ung-ho Chang Frankel 張充和 (born 1913). According to Professor Qianshen Bai, this couplet is the best among Shen Yinmo’s calligraphy in standard script.

When he was 25, Shen’s calligraphy was criticized by Chen Duxiu (1879–1942), a leader of the New Culture Movement, as “vulgar in its bones” (qisu zaigu, 其俗在骨). This prompted Shen to spend over twenty years studying theories of calligraphy and works by various masters, both known and anonymous. In particular, the Tang dynasty calligrapher Chu Suiliang 褚遂良 (596-659) was a favorite model, and this couplet reflects Shen’s debt to Chu’s standard script. It has been suggested that this couplet is close in style to Chu’s late work, Preface to the Sacred Teaching at Wild Goose Pagoda (Yanta shengjiao xu 雁塔聖教序).Ibid. Image refers to Ouyang Zhongshi, Wen C. Fong et al., Chinese Calligraphy (New Haven: Yale University Press, Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2008): 204. However, the characters’ stable composition, elongated structure, clear contrast between thick and thin strokes, as well as their angularity, also recall the style of Chu’s earlier work, as seen in Stele Inscription for Buddhist Shrine at Mount Yique (Yique fokan bei, 伊闕佛龕碑) and/or Epitaph for Meng the Taoist Priestess (Meng fashi bei 孟法師碑).Images refer to Chinese Calligraphy: 202-203. Indeed, Shen copied the Stele Inscription for Buddhist Shrine at Mount Yique several hundred times while he was in Chongqing, according to Xie Zhiliu 謝稚柳 (1910–1997).Xie Zhiliu, “Shen Yinmo lunshu conggao” 沈尹默論書叢稿, in Ningjing: Yinmo ershi zhounian ji 凝靜 — 尹默二十年祭: 25.

In addition, this work demonstrates Shen’s practice of stele inscriptions of the Northern dynasties, as seen in characters which have strokes with sharp endings, e.g. “zou奏,” “yan延,” “lu露,” “fu復,” and “qin琴.” This feature adds cadence and rhythm to the calligraphy, which may be described as “elegant and handsome like a gentleman.”The original texts are “清迺挺拔,頗有風骨”, “清俊秀郎, 風度翩翩.” See 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): 41.

The “Jian studio in the Jingshi Bay, Gele Mountain” (歌樂山靜石灣之鑑齋) mentioned in the inscription was one of the houses where Shen Yinmo stayed in Chongqing.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. Chang Ch’ung-ho studied calligraphy with him there. Shen made Chang a list of calligraphy models to copy which include all of Chu Suiliang’s representative works. In the list, Shen states that Stele Inscription for Buddhist Shrine at Mount Yique is suitable for beginners.Note 2: 13-14. Thus, this gift to Chang may be understood as the teacher’s demonstration of how to capture Chu Suiliang’s essence.

Last but not least, we may speculate on the circumstance in which this couplet was written. It is possible that it was written in one of the informal gatherings in which Shen Yinmo, Chang Ch'ung-ho, and Wang Dong took part. As Chang is passionate about Chinese classical poetry and Kunqu opera, Wang may have composed the couplet for Chang, while Shen inscribed it for her.

© 2013 by the Seattle Art Museum