May 21, 2010

China FDC on "Ancient Chinese Calligraphy - Running Script (行書)"







First Day Cover
首日封
Sobrescrito de 1.º Dia

China


Ancient Chinese Calligraphy - Running Script (行書)

Date of Issue : 15 May 2010

(On Top FDC)
6-1 and 6-2 : Preface to the Orchid Pavilion
The "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion" in running script on paper, is a calligraphy work by Wang Xizhi (王羲之, 303-361), now in the collection of Beijing Palace Museum. It is said that Wang invited friends to gather at the Orchid Pavilion on the outskirts of Shanyin in Kuaiji (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province), where they drank wine and composed poems for an anthology, to which Wang wrote the preface.

(On 2nd FDC)
6-3 and 6-4 : Poems Composed during the Cold Food Festival in Huangzhou
The "Poems Composed during the Cold Food Festival in Huangzhou" in running script on paper, is attributed to Su Shi (蘇軾) of the northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), now in the collection of the Palace Museum in Taipei. It comprises two five-character-in-a-poems, describing the author's sorrowful state of mind and difficult living conditions after being demoted to Huangzhou.

(On 3rd FDC)
6-5 and 6-6 : Elegiac Lament for My Nephew
The "Elegiac Lament for My Nephew", in running and cursive style on a hemp paper scroll, was calligraphed by Yan Zhenqing (顏真卿) during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and is now collected by the Palace Museum in Taipei. This work was created by Yan in mourning of his nephew, Yan Jiming, who died during the political turmoil started by An Lushan and Shi Siming.

Running Script (行書), a calligraphy style that is semi-regular and semi-cursive, orginated in the Han Dynasty (206B.C. - A.D.220), and become mature during the Wei (220-265) and Jin (265-420) dynasties. It simplifies the strokes of Regular Script (楷書), transform the patterns of Regular Script, and loosens the structure of Regular Script, thus being more applicable and practical to daily life compared to Regular Script and Cursive Script (草書).

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