Since the new century, ancient calligraphy treasures have received more and more attention. In the past ten years, 8 billion-dollar items have appeared in major auctions. Among them, Huang Tingjian’s “Inscription on the Pillar” topped the list of calligraphy auction history with a transaction price of 437 million yuan, followed by works by Wang Xizhi, Zeng Gong, Zhao Mengfu and others. Among these high-priced works, seal script is rarely seen, while cursive script and regular script are mostly seen.
N0.1 Huang Tingjian’s “The Pillar of the State”
Auction time: 2010-6-3
Auction house: Beijing Poly
Sold price: 436,800,000 yuan
Huang Tingjian (1045-1105), courtesy name Luzhi, pseudonym Shan Gu Dao Ren, and later pseudonym Fu Weng, was born in Fenning, Hongzhou (now Xiushui County, Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province). He was a famous writer and calligrapher in the Northern Song Dynasty. During his lifetime, he was as famous as Su Shi, and was known as “Su Huang”. This scroll contains the “Dizhu Ming” written by Wei Zheng, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, who was most admired by Huang Tingjian during his lifetime. The full text is more than 600 words, with concise and powerful brushwork and a well-structured structure. There are a large number of inscriptions and seals on the scroll, from Jia Sidao in the Song Dynasty, Xiang Yuanbian in the Ming Dynasty to collectors in the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.
N0.2 Wang Xizhi’s “Ping An Tie”
Auction time: 2010-11-20
Auction house: China Guardian
Transaction price: 308,000,000 yuan
Wang Xizhi (303-361, one work 321-379), courtesy name Yishao, was a famous calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and was known as the “Sage of Calligraphy”. The style of this cursive calligraphy work is varied and each has its own unique characteristics. It is a double-hook copy. “Ping’an Tie” was first recorded in “Xuanhe Shupu” and was later engraved into the famous series of “Jiang Tie” in the Northern Song Dynasty. It had nine lines in total at that time and was later divided into two. In 2010, it was unveiled at the Jiade Autumn Auction. The first half contains a total of four lines and 41 characters.
N0.3 Zeng Gong’s “Ju Shi Tie”
Auction time: 2016-5-15
Auction house: China Guardian
Transaction price: 207,000,000 yuan
Zeng Gong (1019-1083), named Zigu, Han nationality, was born in Nanfeng, Jianchang Army (now Nanfeng County, Jiangxi Province), and later lived in Linchuan. He was an essayist, historian and politician in the Northern Song Dynasty. This work has slender knots and clear strokes. This work has been collected by He Liangjun, Xiang Yuanbian, An Yizhou, Wang Qishun, Zeng Li, Fei Nianci, Xu Yuanlai, Zhang Heng, Zhang Wenkui, etc., and has been verified and documented by Mr. Xu Bangda in “Essential Records of Ancient Calligraphy and Painting: Tianjin” Calligraphy of the Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties and Song Dynasties” was compiled by Mr. Zhu Jiasu into the “Bibliography of Historical Bibliography”. It is reported that this lot was won by Wang Zhongjun, chairman of Huayi Brothers Media and collector.
N0.4 Zhao Mengfu’s “Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra”
Auction time: 2017-12-17
Auction house: Beijing Poly
Sold price: 190,900,000 yuan
The stipples on this Heart Sutra are vigorous, the structure is broad and beautiful, the frame is strong, and the stipples echo closely. This work was inscribed and followed by Yuan Kewen. It was handed over to collectors such as Xiang Yuanbian, He Pu, Cheng Xun, Yi Xin, Wang Yirong, Yuan Kewen, Tan Zhenxue, Tan Tianqi, Zhang Jingjiang and other collectors. It is reported that the buyer of this lot is Gansu Tianqing Museum.
N0.5 Song Gaozong, Song Xiaozong, Song Guangzong, Song Ningzong
“The Calligraphy of Four Dynasties – Handscrolls Written by Emperor Gaozong of Song and Other Southern Song Emperors”
Auction time: 2017-6-19
Auction house: China Guardian
Sold price: 149,500,000 yuan
This work is a collection of four round fans and square scrolls written by the emperors of the Southern Song Dynasty. The first one is titled “Seven Quatrains in Cursive Script by Emperor Gaozong of Song”; the second one is titled “Seven Quatrains in Regular Script by Emperor Xiaozong of Song”; the third one is titled “Couplet in Running Script by Emperor Guangzong of Song”; the fourth one is titled “Couplet in Running Script by Emperor Ningzong of Song”. Each one has a couplet by Weng Fanggang. At the beginning of the scroll, Wang Ti wrote: “Kui Zhang Rui Cao”. At the end of the scroll, Ye Gongchuo and Cheng Qi wrote inscriptions, which were passed down from Pan Yanling to Cheng Qi.
No.6 Emperor Qianlong’s “Baita Mountain Records”
Auction time: 2014-12-2
Auction house: Beijing Poly
Sold price: 116,150,000 yuan
This volume consists of five volumes, including “General Record of Baita Mountain”, “Record of the East Side of Tashan”, “Record of the West Side of Tashan”, “Record of the South Side of Tashan” and “Record of the North Side of Tashan”. In the 38th year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign (1773), Emperor Qianlong wrote this article to record the scenery of four directions after climbing Baita Mountain. “General Record of Baita Mountain” and “Record of the Four Sides of Tashan” are written in running script, with a total of more than 1,700 words in the four volumes. The whole article is written in a leisurely style, with a fresh aura, and the characters are both square and round, with a graceful and elegant style, fully reflecting the scholarly and noble atmosphere of Qianlong’s calligraphy art.
N0.7 Yan Fu et al., “Poems of the Auspicious Crane in the Chongzhen Wanshou Palace”
Auction time: 2011-12-3
Auction house: Beijing Council
Sold price: 101,200,000 yuan
This work was created by Yan Fu, Jia Zhixun, Zhang Jian, Mou Yinglong, Fang Hui, and Du Daojian. There is a postscript by Mao Shunfu at the end of the scroll. It was originally collected by Cai Naihuang.
N0.8 Zhu Xi, Zhang Jingxiu and others, “The traces of seal scripts written by Xu Changshi by famous scholars of the Song Dynasty”
Auction time: 2009-11-23
Auction house: China Guardian
Transaction price: 100,800,000 yuan
This scroll is a work written by nine famous scholars including Jing Yudao, Hu Shiwen, Zhang Jingxiu, Zhu Xi, Zha Lu, and Dai Zai for Xu Xuan’s seal script “Xiang Wang Ting Fu”, and is now in the Palace Museum in Beijing. “Xu Changshi’s Seal Script Trace” is the original work of Li Deyu’s “Xiang Wang Ting Fu” written in seal script by Xu Xuan of the Southern Tang Dynasty for the “Xiang Wang Ting” stele, but the stele and pavilion are no longer in existence.
N0.9 Song Ke’s “Imitating Jijiu Zhang and Inscriptions by Others”
Auction time: 2016-5-15
Auction house: China Guardian
Sold price: 92,000,000 yuan
The imitation of Jijiu Zhang was once a collection of Zhuo Junyong, a master of Zhangcao in Fujian in the late Qing Dynasty. Later, it was inscribed and inscribed by Zheng Xiaoxu, Chen Baochen, Luo Fukan, Lin Zhijun, Yao Hua, Yu Shaosong, Liang Qichao, Luo Zhenyu, Zhou Zhaoxiang and others. This imitation broke the original method of using wave-like strokes as the main method of the tip, and incorporated the method of regular script and running script, laying the foundation for its future “hybrid”. It is reported that this lot was won by Zhang Xiaojun, a collector from Shanxi.
N0.10 Zhang Zhao: Han Yu’s Stone Drum Song in Cursive Script by Zhang Zhao
Auction time: 2010-10-7
Auction House: Sotheby’s Hong Kong
Transaction price: 78,796,980 yuan
Zhang Zhao (1691-1745), with the courtesy name Detian, the pseudonym Jingnan, and the pseudonym Tianping Jushi, was a native of Lou County, Jiangnan. He was a Qing dynasty bibliophile, calligrapher, dramatist, and cataloger of calligraphy and painting. This scroll was originally kept in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, and was stamped with 33 seals of Emperor Qianlong. This scroll is not dated, and is written on wax paper sprinkled with gold. The preface is written by Emperor Qianlong, who praised Zhang Zhao’s calligraphy as “a divine pen of magnificent words”, and concluded with “a longevity of Han and Zhang’s stele”, believing that Zhang Zhao’s calligraphy could be passed down through the ages like Han Yu’s articles. The whole work is in good order, with dark and solid ink, strong and upright strokes, and unrestrained but disciplined strokes, and a graceful momentum.
N0.11 Wen Zhengming’s “Seven Character Poems in Running Script”
Auction time: 2019-5-27
Auction house: Christie’s (Hong Kong)
Transaction price: 71,908,560 yuan
Wen Zhengming (1470-1559), formerly known as Bi (or Zuobi), with the courtesy name Zhengming, and his nickname “Hengshan Jushi”, known as “Wenhengshan” in the world, was a native of Changzhou (now Suzhou, Jiangsu). He was a painter, calligrapher and writer of the Ming Dynasty. This work was originally collected by Cheng Huaitang Art Museum. Wen Zhengming’s running script is based on Wang Xizhi’s “Preface to the Holy Religion” and has the writing style of Su Shi and Huang Tingjian. The brush strokes are crisp and bright, and the transition between strokes and the transition between strokes are natural, fast and not chaotic.
N0.12 Wen Zhengming’s “Volume of Miscellaneous Poems”
Auction time: 2015-12-7
Auction house: Beijing Poly
Sold price: 81,650,000 yuan
This volume was written by Wen Zhengming after he became an official at the age of fifty-seven, and contains ten poems written by himself. The stippling in this work is beautiful and vigorous, and the calligraphy is rigorous, which is a style of calligraphy that was common in his middle and later years. “Volume of Miscellaneous Poems” was recorded in the “First Collection of Shiqu Baoji” of the Qing Dynasty and stored in the Yangxin Hall. According to Shiqu’s “Fan Regulations”, high-quality calligraphy and paintings are inscribed with “Qianlong Appreciation”, with six seals and detailed records, which shows that Qianlong had great love for this work.
N0.13 Zhao Mengfu’s “Ode to the Goddess of Luo”
Auction time: 2010-11-21
Auction house: China Guardian
Transaction price: 80,080,000 yuan
Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322), named Zi’ang, Han nationality, also known as Songxue Taoist, also known as Crystal Palace Taoist. In his middle age, he was assigned to Mengfu. He was a native of Wuxing, Zhejiang (now Huzhou, Zhejiang). Famous calligrapher, painter and poet, the 11th grandson of Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin and the direct descendant of Qin King Zhao Defang. This piece of “Luo Shen Fu” was written when Zhao Mengfu was forty-eight years old. At that time, Zhao was in charge of Confucianism promotion in Jiangsu and Zhejiang and other places, so he signed it in Songxuezhai. This work has a broad and handsome structure and a round and skillful brushwork. The first three and six pages of this volume, written by Zhao, have been lost and were supplemented by Prince Cheng Yongxuan.
N0.14 Song Ke’s “Du Zimei’s Travel Poems”
Auction time: 2009-11-23
Auction house: China Guardian
Sold price: 68,320,000 yuan
Song Ke (1327-1387), courtesy name Zhongwen, pseudonym Nangongsheng, also known as Dongwusheng, was a native of Changzhou (now Suzhou, Jiangsu). He was good at cursive script, regular script, and small regular script, especially Zhangcao. He followed the regular script of Zhong and Wang. Together with Song Yan and Song Guang, he was known as the “Three Songs” of calligraphers. His cursive script was bold and unrestrained, and he was as famous as Zhu Yunming and Xu Wei. In “Du Fu’s Grand Tour Poems”, Song Ke integrated Zhangcao, modern cursive, and wild cursive into one, forming a seamless piece and writing freely. He jumped out of the barriers of Yuan Dynasty cursive script and created a masterpiece of innovation in cursive script in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, which was highly praised by later calligraphers.
N0.15 Su Shi’s “Gongfu Tie”
Auction time: 2019-9-19
Auction house: Sotheby’s New York
Transaction price: 50,353,251 yuan
Su Shi (1037-1101), also known as Zizhan and Dongpo Jushi, was born in Meishan, Meizhou (now Meizhou, Sichuan). He was a famous writer, calligrapher and painter in the Northern Song Dynasty. He was also known as one of the “Four Masters of Song Dynasty” along with Cai Xiang, Huang Tingjian and Mi Fu. Gongfu Tie is a farewell letter written by Su Shi to his friend Guo Gongfu, written in two lines. Although the number of characters is small, it is full of spirit, with rich ink, flat characters and horizontal strokes. It is reported that the buyer of this lot is Chinese collector Liu Yiqian.
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