Author:

Size:Length:249 x Width:58 (cm)

Size description：180×44 (畫心)

Introduction：Lin Yu-mu (1924–) was born in Jieyang City, Guangdong Province. His courtesy name is Ju-chao; his pen name is Mu-chih. He came to Taiwan in 1947. He has served as section head and principal at secondary schools, and has taught at the university level. He is the author of "A Study of the Origins of Taiwanese Family Names". His calligraphy has won first prize in the calligraphy category at the Taiwan Provincial Fine Arts Exhibition and the Chung-Hsing Literary and Arts Medal. He has served on multiple occasions as juror for the Taiwan Provincial Fine Arts Exhibition, Government Employees Fine Arts Exhibition, and Kaohsiung City Fine Arts Exhibition. A member of the Chinese Calligraphy Association, he has been invited to participate in exchange exhibitions in Japan on many occasions, and is a celebrated senior figure in Taiwan's calligraphic circles, renowned especially for his mastery of zhangcao script.

This work transcribes the Tang dynasty poet Du Fu's "Song of My Thatched Cottage Torn Apart by Autumn Winds" in zhangcao script. The poem describes how Du Fu's thatched hut was destroyed by the autumn wind; unable to sleep through the night rain, he finds the straw that has blown across the river claimed by local children, who will not return it, and gives voice to his own sense of melancholy and his lament that war has left people with nowhere to call home. The poem is suffused with compassion, its mood desolate and somber—and this sense of bleakness and autumnal wistfulness finds an apt expression in zhangcao script.

Zhangcao is a simplified and cursive form of clerical script; its style lies between clerical and modern cursive script, giving rise to a quality of archaic, unpretentious charm. The characters in this work are varied in structure, written within the columns defined by red-bordered lines, reinforcing the sense of qi (breath/energy) between each character. The work not only captures the distinctive features of zhangcao but also reveals Lin's engagement with the brushwork traditions of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, Zhao Mengfu, and Zhu Yunming, among others; many of the "spreading brush" strokes are handled in the manner of modern cursive rather than the clerical "wild-goose tail." Though this work lacks sweeping, expansive character poses and dramatic contrasts, the artless simplicity of the zhangcao structures, the force and spaciousness of the brushwork, and the somber depth of the ink together reveal a brushwork style that speaks of "both person and writing grown old in harmony."

Colophon: Du Zimei's "Song of My Thatched Cottage Torn Apart by Autumn Winds" (Tang dynasty); written in spring of the Wuzi year in Taipei by Mu-chih.
Seals: Beautiful Meaning Extends the Years; Old and Returning to Ting; Seal of Lin Mu-chih; Jieyang Yu-mu.

Accession Number:PT09759600

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