Calligraphy

1989

Length:34.2 x Width:105.3 (cm)

Fu Chuan-Fu (1910-2007, Hangzhou, Zhejiang ) was born Fu Bao-Ching and was also known by the sobriquet Chueh-Weng and the studio name Xuehua Village Resident. From an early age, he studied literature, calligraphy, painting, and seal carving under his father, Fu Yu (1880-1959). At seventeen, he joined the Xiling Society of Seal Arts in Hangzhou and became a disciple of Wang Jen-Chih (1871-1932). At twenty-nine, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, he traveled with the military to Sichuan, where he studied bird-and-flower painting under the renowned master Chen Chih-Fo (1896-1962). After relocating to Taiwan, Fu taught at the Political Staff School (now the Fu Hsing Kang College of National Defense University) and the National Taiwan Academy of Arts (now National Taiwan University of Arts). He also co-founded the Six Beauties Painting Society, Ren-Yin Painting Society, Eight Friends Painting Society, the Chinese Calligraphy Society, and the Chinese Painting Society of the Republic of China. Over his career, he was honored with the Ministry of Education’s Literary and Arts Award, the National Award for Arts, the Executive Yuan Cultural Award, and the Wenxin Award.
Inspired by Taiwan’s landscapes, Fu developed his own techniques, including “crackle texture strokes,” the “dyeing wash method,” and the “dot staining method,” earning him the title “Spokesman for Taiwan’s Landscape Painting.” In calligraphy, he became known for his free and flowing lianmian cao style of cursive script, infusing the linework of painting, from sparse to dense and from hidden to revealed, into his writing. This distinctive approach significantly influenced the course of modern Taiwanese calligraphy.
This work, executed in semi-cursive and cursive script, transcribes two lines from “Returning from a Mountain Excursion” by the Song dynasty poet Lu You (1125-1210): “In Straw Rain Cape County, clouds hide the marketplace; in Riverside Flute City, the moon fills the plum blossoms.” The brushwork is vigorous, with strokes that connect seamlessly, flowing like drifting clouds and running water. Rich tonal variations emerge from the interplay of wet and dry, dark and light ink, creating a lively, buoyant rhythm. The structure of each character expands and contracts in a measured way—appearing spontaneous yet grounded in disciplined technique—embodying Fu’s consistent artistic principles. The inscription reads, “Written in the winter of the year jisi, presented to the Taichung County Cultural Center. Fu Chuan-Fu, at the age of eighty,” and is accompanied by three seals: “Seal of Fu Chuan-Fu,” “Work of Chueh-Weng in His Eighties,” and “Fudan.”

Accession number:20170300237