Calligraphy

2002

Length:134.7 x Width:69.1 (cm)

Lin Lung-Ta (b. 1954, Dajia, Taichung) was inspired by his father to begin studying calligraphy at a young age. He became proficient in all five traditional script forms, with particular mastery of hsiao-k’ai (small regular script). He earned his degree from the Graduate Institute of Chinese Pharmaceutical Sciences at China Medical College and began his career at the Department of Health’s Bureau of Food and Drug Analysis. Later, he taught in the Department of Calligraphy and Painting at National Taiwan University of Arts until his retirement in 2015. Lin’s works have received numerous honors, including the Wu San-Lien Award, Sun Yat-sen Cultural Award, and Chung Hsing Cultural Award. He also holds permanent exemption from jury review at the Taiwan Provincial Art Exhibition and the Kaohsiung Fine Arts Exhibition.
This 2002 piece features a pair of classical lines: the first, “With lofty simplicity, I lay my heart”, is from “Ode to the Five Gentlemen: Xiang Changshi” by Yan Yanzhi of the Southern Dynasties; the second, “A jug of wine unbinds my mind”, is from Tao Yuanming’s poem “In Mid-Autumn of the Gengxu Year, Harvesting Early Rice in the Western Fields” from the Wei-Jin period.
The work is rendered in a blend of seal and clerical scripts. Lin’s brushstrokes begin with fluid momentum and thick ink, tapering off in dry, feathery finishes. The character forms are precise yet lively, combining vigorous strength with an archaic charm. Below the poem, a line in semi-cursive script reads, “Written by Lin Lung-Ta on the fifth day of the first lunar month, Renwu Year (2002),” accompanied by two seals: “Seal of Lin Lung-Ta” and “Zigao’s Calligraphy and Ink”.

Accession number:20170300127