Calligraphy

1983

Length:45.1 x Width:95 (cm)

Hsueh Ping-Nan (b. 1945, Qieding Township, Kaohsiung County, Taiwan), whose courtesy name is Ting-Chih, whose sobriquet is Hsia-Weng, and whose studio name is “Hsin Yu An,” graduated from Taipei Normal College (now National Taipei University of Education) and the National Taiwan Academy of Arts (now National Taiwan University of Arts). He has taught at National Taiwan University of Arts, Shih Hsin University, and other institutions. In calligraphy, Hsueh studied under Li Pu-Tung (1918-1998); in seal carving, he apprenticed with Wang Chuang-Wei (1909-1998). Mastery of seal, clerical, standard, running, and cursive scripts, as well as seal carving, has earned him numerous accolades, including first prize in seal carving at the 9th National Art Exhibition, the Chung Hsing Literary and Art Award for calligraphy, the Chung-Shan Literary and Art Award for seal carving, and the National Award for Arts in calligraphy. He has held solo exhibitions and conducted lectures both in Taiwan and abroad, and has published extensively on calligraphy and seal carving. He has served as president of the Chinese Standard Cursive Script Society and vice president of the Taiwan Seal Society, and has led students in forming the Pan-Shih Calligraphy Society and the Ten Talents Elegant Gathering.
In the 1980s, the National Museum of History collected works by prominent Taiwanese calligraphers and painters for an overseas touring exhibition. After the exhibition concluded, these works were transferred to relevant cultural institutions. This piece bears the seal “Collected by the National Museum of History,” marking its inclusion in that initiative.
The work is a compilation of characters from the Eastern Han Rites Vessels Stele (Li Qi Bei), arranged into a seven-character regulated verse. The character forms are square and compact, with left and right strokes extending outward in keeping with the structural principles of the original stele. While the Rites Vessels Stele is known for its thin, firm strokes with “silkworm head” beginnings and marked variations in thickness, Hsueh’s rendition uses brushwork that often conceals the tip at the start, producing rounded and weightier strokes with less pronounced shifts in line width. The horizontal strokes display clear wave-like turns, retaining the essential features of clerical script.
Following the poem, the inscription reads: “Collected Inscriptions from the Han Rites Vessels Stele. Summer of the year guihai (1983), Hsueh Ping-Nan.”
Seals: “Hsueh Ping-Nan,” “Pan-Shih,” “Drinker,” “Hsin Yu An,” and “Collected by the National Museum of History.”

Accession number:20170300048