Chinese Calligraphy: The Development of Clerical Script
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Inscription of the Yi Ying Stele (detail), China, Eastern Han dynasty, dated 153 (Gift of Mr. Takashima Kikujiro)
Asian Gallery (Toyokan) Room 8
September 18, 2019 (Wed) - October 27, 2019 (Sun)Chinese script was first standardized during the reign of the Qin emperor (221–206 BC). This so-called seal script was replaced by the less complicated clerical script of the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220). From the Northern and Southern dynasties (439–589), clerical script was further simplified to what is now known as standard script, although it remained in use for memorial stones. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong (712–756) and the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), clerical script briefly came back into fashion and became the subject of epigraphy.
In this exhibition we are currently displaying ink rubbings from the Eastern Han dynasty to the Tang dynasty (618–907) and works from various Qing-dynasty (1644–1912) scholars to explore the development of clerical script.Current exhibit includes:
Inscription of the Scholar Lou Stele, China, Eastern Han dynasty, dated 174 (Gift of Mr. Takashima Kikujiro)
Writing after Stele Inscriptions by Zhang Qian and Shi Mensong, By He Shaoji, China, Qing dynasty, dated 1862
Inscription of the Yi Ying Stele, China, Eastern Han dynasty, dated 153 (Gift of Mr. Takashima Kikujiro)
Inscription of the Kong Xian Stele, China, Wei dynasty, dated 220
Inscription of the Monk Dazhi Stele, By Shi Weize, China, Tang dynasty, dated 736
Duilian in Clerical Script, By Xu Sangeng, China, Qing dynasty, dated 1880, (Gift of Mr. Aoyama San'u)