The Study of Calligraphy through Copying
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Calligraphy in the Style of the Stone Drum Script (Shiguwen) (detail)
By Wu Changshuo (1844–1927), China, Republic period, 1925 (Gift of Dr. Hayashi Munetake)Asian Gallery (Toyokan) Room 8
May 12, 2026 (Tue) - June 28, 2026 (Sun)Copying the classics is the most fundamental and effective way to study calligraphy. Calligraphers would place the classics as reference material beside them while they copied their characters into their copybooks. Known as rinsho in Japanese, this practice originally prioritized copying the original exactly as it was, but depending on the calligrapher’s objectives, the copied characters could take on various forms.
The current exhibition features examples of such copies here from the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) to the 20th century, as well as rubbings of steles that were considered classics. Here, you can appreciate how different scholars interpreted the classics and their varied approaches towards the calligraphic art of copying.
| Designation | Name | Creation/ Excavation/ Provenance |
Period | Acquisition/ Ownership/ Accession Number |
CMT | ||
| Highlight | Calligraphy in the Style of the Zhang Qian Stele Inscriptions | By He Shaoji (1799–1873), China | Qing dynasty, 1862 | Gift of Takashima Kikujirō, TB-1329-2 | |||
| Highlight | Calligraphy in the Style of the Da Yu Ding Vessel | By Luo Zhenyu (1866–1940), China | Qing dynasty–Republic period, 19th–20th century | Gift of Mr. Aoyama Keiji, TB-1654-1 | |||
| Highlight | Calligraphy in the Style of the Stone Drum Script (Shiguwen) | By Wu Changshuo (1844–1927), China | Republic period, 1925 | Gift of Dr. Hayashi Munetake, TB-1590 | |||
| Highlight | Calligraphy in the Style of a Letter by Liu Gongquan | By Wang Duo (1592–1652), China | Qing dynasty, 1647 | Gift of Mr. Takashima Kikujiro, TB-1404 |