The draft-cursive mode

With the exception of the Epitaph of Zhou Wenying, we can observe two different but related modes from Yang’s extant works: the draft-cursive mode and the dramatic mode. Draft-cursive script was developed as an abbreviated form of the clerical script for easy and fast writing, and

45

is characterized by the rounded shape of individual characters and the exaggerated, swelling na-strokes. Furthermore, as shown in an ink-rubbing copy of Eastern-Han calligrapher Zhang Zhi’s (d. ca. 192 CE) Letter on the Ninth Day of the Eighth Month, the corners are rounded with a swift movement of the wrist, and strokes are linked together with a continuous flow.44 _Unlike

those of the running or cursive script, however, the characters in typical draft-cursive script are self-contained and independent from each other, and they line up in well-defined columns. Draft-cursive script was popular among late Yuan calligraphers as a means to further archaize their calligraphic style. Deng Wenyuan’s (1258-1328) copy of An Improvisation (Jijiu zhang 急就 章), a text synonymous with the draft-cursive script, represents a more conservative

interpretation of the archaic style.45 _{It displays all the classical characteristics of the}

draft-cursive script, including the flamboyant na-strokes, the supple shape of linked strokes, and the self-contained characters. As Zhang Yu’s colophon reveals, it was considered a fairly authentic and faithful copy of the original, and therefore can be relied on as an example of the typical understanding of the draft-cursive script in the fourteenth century.

Yang Weizhen saw Deng’s scroll in 1348 and left a positive but somewhat vague remark on the scroll: “[Lu] Ren had studied the draft-cursive script, and [he] considered this scroll a

skillful copy [of the original text].” Lu Ren (fl. fourteenth century) was the person with whom

44 _{Zhang Zhi’s Letter on the Ninth Day of the Eighth Month is reproduced as ink rubbing in the}

Northern-Song Chunhua mige fatie (Beijing: Zhongguo shudein, 1988), 70-71. However, the authenticity of all of the extant works of Zhnag Zhi, along with many of his contemporaries reprinted in the Model Letters from the Chunhua Pavilion, have been called into question. These rubbing better represents the

Northern-Song impression of early draft-cursive than authentic works by Eastern-Han calligraphers. For discussions on the early development of the draft-cursive script, see Xiao Yanyi, “Gu zhangcao shu yu chushi song 古章草書與出師頌,” Gugong bowuyuan yuankan 110 (2003: 6): 16-24; also Chen Xin, “Chuhua getie zhong zhangcao fatie zhengli yanjiu 淳化閣帖中的章草法帖整理研究,” Tushuguan gongzuo yu yanjiu, 2010: 5: 59-61

45 _{An Improvisation is a first-century BCE text attributed to Shi You (fl. mid-first century BCE) of the}

Western Han dynasty. Shi You is traditionally credited as the originator of the draft-cursive script. Deng Wenyuan’s copy is in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing; reproduced in Wang Lianqi ed., Yuan dai shufa (Shanghai: Shanghai kexue jishu chubanshe, 2001), 143-145.

46

Yang viewed this scroll. Yang deferred to the judgment of his friend as perhaps a gesture of respect or humility. It is also likely that his noncommittal attitude implies a contrary opinion. His disapprobation may not concern the quality of Deng’s work as a copy, but the act of unquestioning copying itself. Apparently, Yang Weizhen’s writing in draft-cursive mode deviates significantly from the typical understanding of the script. In his Poems for the Pavilion of the Fragrant Jade Well, for example, although the characters are abbreviated following the rules of the draft-cursive script, and the strong na-strokes can be frequently observed, Yang’s interpretation of the draft-cursive is much more free-flowing.46 _{In contrast to the independent}

and well-defined characters of the typical draft-cursive script, Yang’s brush strokes are often connected from one character to the next, forming a continuous flow. Furthermore, his

characters also exhibit more irregularity both in structure and alignment. The characters tend to drift away from the central axis of the column, and the size of individual characters expands and contrasts constantly, creating an unsettling pulse throughout the text. This unconventional interpretation of the draft-cursive script gives an impression of unaffected casualness and untamed energy that defies categorization: it is difficult to pinpoint the traces of previous traditions in Yang’s calligraphic style. The less-than-graceful style brings to mind the “old age” calligraphy of Mi Fu (1052-1107), who claimed after a lifetime of studying the Classical

Tradition that in his old age he aimed to “unlearn” previous traditions in order to return to the state of naturalness.47

Another example that may give us a glimpse of Yang’s casual writing is his Letter to

46 _{This piece is now mounted with the works by Zhang Yu (ca. 1284-1350) and Wenxin (fl. fourteenth}

century) as one handscroll in the collection of the Chinese University of Hong Kong Art Museum. Reproduced in Wang Lianqi, “Yuan Zhang Yu, Yang Weizhen Wenxin shi wen juan ji xiang guan wen ti kao lue,” Gugong bowuyuan yuankan 118 (2005), 102.

47

Lizhai.48 _{The Letter to Lizhai represents the other end of the spectrum of Yang’s draft-cursive}

mode. Here, less attention is paid to the shape of individual strokes, rather the characters are linked into one another in an organic flow, which tones down the degree of aggressiveness often associated with Yang’s calligraphy. Although some particularly bold characters still punctuate the text, the overall effect is relatively relaxed. The casual and fluid writing reflects the informality of a personal letter.

The content of the letter offers an intriguing glimpse of the transaction of one of Yang’s social writings. The letter was addressed to a certain Lizhai (dates unknown).49 _{From the}

content of the letter we learned that Lizhai was probably a county magistrate. The letter was written in response to Lizhai’s commission of a memorial essay for his ancestral shrine. In the letter Yang graciously thanked Lizhai for the payment of the commission. The letter leaves no doubt that Yang Weizhen received monetary compensation for his social writings from time to time. Even so, his reputation as a lofty scholar did not seem to suffer. It was treated simply and casually as a common and established practice among the educated elite.