250px, One of Huai Su's surviving works Huaisu (, 737–799),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...

Zangzhen (), was a Buddhist monk and

calligrapher Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

of the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

, famous for his cursive calligraphy. Fewer than 10 pieces of his works have survived. One of his representative works is

Huai Su's Autobiography ''Huaisu's'' ''Autobiography'' () is a representative Chinese calligraphy work written by the renowned Tang dynasty Chinese calligrapher Huaisu in 777 AD. It is often considered today to be one of the best written Cursive script (East Asia), cursi ...

. He was born in modern Changsha, Hunan. Not much is known of his early life. His secular

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

may have been Qian (). It is possible that Huaisu was a nephew of the poet

Qian Qi Qian Qi (; 710–782) was a Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty. Three of his poems have been included within the famous anthology ''Three Hundred Tang Poems''. His courtesy name was Zhongwen (). Poetry Qian Qi's poems as collected in ''Three Hundred ...

(). He became a monk in his childhood, apparently out of poverty. Legend has it that he planted

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

trees (or any genus of trees under

Musaceae Musaceae is a family of flowering plants composed of three genera with about 91 known species, placed in the order Zingiberales. The family is native to the tropics of Africa and Asia. The plants have a large herbaceous growth habit with leaves ...

) in the courtyard of the temple he lived, and used the leaves as paper to practice his art.His contemporary

Lu Yu Lu Yu (; 733–804) or Lu Ji (陆疾), courtesy name Jici (季疵) was a Chinese tea master and writer. He is respected as the Sage of Tea for his contribution to Chinese tea culture. He is best known for his monumental book ''The Classic of ...

wrote in his ''Life of the monk Huaisu'' (僧懷素傳): "He was broke and had no paper for writing. So he planted tens of thousands of banana trees in his hometown o obtain leavesto practice his art (貧無紙可書，嘗於故里種芭蕉萬餘株，以供揮灑)". He made his national fame in his early thirties when he came to

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...

, which was then capital of China. Famous poets of his time spoke highly of his works, including

Li Bai Li Bai (, 701–762), also pronounced as Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai (), was a Chinese poet, acclaimed from his own time to the present as a brilliant and romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. He and his friend Du F ...

. Like Li Bai, he was fond of

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

. Traditionally Huaisu is paired with the older

Zhang Xu Zhang Xu (, fl. 8th century), courtesy name Bogao (), was a Chinese calligrapher and poet of the Tang Dynasty. A native of Suzhou, he became an official during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Zhang was known as one of the Eight Immorta ...

as the two greatest cursive calligraphers of the Tang Dynasty. The duo is affectionately referred to as "the crazy Zhang and the drunk Su" ().

Notes

References

* Zhu, Guantian
"Huai Su"
''

Encyclopedia of China The ''Encyclopedia of China'' () is the first large-entry modern encyclopedia in the Chinese language. The compilation began in 1978. Published by the Encyclopedia of China Publishing House, the encyclopedia was issued one volume at a time, begin ...

'' (Arts Edition), 1st ed.

External links

Huai Su and his Calligraphy Gallery
at China Online Museum

(in Classical Chinese)

- a detailed analysis and translation of Huai Su's Autobiography.

(and hypertext dictionary) {{DEFAULTSORT:Huaisu 737 births 799 deaths Tang dynasty calligraphers Tang dynasty Buddhist monks Artists from Changsha 7th-century Chinese calligraphers