Sun Guoting () (646–691) or Sun Qianli (孫虔禮),
[It is not known whether Guoting was his name and Qianli his ]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 ...
, or the other way around. was a
Chinese calligrapher
Chinese calligraphy is the writing of Chinese characters as an art form, combining purely visual art and interpretation of the literary meaning. This type of expression has been widely practiced in China and has been generally held in high este ...
of the early
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 ...
, remembered for his
cursive calligraphy and his
Shu Pu
Shu Pu (書譜, also translated as "A Narrative on Calligraphy" or "Treatise on Calligraphy") is a representative Chinese calligraphic work by the Tang Calligrapher Sun Guoting. The work of about 3500 Chinese characters was written in 687AD and ca ...
(書譜, "A Narrative on Calligraphy" or "Treatise on Calligraphy" (ca. 687)). The work was the first important theoretical work on Chinese calligraphy, and has remained important ever since, though only its preface survived. The preface is the only surviving calligraphic work of Sun, therefore it is responsible for both Sun's reputation as an artist and as a theorist. The original handscroll can be seen at the
National Palace Museum
The National Palace Museum (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Kwet-li̍p kù-kiung pok-vu̍t-yèn), is a museum in Taipei, Republic of China (Taiwan). It has a permanent collection of nearly 700,000 pieces of Chinese artifacts and artworks, many of which wer ...
, in
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, and on its web site.
Notes
References
*''Two Chinese Treatises on Calligraphy: Treatise on Calligraphy (Shu pu) by Sun Qianli; Sequel to the "Treatise on Calligraphy" (Xu shu pu) by Jiang Kui''; Yale University Press, 1995; .
* Zhu, Guantian
"Sun Guoting" ''
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 ...
'', 1st ed.
External links
National Palace Museum web site entry on the ''Treatise on Calligraphy'', with full high-resolution scan of the complete workAnswers.com Art Encyclopedia entry on Sun Guoting- Annotated translation and introduction of Shu Pu (A Narrative on Calligraphy).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sun Guoting
646 births
691 deaths
7th-century Chinese calligraphers
Tang dynasty calligraphers