Six works of calligraphy art by Wang Xizhi (Jin), preserved in Japan, are included in the exhibition and catalogue: Sang luan tie (Letter of Deep Sorrow), Kong shi zhong tie (Letter about Mister Kong), the rubbing of Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection (Dingwu version formerly in Wu Bing's collection), the rubbing of Preface to Sacred Teaching in Wang Xizhi's Characters, the rubbing of Shi qi tie ( 'On the 17th' model-letter compendia), as well as Mei zhi tie (Letter about Sister Coming). These are supplemented with the rubbings of Chunhua ge tie (model-letter compendia of the Chunhua region) from the collection of the Shanghai Museum. Chinese calligraphers featured, among others, are Li Si (Qin), Cao Quan (Han), Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang, Wei Qiwu, Ouyang Xun, He Zhizhang (Tang) and Zhu Xi (Song). Japanese calligraphers featured, among others, are Emperor Shōmu, Kūkai, Ono no Tōfū, Fujiwara no Kōzei, Ikkyū Sōjun, and Ki no Tsurayuki.
"In spring of 2006, the Shanghai Museum, the Tokyo National Museum, and the Asahi Shimbun collaborate to hold an exhibition entitled Masterpieces of Ancient Chinese and Japanese Calligraphy at the Shanghai Museum, which is a significant event in the cultural communication between China and Japan. The two countries are close to each other in a geographical sense and have a long-term friendship in history. Over thousands of years, Chinese and Japanese people have communicated with each other frequently, which are well demonstrated by the two countries' characters. The exhibition is unprecedented in its large scale and highest quality of the works on display, compared to the previous shows of calligraphy. It gathers over one hundred most important works in the calligraphy history of China and Japan, which are provided by seventeen Japanese institutions and private collectors and the Shanghai Museum. The over 60 pieces of Chinese calligraphy works in the exhibition are all classic ones renowned in different stages of Chinese writing history. They systematically present the development of Chinese calligraphy, especially emphasizing those representative works that acted as milestones in the evolution of the calligraphy styles of the seal script, official script, regular script, and running script. [...] The nearly 40 pieces of works of Japanese calligraphy on display come from the most notable Japanese calligraphers during the Nara, Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi, Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo periods, systematically reflecting the different stages in the evolution of Japanese calligraphy and the great influence of Chinese calligraphy."-- Foreword, Chen Xiejun (page 8).
Masterpieces of ancient Chinese and Japanese calligraphy
朝日新聞社
東京囯立博物館
東京国立博物館
东京国立博物馆
Chinese talen
Chinese
中日古代书法珍品集
In Chinese; abstracts in English; table of contents and captions also in English.