The upright brush : Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy and Song literati politics /
In the history of Chinese calligraphy, few are more famous than the eighth-century statesman Yan Zhenqing (709-785). His style is still taught today as a standard, and Chinese bookstores the world over stock inexpensive reproductions of his works for sale as copybooks. Yet Yan's style cannot be...
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| Awduron Eraill: | |
| Fformat: | Licensed eBooks |
| Iaith: | Saesneg |
| Cyhoeddwyd: |
Honolulu :
University of Hawai'i Press
1998.
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| Cyfres: | Book collections on Project MUSE.
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| Mynediad Ar-lein: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/j.ctt6wqwmw |
| Crynodeb: | In the history of Chinese calligraphy, few are more famous than the eighth-century statesman Yan Zhenqing (709-785). His style is still taught today as a standard, and Chinese bookstores the world over stock inexpensive reproductions of his works for sale as copybooks. Yet Yan's style cannot be called conventionally attractive. "Correct," "severe," "serious," "forceful" are terms habitually applied to describe his writing--rarely has his calligraphy been called graceful or beautiful. How, then, did Yan earn such an eminent place in the history of art? In The Upright Brush, Amy McNair argues for the political rather than purely aesthetic basis for Yan Zhenqing's artistic reputation. She shows how his prominent position was made for him in the eleventh century by a handful of influential men who sought to advance their own position by associating themselves with Yan's reputation for uprightness. Equating style with personality, they adopted Yan's calligraphic style as a way to clothe themselves in his persona. Sophisticated, informed, and intelligent, The Upright Brush illuminates an episode (one of many) in the history of Chinese culture where the creative reinterpretation of the past was used for contemporary political means. It will be eagerly welcomed by all scholars of Chinese culture and history, as well as by those interested in the making and reading of art |
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| Disgrifiad o'r Eitem: | Originally presented as the author's thesis (Ph. D.--University of Chicago, 1989) under the title: The politics of calligraphic style in China. |
| Disgrifiad Corfforoll: | 1 online resource (xvii, 177 pages) : illustrations |
| Llyfryddiaeth: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 0585265658 9780585265650 9780824865146 0824865146 9780824819224 0824819225 9780824820022 0824820029 |