Dong Qichang (1555～1636) was a famous painter, calligrapher and theorist of calligraphy and painting in the late Ming Dynasty.
Dong Qichang, a famous calligrapher and painter. He was born in the thirty-fourth year of Jiajing and died in the ninth year of Chongzhen at the age of 82. Dong Qichang is good at calligraphy and painting. In terms of painting, he is known as Dong Qichang in the south and Wan Zhong in the north; in calligraphy, he combines the strengths of each school to make his own calligraphy surpass his predecessors and leave a strong mark in the history of Chinese calligraphy.
Dong Qichang entered his official career after he was established. But his official career was not smooth, and he was in and out of the court. Due to the ups and downs in his official career, his political ambitions could not be realized. During the time when he resigned and returned to his hometown, he improved his calligraphy and painting skills. He specializes in studying the experience of predecessors in calligraphy and painting, and spontaneously organizes calligraphy and painting enthusiasts to discuss calligraphy and painting knowledge with himself. He also copied a large number of famous calligraphy works by Wang Xizhi, Yan Zhenqing and other calligraphers, obtained creative inspiration from them, and created his own beauty of calligraphy.
The value of Dong Qichang’s calligraphy and paintings
Dong Qichang’s calligraphy and paintings are collected in various museums in China. Many literati came here to admire the master's calligraphy and painting style. In addition, Dong Qichang's calligraphy and painting also played an important role in the development of Chinese literati painting.
Dong Qichang has been very knowledgeable in calligraphy and painting since he was a child. Because of his hobby, while studying to obtain fame, he studied the works of calligraphy masters such as Yan Zhenqing, and copied and innovated. In the end, he integrated the advantages of various calligraphy and painting schools into one, and became one of the famous calligraphers in the Ming Dynasty, with a profound influence on the creation of calligraphy and painting in later generations.
In terms of calligraphy, Dong Qichang copied the calligraphy of his predecessors and integrated his own innovative consciousness into it. The handwriting is elegant, graceful and powerful, especially in cursive and regular script. Emperor Kangxi once praised Dong Qichang's calligraphy for its elegance and etherealness, as well as his ability to awaken the spirit and solitude, and he was deeply favored by Emperor Kangxi. Among the people, there is also a trend of imitating Dong Qichang's calligraphy. Its prosperity is unimaginable.