Quick Answer: Who Was Zhao Mengfu?
Zhao Mengfu (赵孟頫, Zhào Mèngfǔ, 1254–1322) was a Yuan official, calligrapher and painter descended from the Song imperial family. He studied earlier calligraphic models and used related brush techniques in painting. His surviving works let you compare written columns, inscriptions and painted lines. [1][2][4][6]
- Calligraphy: Zhao wrote literary texts and formal inscriptions in different scripts. [2][3]
- Painting: In a landscape, he could use one kind of brush line to outline a pine and another to describe a rock. [4]
- Older models: Earlier writing and painting gave him forms that he could adapt to a new subject or format. [1][2][7]
Read the mark in its setting. A stroke that forms a character and a stroke that forms a tree can share a brush movement while doing different jobs. [2][4]
In one handscroll, Zhao writes an old rhapsody across columns of paper. In another, he brings the line of the brush into a pair of pine trees. The comparison shows how one artist could write, paint and use each art to rethink the other.
A Yuan Career and a Study of Earlier Hands
Zhao’s service under the Yuan brought his learning in older Chinese arts into a new court setting. He eventually held senior office in the Hanlin Academy. His courtesy name, Zi’ang, appears in his signature on some works. [2][8] He studied Jin and Tang writing, including work transmitted under the name of Wang Xizhi. His own Four Anecdotes from the Life of Wang Xizhi, dated to the 1310s, makes that interest a subject of calligraphy as well as a source of models. [1][2]
The older forms offered a resource for new work. Zhao could adapt earlier handwriting in a literary transcription, or use deliberately older-looking brush forms in a landscape. The habit of learning from earlier works also helps situate his practice within Chinese literati painting. [1][2][7]
What to Look for in Zhao’s Calligraphy
In one paper handscroll, Zhao transcribed the Rhapsody on the Luo River Goddess (洛神赋, Luòshén Fù), a literary text by Cao Zhi. The written field measures 29 by 220.9 centimeters and runs through eighty columns in running script. Compare the spacing and pace across a group of columns before isolating a character. The subject also appears in paintings associated with Gu Kaizhi, where a picture sequence does the work that Zhao’s scroll gives to written words. [2]
For another format, a surviving rubbing of the Sun Deyu Stele at Chongyang Palace carries Zhao’s regular script. The stone-inscription model and the long literary transcription show different settings for his calligraphy. [2][3]
Where Writing and Painting Meet
In Twin Pines, Level Distance (双松平远图, Shuāngsōng Píngyuǎn Tú), the pine outlines evoke the even lines of seal script. The rocks use dry, broken strokes associated with cursive. The title sits to the right of the trees, and a longer inscription appears over the far hills on the left. The writing occupies part of the landscape itself, a useful example for reading painting inscriptions and seals. Looking at tree, rock and text together makes the relationship between calligraphy and painting visible. [4]
In Sheep and Goat (二羊图, Èryáng Tú), two animals turn their heads toward one another. Zhao writes that he had painted horses before and wanted to try a new subject. In Autumn Colors on the Qiao and Hua Mountains (鹊华秋色图, Què Huá Qiūsè Tú), his dated inscription connects the landscape to a painting made for Zhou Mi, whose ancestral home was in Shandong. The two differently shaped mountains sit across a broad low plain. [5][6][7]
Four Works to Compare
| Work | Date and form | 見分けるポイント |
|---|---|---|
| Rhapsody on the Luo River Goddess | Yuan ink-on-paper handscroll | Follow changes of spacing through the eighty columns. [2] |
| Autumn Colors on the Qiao and Hua Mountains | 1295, ink and color on paper | Compare the profiles of the two mountains across a long stretch of lower ground. [6][7] |
| Sheep and Goat | Around 1300, ink on paper | Follow the direction of each animal’s head and look for Zhao’s writing at the left. [5] |
| Twin Pines, Level Distance | Around 1310, ink on paper | Compare the uninterrupted pine contours with the broken texture on the rocks. [4] |
FAQs About Zhao Mengfu
How Do You Pronounce Zhao Mengfu?
The tone-marked Mandarin form is Zhào Mèngfǔ. Zhao is the surname. The final character 頫 is read fǔ in his name. [8]
Why Did Zhao Mengfu Study Older Models?
He used older forms to develop ways of writing and painting that could serve new works. His ink landscapes show how a stroke associated with one script can help describe a tree or rock. [1][4][7]
Did Zhao Mengfu Paint More Than Horses?
Yes. His surviving works include landscapes and other animals. Sheep and Goat even includes an inscription that connects a new animal subject with his earlier experience painting horses. [4][5][6]
出典
[1] The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Four Anecdotes from the Life of Wang Xizhi
[2] The Palace Museum. Zhao Mengfu’s Luo River Rhapsody in Running Script
[3] National Palace Museum. Ink Rubbing of Sun Deyu’s Stele
[4] The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Twin Pines, Level Distance
[5] Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. Sheep and Goat
[6] National Palace Museum. Autumn Colors on the Qiao and Hua Mountains
[7] National Palace Museum via Google Arts & Culture. Autumn Colors on the Qiao and Hua Mountains
[8] Ministry of Education, Taiwan. Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary: Zhao Mengfu