Gongfu Tie Calligraphy

Su Shi, also known by his courtesy name Zizhan and literary name Dongpojushi, was born in Meishan, Sichuan province. He passed the Imperial Exam in the Jiayou period. He then served as governor of several places including Hangzhou and Yingzhou, and the highest position he assumed was the precident of Li Bu. Ministry of Rites . Su was renowned as one of “the Three Sus” along with his father Su Xun and younger brother Su Zhe and also one of the “Eight Great Prose Writers of the Tang and Song Dynasties” due to his achievements in literature. He excelled in running script and regular script, imitating the styles of Li Yong, Xu Hao, Yan Zhenqing, and Yang Ningshi, and then created his own style. His brushwork is round, rich, and full of changes, yet with a touch of innocence and brilliance. He was renowned as the “Four Calligraphers of the Song Dynasty” together with Cai Xiang, Huang Tingjian, and Mi Fu. Su was also good at painting bamboos, and advocated a standard called “inner resemblance” (shensi) in the appreciation of paintings.