YAN ZHENQING – THE CALLIGRAPHY SAGE

Yan Zhenqing (709–785 AD) was a leading Chinese calligrapher and a loyal governor of the Tang Dynasty. His artistic accomplishment in Chinese calligraphy parallels that of the greatest master calligraphers in Chinese history. His regular script style, Yan, is often imitated by admirers. Yan Zhenqing is popularly known as the only calligrapher who shared the same standing as Wang Xizhi, the "Calligraphy Sage". He specialised in kaishu (楷) Script and caoshu (草) Script, although he also mastered other forms of writings. His Yan style of Kai Script, which brought Chinese calligraphy to a new realm, emphasised strength, boldness and grandness.

Yan Zhenqing set an unsurpassed standard in terms of his calligraphy accomplishments, knowledge and character. In the period of the An Lushan Rebellion, when Yan Zhenqing was fifty years old, he penned his representative work, "Funeral Address for Nephew Ji-ming”, which was later hailed as "the Second Best Running Hand in the World” (Wang Xizhi’s Orchid Pavilion ranks as the best),