Poems on two sounds in running script

The piece of calligraphy was written by Wen Zhengming (1470 - 1559) at the age of eighty-one (1550). The content is made up of two poems which describe the calls of the rooster and the frog. The resemblance of calligraphic execution to Huang Tingjian's style stands out most prominently in the character form and composition. The possible influence might have come from the calligrapher's painting teacher, Shen Zhou (1427 - 1509), who was a master of various scripts, among which his "large running script" and "regular script" were modelled on Huang's. In this work, the calligrapher's own presence is seen in the forthright, confident brushstrokes. Wen cast considerable influence on later calligraphers through his many students and his sons, Wen Peng (1498 - 1573) and Wen Jia (1501 - 1583).