Shūfǎ zhèngchuán 書法正傳
The Orthodox Transmission of Calligraphic Method by 馮武 (Féng Wǔ, b. 1627, fl. 1707, 清, zhuàn 撰)
About the work
A 10-juàn compilation on the orthodox method of zhèngshū 正書 (regular-script calligraphy), composed by Féng Wǔ 馮武 (hào Jiǎnyuán 簡縁) of Chángshú 常熟 in Kāngxī dīnghài 康熙丁亥 (1707), when Féng was 81 suì by xū count (i.e. born 1627). The book was written at the Shùzītáng 樹滋堂 of his patron Miù Yuēqí 繆曰芑 (zì Wénzǐ 文子, a Sūzhōu collector). Féng is the nephew of Féng Bān 馮班 (hào Dùnyín 鈍吟, 1602–1671), one of the most distinguished early-Qīng calligraphers, from whom he received his entire training. The structure: juàn 1 is Chén Yìzēng’s 陳繹曾 (Yuán) Hànlín yàojué 翰林要訣 with Féng’s annotations; juàn 2 is the anonymous Shūfǎ sānmèi 書法三昧 attributed by tradition to Zhōu Bóqí 周伯琦, with Féng’s annotations; juàn 3 is Lǐ Pǔguāng’s 李溥光 (hào Xuěān 雪菴) Yǒngzì bāfǎ 永字八法; juàn 4 is Lǐ Chún’s 李淳 (Míng) Dàzì jiégòu bāshísì fǎ 大字結構八十四法 (presented to the throne in the early Míng); juàn 5–7 are the Zuǎnyán 纂言 in three parts — Féng’s careful selection of pithy sayings on the brush from past calligraphers, the yàozhǐ gōuxuán 提要鉤玄; juàn 8 is the Shūjiā xiǎozhuàn 書家小傳 (a short calligrapher dictionary); juàn 9 is Míngjī yuánliú 名蹟源流 (the transmission of the famous pieces); juàn 10 is the Dùnyín shūyào 鈍吟書要 — Féng Bān’s own writing-method writings, which Féng Wǔ reproduces and annotates as the work’s coda. Throughout, Féng has added his own annotations and bridge-comments, sometimes with substantial insight.
Tiyao
We have respectfully examined: Shūfǎ zhèngchuán in ten juàn, by Féng Wǔ of the present dynasty. Wǔ, hào Jiǎnyuán, of Chángshú, the cóngzǐ (nephew) of Féng Bān. Bān was famous in his generation for calligraphy; Wǔ received his teaching. At age 81 he was in residence at the household of Miù Yuēqí of Sūzhōu — there he wrote this book, devoted exclusively to the method of regular-script. The opening juàn gives Chén Yìzēng’s Hànlín yàojué; next Zhōu Bóqí’s transmitted Shūfǎ sānmèi; next Lǐ Pǔguāng’s Yǒngzì bāfǎ — because these three schools’ discussions of writing alone catch its subtle pointer. Where the language is not transparent, Wǔ has added supplementary annotations to clarify. Next, the Míng’s Lǐ Chún’s Dàzì jiégòu bāshísì fǎ, presented to the throne. Next, the three juàn of Zuǎnyán — distilled discussions of past calligraphers. Next, the Shūjiā xiǎozhuàn and Míngjī yuánliú, each one juàn. And finally, his uncle Bān’s Dùnyín shūyào in one juàn. Within each juàn Wǔ has also added his own commentary; he sometimes has pointed phrases. Wǔ’s learning in calligraphy has clearly an established lineage. Respectfully collated, Qiánlóng 42 (1777), fifth month.
Abstract
The Shūfǎ zhèngchuán is one of the principal Qīng compilations of calligraphic theory, structured as a curriculum on the orthodox method of regular-script. Féng Wǔ’s selection of source texts — Chén Yìzēng (Yuán), Zhōu Bóqí (Yuán), Lǐ Pǔguāng (Yuán), Lǐ Chún (early Míng), and his own uncle Féng Bān (late Míng / early Qīng) — establishes a Yuán-to-early-Qīng zhèngchuán lineage of orthodox writing-method. The Féng family’s link to the Sūzhōu collector circle (the Miù Shùzītáng) makes this book a Jiāngnán product. The 1707 composition date sets it as one of the latest important pre-Pèiwén compilations, three years before the Yùdìng Pèiwénzhāi shūhuà pǔ KR3h0061 of 1708 superseded its survey aspirations. The text was widely circulated and reprinted in the Qīng and remains the standard early-Qīng theoretical handbook on regular-script.
Translations and research
- Goepper, Roger. Shu-p’u: Der Traktat zur Schriftkunst des Sun Kuo-t’ing. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1974.
- Ledderose, Lothar. Mi Fu and the Classical Tradition of Chinese Calligraphy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1979.
- Bush, Susan, and Hsio-yen Shih (eds). Early Chinese Texts on Painting. Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 1985. [Contains a translation of Chén Yìzēng’s Hàn-lín yào-jué, the first juàn of this work.]
- Driscoll, Lucy, and Toda Kenji. Chinese Calligraphy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1935.
Other points of interest
The work’s reproduction of Chén Yìzēng’s Hànlín yàojué and Lǐ Pǔguāng’s Yǒngzì bāfǎ preserves these Yuán-period writings on calligraphic technique in a substantially complete form — both texts are now better-known in this Féng Wǔ recension than in their original transmission.