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YAN Zhenqing Yán Zhēnqīng ​颜真卿 709–​785 ce Court scholar and calligrapher

Yan Zhenqing was a court scholar and callig- rapher of the (618–​907 ce). He was imprisoned and strangled to death during a rebellion.

an Zhenqing, also known as “Yan Qingchen,” lived in Province until he relocated to Xi’an in Shaanxi Province. His parents were descendants of clans whose members either held important official positions in court or were renowned scholars. For exam- ple, (531–​­c. 590 ce) was the author of Home Instructions of the Yan Family (Yanshi Jiasun). (581–​645 ce), Yan Zhenqing’s grandfather, was a famous calligrapher and historian during the end of the Sui dy- Calligraphy by Yan Zhengqing. nasty (581–618​ ce). Yan’s maternal grandfather, Yin Zhon- grong, also skilled in calligraphy, was the head secretary to Empress Wu (624–​705 ce). Yan had a difficult childhood because his father passed when he refused to surrender. Li, on the verge of defeat by away when Yan was only three years old. Working hard, he the Tang dynasty (618–907​ ce)army, ordered a eunuch to passed the civil exam and became a scholar () in 734. strangle Yan to death. He was ­seventy-​­six. In that year he was married to the daughter of a prince. Yan Zhenqing’s other love was calligraphy. When he Even with these advantages, Yan’s career in politics was was too poor to buy ink and brushes, he used a broom to tumultuous. Being a man of integrity and loyalty, Yan was write on the wall with yellow dirt. Beginning in 743 Yan constantly a target for his opponents in court. Every time deemed (flourished 713–740),​ “the saint of cur- Yan emerged from a conspiracy or slander, he was either sive calligraphy,” as his teacher. demoted or transferred. According to historical records, Another calligrapher, the monk Huaisu (737–798),​ was Yan was instrumental in pacifying the An Lu Shan Rebel- also Yan’s ally in calligraphy. Yan’s calligraphic achieve- lion in 755. Again, when the court faced another rebellion ments began rather late, around the age of sixty. His jour- in 783, Yan volunteered to go into enemy territory to ne- ney to artistic success can be divided into three stages: Ygotiate with the head rebel, Li Xilie, who incarcerated Yan (1) the early stage before Yan was fifty, (2) the blooming 2543

© 2009 by Berkshire Publishing Group LLC 2544 Berkshire Encyclopedia of China 宝 库 山 中 华 全 书 stage of running and cursive (xing and cao) scripts before was righteous and magnanimous but true and simple. The he was sixty, and (3) the final stage when his standard imperfection and simplicity found in his works somehow script (kai) reached full maturity. Famous cursive scripts manifest a form of aesthetics. done by Yan include “Begging for Rice Note” (764), Fatima WU “Mourning over My Nephew” (758), and “Fighting for a Seat Note” (764). After age sixty Yan became attracted to the standard script, which he wrote on big pieces of flat Further Reading stone that were later engraved. “Ancestral Temple of the Guo Family Tablet,” done at age ­fifty-​­six, and “The Tab- Ecke, Tseng ­Yu-​­ho. (1971). . Boston: David R. Godine. let of Songjing,” done at age ­sixty-four,​­ were some of his Harrist, R. E., Jr., & Fong, Wen C. (1999). The embodied im- prime examples in the standard script. age: Chinese calligraphy from the John B. Elliot collection. Yan’s unadorned calligraphic style breaks up the glam- New Haven, CT: Art Museum, Princeton University. orous and formal style of the two Wangs (, Masterpiece of Chinese calligraphy in the National Palace 303–379?​ ce, and Wang Xianzhi, 344–388​ ce) from the Jin Museum supplement. (1973). Taipei, Taiwan: National dynasty (265–​420 ce). (The is a brief period Palace Museum. during the North and South Dynasties in China.) His Zhao Lengyue. (Ed.). (1993). Ten calligraphers. Taipei, writings reflect the character of an honorable man who Taiwan: World Cultures Publishers.

Kill one to warn a hundred. 杀一儆百

Shā yī jǐng bǎi

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© 2009 by Berkshire Publishing Group LLC