Professor Longchun Xue shares his study on Wang Duo and his calligraphy

Centuries of Chinese tradition was again appreciated by the public. In 2016, a total of $68,833,664 was achieved at the Hong Kong autumn auctions featuring Chinese classical, modern, and contemporary ink paintings led by works of Wang Duo, Xu Beihong, and Liu Kuo-sung.

On December 8, Columbia Global Centers | Beijing invited Professor Longchun Xue from Zhejiang University’s Research Institute of Cultural Heritage to speak on Chinese calligraphy, particularly about Wang Duo’s pieces.

Professor Xue received his Doctor of Literature at Nanjing Academy of Art in 2004. He is currently also a visiting scholar at the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences of Peking University. His research interest is the Chinese calligraphy seal carving between the 16th and 18th centuries.

“Although the saturated ink and unrestrained brush strokes in the surviving calligraphic works by Wang Duo seem to suggest a lack of attention to the quality of the materials, existing records point to the contrary,” said Professor Xue.

According to Professor Xue, Wang was highly particular about his writing instruments, such as the link brushes in Huzhou, the ink sticks from Huizhou, and the Xuande paper. “Materials of inferior quality not only disrupted Wang’s enthusiasm for composing, but also reduce the expressiveness of his calligraphic works.”

In May 1645, Wang Duo surrendered in Nanjing. In February the following year, he was appointed by the Qing dynasty in Beijing, thus becoming a turncoat-official. The main effort of Wang Duo and the turncoat-official Group in the early Qing dynasty was always to wash away the humiliation of their identity.

“Even after his death in 1652, Wang’s family members and relatives continued to carry out various rubbings and collection activities to strengthen Wang’s calligraphy and literary image,” said Professor Xue.

Around 60 people attended the event and more than 100,000 watched the event online.