Calligrapher Celebrated for Vitality

Du Xuping, a middle-age calligrapher based in Zhejiang, is best known for the ebullient vitality that characterizes his calligraphy. The pulsating power in his penmanship comes largely from Yan Zhenqing (709-784) and Liu Gongquan (778-865), the two prototypical masters of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Since ancient times the two masters’ elegant calligraphy have been widely considered the very essentials for all beginning calligraphers across China. Du Xuping was no exception when he started practicing calligraphy as a boy. He studied by copying the two great masters year in year out.

For Du Xuping, part of his calligraphic vitality is yielded from his military service. The boyhood passion continued in his army career. He found time to practice and explore for a perfection that best describes his artistic pursuit. In 1991 he was discharged and became a public servant in a provincial government agency. And his individual style began to mature and stand out thanks to his commitment and tireless exploration all these years. Du’s calligraphic aesthetics feature a unique blend of masters and his own personal touch. The most outstanding hallmark of his penmanship is a masculine power that overwhelms and dominates, a power that strips off all the trivia. No wonder his favorite Chinese character is 剑 (sword). After viewing Du’s calligraphy once upon a time, a collector sighed over the single word and said it showcased Du’s calligraphy and he believed no one would ever write it better. Naturally, the thrilled collector bought the inscription and went home happily.

Early this year, an 11-person business group from Seattle, USA came to do field studies in Hangzhou. They stayed in West Lake State Guesthouse, a garden hotel on the West Lake. Before they were about to leave, they tentatively expressed their hope of having Chinese paintings and calligraphy as souvenirs to mark their visit. Du Xuping was among the artists who created artworks for these VIPs. After learning the Americans had done sightseeing on the West Lake, Du decided to copy some best known poems on the beauty of the West Lake for the visitors.

Each inscription he wrote was explained by the interpreter. When he presented “osmanthus seeds fall from the moon, with a heavenly fragrance wafting beyond clouds” to a tall American, the American happened to have some osmanthus trees in his back garden at home back in the States. The American said he was happy to have this calligraphic artwork. After the eleven Americans each got an inscription, they were asked to go outside the room and then come back to see if each could recognize his or her own inscription. The 11 inscriptions on the long table had been rearranged. Most got their choice right. When asked how he recognized his inscription in Chinese which he did not know at all, the man who first got his inscription right explained that he was deeply impressed with one of the characters while the calligrapher was writing. So he used that character as the clue to find his inscription.