Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art

About this Work

Liu Yong held many high-level positions in the Qing government and was one of the most influential calligraphers of his time. This calligraphy is based on a Han dynasty inscription by Zhong Yao (151-230 CE) entitled Hejie Biao (Announcement of a Eulogy on Victory). The content of the writing is not as important as the style of Zhong Yao's style of calligraphy, which influenced the development of regular script.

Written on paper decorated with gold-stamped designs, the short, bold strokes of Liu's regular script takes the utmost control to make the characters rhythmic and of similar size and density. Although knowing the source of the text may add a layer of enjoyment, the text ends mid-sentence, suggesting that the execution was more important than the words.