Rao Jie

CHINA, Jiangxi, Fuzhou; Yuan dynasty

Rao Jie was a poet and calligrapher. He was also known by several aliases including Jiezhi and Jiesou. Talented and intellectual with an outgoing personality, he easily made friends, many of which were monks. He excelled in cursive script calligraphy, which exemplified his smooth and easy-going spirit and graceful style. His calligraphy assumed the orderly and elegant style of the Five Dynasties (907–960).
Several of his works, such as In Praise of Master Zhongfeng Mingben at Huanzhu, Seven-Character Poems, and Letter from Master Wuzhun Shifan to Enni Ben’en, are kept at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan. The Palace Museum in Beijing retains his piece, Letter from Rao Jie to Shixing.