Zhang Xu

CHINA, Jiangsu, Suzhou; Tang dynasty

Zhang Xu, also known as Bogao or Jiming, was a calligrapher from Wujun (present day Suzhou, Jiangsu). He served as a county official and was eventually promoted as commander of imperial guards. Talented and flamboyant, he loved drinking alcohol and often wrote in an unrestrained cursive script, often using his own braided hair as the brush.
Well-recognized in his achievements in cursive script, Zhang continued the traditions of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi. His writing was artistic and elegant with many twists and turns, earning him the title of the Sage of Cursive Script. Monk Huaisu later adopted his style and thus, the two became famously referred to as Crazy Zhang and Drunken Su.
Four Chapters on Ancient Poetry, purported to be his work, is kept at the Liaoning Provincial Museum in Shengyang; and the steles containing words from the Heart Sutra, Remedy to a Stomachache, and Incomplete Thousand Character Classic are kept at the Xi’an Beilin Museum in Shaanxi. Zhang’s only existing work in regular script is the imprinted inscription of Tang Dynasty Official Ranking in the Shanghai Museum.