Ye Gongchuo

CHINA, Beijing

Ye Gongchuo was a calligrapher and arts activist, educator, and collector. He was born to a wealthy, scholarly family. He became well-known for his extensive collection of ancient art as well as his proficiency in calligraphy and painting.
He co-founded the Chinese Inner Studies Institute, which propagated the Mind-Only school in Nanjing. Later, he designed and donated funds to build the library. Among his several positions, Ye was the former Minister of Transportation and principal of Shanghai Jiaotong University, vice president of the Central Research Institute of Culture and History, director of the Buddhist Association of China, dean of Beijing Fine Art Academy, and was the first executive director of the Chinese Artists Association. He also authored several books.
He began writing calligraphy by copying the works of Zhao Mengfu, Yan Zhenqing, and Chu Suiliang. His strokes are bold, flexible, and rhythmic in an elegant and refined style. His scholarly and artistic style is distinctive, and comprises a style of its own. He was fond of painting plants such as bamboo and flowers, and depicted images that appeared natural and free. Ye was closely associated with painters Chang Dai-Chien, Wu Hufan, Huang Binhong.
Calligraphic works by Ye include an inscription on the Stele Wall of Fo Guang Shan Monastery in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The text was based on a quote of monk Daoqing from the Expanded Edition of Biographies of Eminent Monks citing Buddhist principles and practices. Two other works in running script are kept in the Three Gorges Museum in Chongqing.