Zhu Yunming

CHINA, Jiangsu, Suzhou; Ming dynasty

Zhu Yunming was a calligrapher from Changzhou (present day Suzhou, Jiangsu). He was also known as Xizhe or Zhishan. Highly talented and erudite, he became a Provincial Scholar in 1492 after passing the provincial-level examination. He subsequently served multiple official positions in varying provinces around China. Zhu was reputed alongside Tang Yin, Wen Zhengming, and Xu Zhenqing, as one of the Four Great Scholars of Suzhou. Some of his written works include 60 fascicles of Collection of Poetry and Essays and 30 fascicles of Collection of Huaixing Hall.
Zhu specialized in regular, running, and cursive scripts; his cursive script being the most renowned. He learned regular script from Zhong Yao and Wang Xizhi and cursive script from Huai Su and Huang Tingjian. In studying under these calligraphy masters, he was able to combine the strengths of different schools, develop his own style, and set the standard for calligraphy during the mid-Ming dynasty.
His calligraphic works, Stele of Lord Guan Shrine in regular script, On Eating Fungus in regular script, and Letters in running and cursive script, are kept at the Palace Museum in Beijing; Former and Latter Red Cliffs in cursive script is kept at Shanghai Museum; Poems in running and cursive script and Seven-Character Regulated Poem in cursive script are kept at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan. The stele inscription of Copy of Su Shi’s Poems at Lushan in regular script is displayed on the Stele Wall at Fo Guang Shan Monastery in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.