The Generation And Evolution Of The Concept Of "Huaisu" In The Narrative And Collection System Of The Two Books Of The Song And Ming Dynasties

One of the most frequently referenced names in the history of Chinese calligraphy,the monk Huaisu(725/733?-785/799?)has been described as the best practitioner of wild-cursive calligraphy(kuangcao)during the second half of the eighth century.His untrammelled manner of writing and personality established his fame as the true heir to Zhang Xu(fl.ca.675-759)and the predecessor of many other monk calligraphers active in the 9th and 10th ccenturies.Nevertheless,distinct from Zhang Xu,who was a native of Suzhou and an official during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong(r.712-756)of the Tang dynasty(618-907),Huaisu is absent from any officially compiled histories or Buddhist biographies.Over the past eighty years,extant handwritten specimens and rubbings ascribed to him,particularly the:Autobiography(Zixu tie)preserved in the Palace Museum in Taipei,have hardly been free from debate or controversy.Although recent scholarly studies have looked beyond the anecdotes of Huaisu’s life to recognize the creation and viewing mode of wild-cursive calligraphy from a social and cultural perspective,further study is largely hampered by the scarcity and fragmentation of surviving textual resources.Differing from previous studies focusing on issues of attribution and authentication,this thesis aims to critically reflect on the biographical discourses about Huaisu in current art-historical writings.Instead of being treated as a mere historical figure,Huaisu in this research is essentially considered as a symbol,an artistic paradigm,or a historical phenomenon.To restore its generation process,I will first trace the origin of art-historical writings about him in scholarly monographs,academic books and journals published to date.Accordingly,drawing on existing historical writings and visual materials dating back to the Song(960-1279)and Ming(1368-1644)dynasties,I shall discuss how he was transformed from an unknown scribbler to an iconic calligrapher in the Song imperial collections in the second and third chapters,and how the Ming collectors,connoisseurs and engravers reshaped his fame through making copies of calligraphic works attributed to him,particularly the Autobiography in the fourth and fifth chapters.