Kangxi And Calligraphy

It was the troops of Qing Dynasty that invaded the main land of China, which marks the inceptive of thelast feudal dynasty of China. The authoritarian regime of Qing, according to China’s history, extended totwo hundred and sixty-eight years. Majority of Qing’s calligraphic scholars exert themselves onresearching the field of manuscript calligraphy in its vulnerable period, and the vigorous thrive ofepigraphy, as well as representative calligraphers of Qing. Compared with those fields that gained highconcentrations, calligraphy of emperors and officials was not being followed with interests by scholars.Chalked up to the influence of feudalistic political system, the inclination of emperors’ calligraphicaesthetics impacted on the style of Qing’s official calligraphy profoundly. The first chapter of this thesislaunches a research of Emperor Kangxi who laid the principles for Qing’s official calligraphy. This chapterunveils the origin of his calligraphic style, the hallmarks of his master pieces, and his ideology, also thefactors which influenced Emperor Kangxi’s calligraphic aesthetics. The second chapter discourses uponthe teaching methods what Emperor taught his offspring, and the reasons why he put emphasis oncalligraphic education. Meanwhile, author exerts certain instances that were attributed by those princes whoexcelled at calligraphy to analyze the pedagogy of Emperor Kangxi and the learning techniques of princes.The third chapter reveals the purposes, functions, and influences of North Study Room which wasestablished by Emperor Kangxi. The fourth chapter explores the pertinence between imperial examinationand Emperor Kangxi’s passion for calligraphy.