Research On Yao Nai 's Calligraphy

Yao Nai, who is good at the Ancient Chinese Prose, is not only a famous proser, but also the founder of Tongcheng School.Furthermore, he is also a famous calligrapher of Note Study. When he firstly studied Dong Qichang’s calligraphy, he mainly focus on Note Study and what’s more, he also studied the calligraphic theories of Wei and Jin Dynasties. Hiscalligraphy works represent before us a sort of appearance of romantic charm, freedom, remoteness and gracefulness.As a result, he stood out from many excellent calligraphers at that time and got plenty of praises from others especially from Bao Shichen who regarded Yao Nai’s works as wonderful products. However, Yao Nai’s calligraphic fame was somehow covered by this prosperous literary fame at that time. As a result,we are very familiar with his literary achievements but unfamiliar with his calligraphic achievements.This thesis will take three chapters to discuss Yao Nai’s calligraphy. The first chapter generalizes Yao Nai’s lifetime in order to give a better understanding about his experiences. The second chapter mainly focuses on Yao Nai’s calligraphy. In this chapter, his calligraphic theories will be firstly mentioned which involves three sections----learning from tradition and looking for innovations; respecting nature and creating freely; valuing romantic charm and pursuing elegance and purity. And then his calligraphic works will be analyzed from two aspects----calligraphic style and calligraphic motivation. The third chapter presents his calligraphic achievements and influences of his works. The last chapter is the conclusion of Yao Nai.In order to finish this thesis, plenty of documents have been searched. This thesis can help to get a better understanding about Yao Nai’s calligraphic works and calligraphic conditions in Qing Dynasty. This topic, Yao Nai’s calligraphy, is meaningful to research.