A Study Of He Shaoji's Han Tablet Copies

This paper is composed of three parts.The first chapter briefly introduces the relationship between learning and calligraphy during the Qing dynasty as well as He Shaoji' s dual career as a scholar and a calligrapher.In the second chapter,He Shaoji' s style of-copying is analyzed through comparison of his tablets produced in the book He Daozhou's Ten Copies of Han Tables and the Han Dynasty tablets themselves.He Shaoji's copy of the "Caoqu.an Tablet”(1858)as well as his copy of the "Ceremonial Tablet"(1862)are compared to their Han Dynasty originals and help to define the changes that He Shaoji imparted in his copying and study of these previous tablets.The third chapter,which composes the main part of this paper,compares He Shaoji,s clerical script to its Han Dynasty ancestor.An analytic study of He.Daozhou's Ten Copies of Han Talets considers how He Shaoji's style of imitation holds on to the key principals of the Han Dynasty tablets while gradually developing into its own style.In addition,there is a comparison between He Shaoji' s previously mentioned“Ceremonial Tablet”and a copy made in his later years not contained in He Daozhou' s Ten Copies of Han Tablets.Through these studies,it can be seen how He Shaoji can be able to suppress his personal thoughts while writing yet still attaching an importance to the structure of his calligraphy.Through discussing and comparing the copies by He Shaoji and their Han Dynasty originals,this paper investigates the particular characteristics and ideas of He Shaoji's Han tablet copies during the Qing Dynasty.