Letters to Fang Shiguan
Bada Shanren (Zhu Da) Chinese
Not on view
The tradition of collecting personal letters dates back nearly two millennia in China. It was believed that the intimate space of the letter encouraged a sense of freedom and openness in calligraphers, and the resulting calligraphy was often treasured as a true expression of the artist’s spirit. This album is a collection of letters written by the great painter and calligrapher Zhu Da to his close friend Fang Shiguan (1650–ca. 1711). Fang must have saved them as treasured traces of a friend and gifted artist. At some point, they were mounted together as an album. The letters concern four areas of Zhu’s life: his health; meetings with Fang; exchanges of favors and small gifts; and painting, including both the viewing of other artists’ works and the selling of his own.
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