Artists › Painters and Calligraphers
Wu Ju
Southern Song calligrapher and official, nephew of Empress Wu, whose writing closely followed Mi Fu
A desk holds an unrolled sheet bearing three bold black ink strokes, with a rack of many brushes above it, a stone ink slab and ink stick, a porcelain bowl, a red lacquer box, a dish of red seal paste and a paperweight; a small seated figure shows through a round window onto bamboo.
Also known as Zi Jufu · Hao Yunhe
Wu Ju, courtesy name Jufu, styled Yunhe, belonged to an imperial consort family: his father Wu Yi was the younger brother of Empress Wu, consort of Emperor Gaozong. In 1173 he was given office through family privilege as vice-prefect of Lin'an, later serving as vice-minister of agriculture and an academician of the Fuwen Pavilion, and under Emperor Ningzong as governor of Ezhou and of Qingyuan. He wrote poetry and song lyrics, and his calligraphy followed Mi Fu so closely as to be mistaken for it, with a brisk, elegant running-cursive hand. His hanging scroll of a seven-character quatrain, also called Visiting Recluse Chen, is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and the Suijin letter also survives; the large inscription 'The Finest River and Mountain under Heaven' on Beigu Hill in Zhenjiang is traditionally said to be his.
Life and times
Dates Born c. 1154; date of death unknown (early 13th century)