Artists › Painters and Calligraphers
Deng Wenyuan
Yuan official and calligrapher from Mianzhou who rose to Hanlin academician and was ranked with Zhao Mengfu and Xianyu Shu for his draft-cursive script
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 Shanzhi · Also styled Feishi · Posthumous name Wensu
Deng Wenyuan, courtesy names Shanzhi and Feishi, came from Mianzhou in Sichuan and grew up in Hangzhou, where his father had moved. Under the Yuan he served as chancellor of the Directorate of Education and education intendant for Jiangzhe, rising to academician expositor in the Hanlin Academy. He died in 1328 and was named Wensu; his biography is in chapter 172 of the History of Yuan. He wrote standard, running and cursive script and excelled in the archaic draft-cursive, and was ranked with Zhao Mengfu and Xianyu Shu. His draft-cursive copy of the Jijiu zhang, written in the Dade era, survives.
Life and times
Dates 1259–1328