汪中   Wang, Zhong   1925~2010

Zhong Wang, courtesy name Lu-An, was born in Anhui, China, in 1925. The artist also styled himself as Yu-An. In 1947, Wang enrolled at Anhui University where he was mentored by Zhong-Gui Pan. Moving to Taiwan in 1949, he enrolled at Taiwan Provincial Teachers’ College where he continued to sit at the feet of Pan as well as Xin-Yu Pu. From 1953, Wang taught The Classics of Poetry, Yuefu, and Poems by Specialists at National Taiwan Normal University. He also taught at many other universities in Taiwan, such as National Taiwan University, Fu Jen Catholic University, Tamkang University and Chinese Culture University. Before his official retirement in 1995, Wang also taught as a visiting professor in South Korea at Chungnam National University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Korea University, and also in Hong Kong at the New Asia Institute of Advanced Chinese Studies, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The artist tended to spend his leisure time on calligraphy and classical poems in which he found great aesthetic delight. His running script exudes an ethereal aura that bears the characteristic signature of Xi-Zhi Wang, Xian-Zhi Wang and Fu Mi. His clerical script is presented in an orderly and elegant manner, marking a real break with the classical tradition. The majority of his pieces of poetry are five-character quatrains. They imbibed the essentials of Yuan-Ming Tao’s works, conveying the artist’s innermost feelings. Poems about the Trip to Beijing and Poems about the Trip to Yangzhou are two of Wang’s famous seven-character-quatrain works. The artist was flamboyant and unrestrained in nature, yet oozed unique charm as gentle as jade. He treated people with honesty and integrity, embodying the spirit of literary celebrities in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. “The aesthetic beauty of calligraphy faithfully reflects a calligrapher’s moral quality and level of cultivation,” said the artist. Wang’s conduct was as laudable as his calligraphy, which both captured the genuine spirit of traditional refined literati and made him a highly respected figure. He was the author of several books, including Yu-An Epistles, The Way to Admire Calligraphy, and Yu-An’s Poems in Reply to Yaun-Ming Tao, with an Addendum of Poems of Rucheng.