王靜芝   Wang, Jing-Zhi   1916~2002

Jing-Zhi Wang, real name Da-An Wang, was born in Fanyang, China, in 1916. The artist also styled himself as Ju-Nong, Long-Huo and Shuangmaolou. Later, he moved to Beijing with his family. Wang graduated from the Department of Chinese Literature, Fu Jen Catholic University in Beijing. When Wang was a student, he learned ink painting and calligraphy from Qigong, and sat at the feet of Yin-Mo Shen to refine his skill with calligraphy from 1943. The two masters exerted a profound and enduring influence on the artist’s mastery of painting and calligraphy. The artist modeled his calligraphy upon Xi-Zhi Wang, Xian-Zhi Wang, Xun Ouyang, Sui-Liang Chu and Fu Mi, and thus became proficient in running script and cursive script. His calligraphy is characterized by deft brushstrokes that display the qualities of delicacy and vigor. In his article titled “Poetic Painting,” Jing-Nong Tai eulogized Wang’s calligraphy, stating that “his standard script disembogues liveliness from norms; his running script brims with deft and aesthetically pleasing strokes; and his cursive script shows a serpentine flutter as if petals fall in riotous profusion.” In addition, Wang modeled his ink painting upon several renowned painters such as Gong-Wang Huang and Qi-Chang Dong. “Ink painting should be poetic, while calligraphy lively and vigorous,” said the artist. His ink paintings are characterized by their artful fusion with beautiful poems. After moving to Taiwan in 1949, the artist was a lecturer at the National School of Arts (now National Taiwan University of Arts), an associate professor at Tunghai University, and the dean of the Department of Chinese Literature, Fu-Jen Catholic University. In addition to teaching, he co-founded a calligraphy society with Jing-Nong Tai, Te-Cheng Kung, Zhong-Xing Cheng, Nan-Xun Xi, Bei-Yue Wang and Ping Wu, and also collaborated with other artists, such as Yuan-Yi Liu and Qi-Yuan Wu to form the Liou-Xiou Calligraphy and Ink Painting Society, devoting himself to the two fields of art. Wang also authored dozens of books, including Manuscripts on the Art of Calligraphy, Album of Zhen-Xing Preface to the Sacred Teaching, Cursive Script Preface to the Sacred Teaching, Running Script Poem about an Old Herdsman, and Shuangmaolou Poetry in Cursive Script. Bestowed with prestigious honors such as the Chinese Literary and Artistic Awards, the Sun Yat-sen Academic Award, the Poetics Award of the Ministry of Education and the Special Prize of the Chinese Writers’ & Artists’ Association, Wang served on the jury of the National Literary and Artistic Awards, the National Fine Arts Exhibition, the Zhongshan Literary and Artistic Creation Award, and the Nanying Fine Arts Exhibition. These honors and experiences clearly indicate that Wang contributed enormously to academic research and the development of the arts of calligraphy and ink painting in Taiwan.