明　王寵　行書致南村手札　冊頁|Letter to Nancun

Wang Chong

Date unknown · Album leaf; ink on paper · Asian Art

Wang Chong was a prodigy who died young; his death shocked the scholarly community of Suzhou, especially his mentor Wen Zhengming, who continued to mourn him many years later. Wang writes here in a relaxed semicursive script, which allowed him to lift the brush less frequently than in formal standard script. As a result, many strokes and even characters are connected with fine ligatures. In this brief letter, Wang asks the recipient, a Mr. Nancun, for help with managing a contractor who is doing construction work on his land.

Artist

Wang Chong

Date

Date unknown

Medium

Album leaf; ink on paper

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988