Sun Guoting's 'Treatise on Calligraphy' in cursive script

Deng Lin, a native of Yangjiang in Guangdong, was an educator and a calligrapher of the late Qing dynasty, especially well known for his masterful cursive script. The three scrolls are part of a set with multiple hanging scrolls, brushed with Sun Guoting’s (646–691) preface to his essay entitled ‘Shupu' or 'Treatise on Calligraphy', composed in circa 687. Sun was a renowned calligrapher of the early Tang dynasty, remembered for his cursive calligraphy. His 'Treatise on Calligraphy' was the first important theoretical work on Chinese calligraphy, and has remained important ever since, though only its preface survived.

Asian Art Department, AGNSW, June 2011