User:TheIntrospectorsfacts/Xiang Mu

Xiang Mu (Chinese: 项穆; 1550 ~ – 1600~), originally named Dezhi, later changed his name to Mu, courtesy name Dechun (德纯), art name Zhenyuan(贞元). He was a native of Xiushui (now Jiaxing in Zhejiang Province), a calligrapher and calligraphy critic of the Ming dynasty.

Life and work
Birth and death years are unknown. He was born into a wealthy family in the Jiangnan region. His father, Xiang Yuanbian, was fond of collecting and had a keen eye for appreciation. Xiang Mu inherited his family's scholarly tradition and, being exposed to it from an early age, excelled in calligraphy. [1]

Xiang Mu regarded Wang Xizhi as the orthodox authority in calligraphy, and his position in calligraphy was equivalent to that of Confucius in philosophy. As it is said, " Confucius and Wang Xizhi, Confucian orthodoxy  and the sources of the calligraphy, are not unrelated." [2]

And he believed that "if one were to study 'Shengjiao Xujiji' (圣教序记) by Wang Xizhi, without twenty years of Diligent effort, one cannot grasp its subtleties, nor could one write a single stroke. Thus, there should be not many scholars to delve into it." [2]

He was still alive in the twenty-fifth year of the Wanli era (1599) [3]. He left behind works such as "Elegant Discourses on Calligraphy"(书法雅言) and "Poem Sketch of Yuanzhenzi,"( 元贞子诗草) which have been passed down through generations. "The Elegant Words on Calligraphy" has significant value for the history and appreciation of calligraphy.

参考资料[编辑]
1.     ^ 沈思孝《陆沉漫稿》记：“德纯书于晋唐名家不该会，而心摹手追者逸少，稍稍降格，亦不减欧阳询. ”

此處有錯誤應改爲： 沈思孝'《書法雅言序》记：“德纯书于晋唐名家不该会，而心摹手追者逸少，稍稍降格，亦不减欧阳询. ”'

2.     項穆《书法雅言》

3.    ^ 《书法雅言》前有沈思孝和支大纶在万历二十七年（1599）序各一篇. 冯梦祯《快雪堂日记》载：“己亥年十二月十七，早送陆庄简公之葬，盛叔永与项长公德纯俱以送葬至. 固得聚谈，遂同过. ”可知万历二十七年十二月尚在世.

References

[1] "The Preface to Elegant Words of Calligraphy"(书法雅言序)by Shen Sixiao

[2]” The Elegant Words of Calligraphy”(书法雅言)by Xiangmu

[3] "The Diary of Quick Snow Hall" (快雪堂日记)by Feng Mengzhen