Author(s): WANG Ming
Pages: 39-46
Year: 2015 Issue:  3
Journal: Dunhuang Research
Keyword:  Five Dynasties; Dunhuang; official documents; calligraphy; transitional characteristics;
Abstract: Many official documents of the Five Dynasties found in large number at Dunhuang have provided rich physical evidence for re-identifying the role of Five Dynasties calligraphy as a communicative bridge. From these abundant materials we can see how Tang dynasty calligraphy was developed and inherited, the calligraphical styles created by two great Tang dynasty calligraphers, Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongyuan, being particularly influential during the Five Dynasties. Amidst the chaos of the Five Dynasties, the highest aesthetic pursuit in calligraphy was to be natural and unrestrained, as can be seen from Dunhuang official documents of the Five Dynasties. The diversified writing styles and compositions in turn exerted far-reaching influence on the emergence of the calligraphy of letters in the Song dynasty. It should not be neglected that the Five Dynasties calligraphy acted as a bridge between the extroverted style of the Tang dynasty and the introverted style of the Song dynasty.