Mi Fu

Mi Fu, one of the most celebrated figures in the history of Chinese art, was a prominent calligrapher in eleventh-century China. A member of the educated elite, or literati, he also contributed a great deal to discussions of theoretical issues of function and style in calligraphy, the primary means of graphic expression for the literati. In this book Peter Sturman examines Mi Fu's calligraphy within the framework of the artist's fascinating life, the Northern Song culture in which he lived, and the literati theory of art he helped to formulate. The book is both chronological and topical, following Mi Fu's efforts to develop styles of calligraphy that would communicate his social and personal ideals as they changed according to his place in Song society: as connoisseur of the arts, responsible official, man among mountains and streams, and Daoist talent in the service of the emperor. Sturman's detailed analyses, which consider the content as well as the style of the writing, firmly set Mi Fu's calligraphy in the fabric of Northern Song history. At the same time, Sturman shows how Mi Fu's relationship with the history of calligraphy both before and after him illuminates this most Chinese of arts.