Rhapsody on Calligraphy

Shu Shu Fu (Rhapsody on Calligraphy) is a calligraphic document written by Dou Ji of the Tang dynasty. In the rhapsodic form it evaluates calligraphers and calligraphic works across the ages, combining literary elaboration with critical judgment, and is an important text for studying the transmission of calligraphy, the genealogy of calligraphers, and connoisseurial concepts before the Tang. Its distinguishing feature is that it organizes the many masters through rhymed language, with praise and censure embedded in the phrasing; readers can both trace the lines of calligraphic history and appreciate how the ancients discussed calligraphy rhetorically. This edition belongs to a series of classic Chinese-learning texts; it preserves the original appearance of the book and is suitable for close study of the primary sources of calligraphic learning. When reading, one should use annotations and short biographies of calligraphers, first clarifying the dynasties and names mentioned in the rhapsody, then comparing section by section with calligraphic works or histories of calligraphy, so as not to admire only the wording while missing the measure of the judgments. For calligraphy enthusiasts it is an introductory primary text for entering the vocabulary of traditional calligraphic learning; for researchers in literature and history it can serve as a sample of the combination of Tang calligraphic concepts and literary expression.