Copy of Zhang Xu's Record of Government Officials on a Stone Wall (Langguan bishiji)

ca.1608 - 1609

Dong Qichang Chinese, 1555-1636

On View

Chinese Art, Level 1, North Wing

Copy of Zhang Xu's Record of Government Officials on a Stone Wall (Langguan bishiji)

Copy of Zhang Xu's Record of Government Officials on a Stone Wall (Langguan bishiji): 1 of Collection Gallery

Copy of Zhang Xu's Record of Government Officials on a Stone Wall (Langguan bishiji): 2 of Collection Gallery

Copy of Zhang Xu's Record of Government Officials on a Stone Wall (Langguan bishiji): 3 of Collection Gallery

Copy of Zhang Xu's Record of Government Officials on a Stone Wall (Langguan bishiji): 4 of Collection Gallery

Copy of Zhang Xu's Record of Government Officials on a Stone Wall (Langguan bishiji): 5 of Collection Gallery

Copy of Zhang Xu's Record of Government Officials on a Stone Wall (Langguan bishiji): 6 of Collection Gallery

Copy of Zhang Xu's Record of Government Officials on a Stone Wall (Langguan bishiji): 7 of Collection Gallery

Copy of Zhang Xu's Record of Government Officials on a Stone Wall (Langguan bishiji): 8 of Collection Gallery

Copy of Zhang Xu's Record of Government Officials on a Stone Wall (Langguan bishiji): 9 of Collection Gallery

Copy of Zhang Xu's Record of Government Officials on a Stone Wall (Langguan bishiji): 10 of Collection Gallery

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Provenance

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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About the Artwork

Mastering the use of the brush was a primary scholarly pursuit. Scholars refined their brushwork by copying the works of famous calligraphers. Here the scholar Dong Qichang looks to the wild, free-flowing kuang cao cursive style of Zhang Xu (ca. 700–750) for inspiration. The eighth-century text praises the achievements of the Xuanzong emperor (713–755) and his cabinet ministers.

Title Copy of Zhang Xu's Record of Government Officials on a Stone Wall (Langguan bishiji)

Artwork Date ca.1608 - 1609

Artist Dong Qichang

Life Dates 1555-1636

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. Chinese

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Ink on silk

Dimensions Overall: 10 5/8 inches × 23 feet 5 7/8 inches × 2 inches (27 cm × 7 m 16 cm × 5.1 cm) Image (preliminary inscription page): 10 1/2 × 27 5/8 inches (26.7 × 70.2 cm) Image (main painting): 10 1/2 × 129 1/4 inches (26.7 cm × 3 m 28.3 cm) Image (ending script): 10 1/2 × 26 3/4 inches (26.7 × 67.9 cm)

Classification Calligraphy

Department Asian Art

Credit Founders Society Purchase, Henry Ford II Fund

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 77.63

Markings

Signed Signed: Dong Qichang

Inscriptions Calligraphy, throughout: [an essay by the Tang Dynasty master, Zhang Xu]

Marks Stamps, throughout: [artist, collectors and imperial seals]

Provenance

Imperial Collection (Beijing, China). (H. C. Yu)

1977-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Published References

Bulletin of the DIA 56, no. 5 (1977/1978): p. 273, fig. 9 (ill.).

Bulletin of the DIA 56, no. 3 (1978): pp. 177-184 (ill.).

Kohara, H. Painting and Calligraphy of Tung Ch'i-Ch'ang. Tokyo, 1981, pp. 274-287, nos. 93-1 through 14, (ill.) [in Japanese].

Nakata, Y. and S.C.Y. Fu. Obei Shuzo Chugoku Hoshu Meikesi Shu (Masterpieces of Chinese Calligraphy in American and European Collections), vol. 2. Tokyo, 1983, pp. 4-8 (ill.).

100 Masterworks from the Detroit Institute of Arts. New York, 1985, p. 54, p. 55 (ill.).

Mitchell, S.W. "The Asian Collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts." Orientations 13, no. 5 (May 1982): pp. 14-36, fig. 9.

Rosenzweig, Daphne L. Exotic Kingdoms: China and Europe in the 18th Century. Exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts. St. Petersburg, FL, 1982, no. 49 (ill.).

Barnes, Laurie, Elizabeth B. McGraw, and Bangjin Fan. “Spirit, Brush, and Ink: Dong Qichang’s Tribute to the Wild Cursive Calligraphy of Zhang Xu.” Bulletin of the DIA 82, no. 1/2 (2008): pp. 46-59.

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Dong Qichang, Copy of Zhang Xu's Record of Government Officials on a Stone Wall (Langguan bishiji), ca.1608 - 1609, ink on silk. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Henry Ford II Fund, 77.63.