Interpretation of Cai Xiang's “HaiyuModelbook”: Incorrect Information by the National Palace Museum
Author: Ming-Li Huang(Department of Chinese, National Taiwan Normal University)
Vol.&No.：Vol. 61, No. 1
Date：March 2016
Pages：117-142
DOI：10.6210/JNTNULL.2016.61(1).06
Abstract：
“Haiyu Modelbook” is an early work by Cai Xiang that features his regular script. The earlyQing corrector Li Shuyun owned the work, and then mounted it and another three masterpieces into a single handscroll, called “Calligraphy of the Four Song Masters.” The three other masterpieces were Su Shi's “Poetry in Rhyme for Master of the Three Colleges,” Huang Tingjian's “Letter to Mingshu,” and Mi Fu's “Daowei Modelbook.”
In the summer of 2014, the National Palace Museum in Taipei displayed the handscroll. The information provided by the museum reported that Cai Xiang's “Haiyu Modelbook” was written when he was approximately 37 years old for Participant in Government Affairs Minghao. I claim that this information is false. By scrutinizing the letter and referring to the Song Dynasty history, I determined that the letter recipient was Han Qi and that Cai Xiang was 34 years old (fi fth year of Emperor Renzong of Song Qingli) when he wrote it.
The letter conveys encouragement after the failure of the Qingli Reforms. Although many people today have diffi culty in understanding the format and words of letters from the Northern Song dynasty, this paper evidences that Cai Xiang greatly respected and appreciated Han Qi.
Keywords：written expression, Haiyu Modelbook, Cai Xiang, Qingli Reforms, Han Qi
《Full Text》
