Guo Songting 郭松亭
Guo Songting's
first piece shows a wonderful balance between the
first and third characters, which are writen in a
bold, heavy ink and the second and third more
complex characters, which are lighter and have
curved flourishs. The signature is done with a bold
single stroke that becomes part of the piece's
overall composition. The second set of scrolls
reveals the same style on an even larger scale. The
third set of scrolls shows his versatility in the
use of various script styles--cursive, clerical,
regular, and seal scripts.
Guo Songting's penname is Yi He. He has been a calligrapher for forty years and is a member of the Beijing Shengzhou Calligraphy Research Institute.
Signature & seals
Creator.Personal Name: Guo Songting.
Creator.Role: calligrapher.
Title: [Spring phrase]
Description: hanging scroll; ink on paper (cursive); signed by the artist; three artist's seals.
Type: Calligraphy--Chinese.
Type: Scroll (Visual work)--Chinese.
Style.Period: Contemporary.
Culture: Chinese.
Material.Medium: ink.
Material.Support: paper.
Measurements: 14" x 64"
Location.Current Repository: private collection, C. J. Campbell (Chicago, Ill.)
Rights: C. J. Campbell.
Record Type: work.
Translation:
Mountain wind returns cranes
山风归鹤
Creator.Personal Name: Guo Songting.
Creator.Role: calligrapher.
Title: [Poem by Liu Changqing]
Description: three hanging scrolls; ink on paper (cursive); signed by the artist; four artist's seals.
Type: Calligraphy--Chinese.
Type: Scroll (Visual work)--Chinese.
Style.Period: Contemporary.
Culture: Chinese.
Material.Medium: ink.
Material.Support: paper.
Measurements: middle scroll: 24 x 73"; couplet (each): 14" x 73"
Location.Current Repository: private collection, C. J. Campbell (Chicago, Ill.)
Rights: C. J. Campbell.
Record Type: work.
Translation of poem 送灵澈 --"On Parting with the Buddhist Pilgrim Ling Che"--by Liu Changqing 刘长卿:
From the temple, deep in its tender bamboos,
Comes the low sound of an evening bell,
While the hat of a pilgrim carries the sunset
Farther and farther down the green mountain.
苍苍竹林寺
杳杳钟声晚
荷笠带斜阳
青山独归远
Translation of couplet:
Rain raps the lotus pond like a drum;
Wind plucks the bamboo grove like a zither.
雨敲荷塘鼓
風弹竹林琴
Set of four hanging scrolls done in four different styles of calligraphy (left to right): cursive, seal, regular, and clerical scripts.
Creator.Personal Name: Guo Songting.
Creator.Role: calligrapher.
Title: [Four styles of calligraphy]
Description: four hanging scrolls; ink on paper (various scripts); each signed by the artist; each with two artist's seals.
Type: Calligraphy--Chinese.
Type: Scroll (Visual work)--Chinese.
Style.Period: Contemporary.
Culture: Chinese.
Material.Medium: ink.
Material.Support: paper.
Measurements: each scroll 16" x 59"
Location.Current Repository: private collection, C. J. Campbell (Chicago, Ill.)
Rights: C. J. Campbell.
Record Type: work.
Texts and translation of scrolls left to right:
Translation of a poem by Meng Haoran(689-740, Tang Dynasty):
The spring dawn has crept upon me,
heralded only by the singing of the birds.
Last night's rainstorm has subsided:
who can say, how many flowers have fallen?
春眠不覺曉
處處聞啼鳥
夜來風雨聲
花落知多少
Translation of Autumn Evening in the Mountains (山居秋暝) by Wang Wei (王维):
After rain the empty mountain
Stands autumnal in the evening,
Moonlight in its groves of pine,
Stones of crystal in its brooks.
Bamboos whisper of washer-girls bound home,
Lotus-leaves yield before a fisher-boat --
And what does it matter that springtime has gone,
While you are here, O Prince of Friends?
空山新雨后
天气晚来秋
明月松间照
清泉石上流
竹喧归浣女
莲动下渔舟
随意春芳歇
王孙自可留
Translation of Su Shi's 前赤壁賦 (Before the “Ode to Red Cliffs”):
If you look at things from the viewpoint of the changes they undergo, nothing in Heaven
or Earth lasts longer than the blink of an eye. But if you look at them from the viewpoint
of their changeless traits, neither the objects of the world nor we ever come to an end.
客亦知夫水與月乎？逝 者如斯，而未嘗往也； 盈虛者如彼，而卒莫消 長也。蓋將自其變 者而觀之，則天地曾不 能以一瞬；自其不變者 而觀之，則物於我皆無 盡也。而又何羨乎？ 且夫天地之間，物各有 主。苟非吾之所有，雖 一毫而莫取。惟江上之 清風，與山間之明月， 耳得之而爲聲，目遇之 而成色。取之無禁，用 之不竭。是造物者之無 盡藏也，而吾與子之所 共適
Translation of a poem 客至 by Du Fu 杜甫:
North of me, south of me, spring is in flood,
Day after day I have seen only gulls....
My path is full of petals -- I have swept it for no others.
My thatch gate has been closed -- but opens now for you.
It's a long way to the market, I can offer you little --
Yet here in my cottage there is old wine for our cups.
Shall we summon my elderly neighbour to join us,
Call him through the fence, and pour the jar dry?
舍南舍北皆春水
但见群鸥日日来
花径不曾缘客扫
蓬门今始为君开
盘飧市远无兼味
樽酒家贫只旧醅
肯与邻翁相对饮
隔篱呼取尽余杯
Creator.Personal Name: Guo Songting.
Creator.Role: calligrapher.
Title: [Couplet by Emperor Tang Taizong]
Description: two hanging scrolls; ink on paper (cursive); signed by the artist; three artist's seals.
Type: Calligraphy--Chinese.
Type: Scroll (Visual work)--Chinese.
Style.Period: Contemporary.
Culture: Chinese.
Material.Medium: ink.
Material.Support: paper.
Measurements: couplet (each): 13.5" x 73"
Location.Current Repository: private collection, C. J. Campbell (Chicago, Ill.)
Rights: C. J. Campbell.
Record Type: work.
Translation of couplet by Emperor Tang Taizong 唐太宗 (r. 627-650):
The silver vase holds red plum blossoms,
the gold censor belches sandalwood incense.
銀瓶插紅梅
金爐吐檀香
Creator.Personal Name: Guo Songting.
Creator.Role: calligrapher.
Title: [Couplet by Tang Bohu]
Description: two hanging scrolls; ink on paper (cursive); signed by the artist; three artist's seals.
Type: Calligraphy--Chinese.
Type: Scroll (Visual work)--Chinese.
Style.Period: Contemporary.
Culture: Chinese.
Material.Medium: ink.
Material.Support: paper.
Measurements: couplet (each): 13.5" x 73"
Location.Current Repository: private collection, C. J. Campbell (Chicago, Ill.)
Rights: C. J. Campbell.
Record Type: work.
Translation of couplet by Tang Bohu 唐伯虎 (aka T'ang Yin)(1470-1523):
The plum blossoms fly up on the tree branches like snow,
the willow is reflected in the wine like smoke.
梅雪飛椏上
柳煙入酒中