Yu Youren
Calligraphy Couplet in Running Script
1944-1954
Scroll
Yu Youren
Calligraphy Couplet in Running Script
1944-1954
Physical Qualities
Ink on paper, 67 1/2 x 16 1/4 in. (171.5 x 41.3 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Kai-Yun Chiu, Baltimore, in Honor of her Parents, Chung-Wei Chiu and Shu-Tsing Chiu
Object Number
2009.165.1-2
Yu Youren was educated in the classics and passed the provincial level of the Qing Dynasty Civil Service Examination. Nevertheless, he was a founding member of the Kuomintang (the Chinese Nationalist Party) and worked to establish a modern republic. He became the first president of Shanghai University during the 1920s. Yu held the post of Taiwan’s Control Yuan, the ministry concerned with official conduct, bureaucratic examinations, audits, and impeachments.
When Yu began to practice the art of calligraphy, he followed orthodox classical styles. From there, he progressed to a close study of Northern Wei tomb stele that led ultimately to developing a standardized cursive script. The four principles of Yu’s standardized cursive script are “legible, easy to write, accurate, and elegant.”
The right panel contains the dedication to the donor’s father.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 2009; Kai-Yun Chiu, Baltimore, by descent; Chung-Wei Chiu, Taiwan, by gift; from the artist
Chinese Ceramics and Paintings from Two Local Collections
Inscribed: Right panel dedicated to Chung-Wei Chiu; artist signature and seals on left panel.
