Jiang Jie
Ming calligrapher, robust Yan style
Jiang Jie(蔣傑), styled Meiruo(美若) and also known as Xiangyan(象巖), was from Puan Guard in the Ming Dynasty (now Panzhou, Guizhou). He became a provincial graduate in the 16th year of the Wanli reign (1588) and a jinshi the following year, eventually serving as Vice Commissioner of Guangdong. He was a calligrapher during the Ming Dynasty. He, along with Huang Daozhou, Dong Qichang, and Mi Wanzhong, is considered one of the Four Great Calligraphers. He wrote works such as "An Outline of the Seventeen Histories" and "Supplementary Records of Puan." His calligraphy followed the styles of Yan Zhenqing, Wang Xizhi, and Wang Xianzhi. His early works were vigorous, while his later works became more forceful and robust. One of his surviving works is the "Running Cursive Mount Tai Poem Album." After passing the jinshi exam during the Wanli period, Jiang Jie served as Prefect of Nanxiong in Guangdong and then as Vice Commissioner of Guangdong. During his tenure, he inscribed plaques on the Meiling Pass building reading "The Mighty Pass of Southern Yue" and "The First Pass of Lingnan." Later, due to the rebellion of An Bangyan in Shuixi, Guizhou, he relocated to Jingzhou, where he expressed his feelings through landscapes and inscriptions and joined the Qingyan Society with people like Wang Zunkao and Cai Zhihan. After revisiting Mount Tai in the 48th year of the Wanli reign (1620), he created the "Running Cursive Mount Tai Poem," a version of which exists today as a facsimile published by the Shanghai Calligraphy and Painting Publishing House.