Copying Mi Fu's Record of Fangyuan Hermitage - Character 5
Imagine a jazz master improvising on a classic standard—that’s what Ming Dynasty virtuoso Dong Qichang is doing here. A giant of the Chinese traditional literati movement, he is copying the famous Song Dynasty calligrapher Mi Fu, specifically his 'Record of the Fangyuan Hermitage.' The characters flow in a wild, cursive 'running script,' looking like black ink dancing across the aged, golden-brown surface. Dong believed that copying the ancients was the ultimate path to mastery, and here he captures Mi Fu’s eccentric energy perfectly. While the text discusses a Buddhist hermitage, the real magic is in the brushwork: rhythmic and full of life, showing how Dong channeled a master from centuries past.