Pingfu Tie: The Earliest Authentic Chinese Calligraphy 平复帖: 最早的传世书法墨迹

The Pingfu Tie (A Consoling Letter) has a special position in the history of Chinese calligraphy as it is recognised as the earliest surviving Chinese calligraphic work written on paper and is often referred to as the ‘father of all calligraphic examplers’. It was originally a letter written by a great literature master Lu Ji (261-303) to one of his friends who was very ill.

Lu Ji’s grandfather and father were famous generals of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. After Eastern Wu was subjugated by the Western Jin in 280, Lu Ji moved to the imperial capital, Luoyang, where he became prominent in both literature and politics. However, he was too scintillating for the comfort of his jealous contemporaries; in 303 he, along with his two brothers and two sons, was put to death on a false charge of high treason.

Lu Ji wrote much lyric poetry but is better known for writing fu, a mixture of prose and poetry. He is best remembered for the Wenfu (‘On Literature’), a piece of literary criticism that discourses on the principles of composition.

Lu Ji also became famous because of his calligraphic work ‘Pingfu Tie’. The script is a transitional form between early cursive script Zhang Cao and current cursive script. Some scholars believe it was a cursive form of official script.

Its brushwork, done with a ‘dry’ brush and characterised by a simple and vivid style, exhibits a stocky roundness that brims with latent energy. Because it was written on paper, nature has left its mark on the piece, blurring and fading caused by repeated folding, handling and moisture stains have added to the feel of antiquity. Age-induced coarseness of the paper support also makes the lines appear grave and remote.

This piece has, as it were, re-created by the hand of nature. It was donated by Zhang Boju to the Chinese government in July 1956.

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‘平复帖’在中国书法史上有一个特别的地位，因为它被认为是书写于纸的最早传世书法墨迹，常被称为‘法书之祖’。这幅帖原来是大文学家陆机（261-303）写给一位生病友人的信件。

陆机的祖父陆逊与父亲陆抗都是三国东吴的名将。280年，东吴被西晋灭亡后，陆机移居首府洛阳，成为文学与政治界有名人士。但是，为奸臣所嫉妒，于303年被诬叛国莫须有罪名，他与两个哥哥及两个儿子都因此而被判死刑。

陆机虽然写诗，但以赋闻名。他名留千古的文学创作评论作品是‘文赋’。

陆机也因为他的书法作品‘平复帖’而闻名于世。这幅帖的文字是章草到草书的过渡。有学者认为它是篆书的草写。

这幅用‘秃笔’书写，具有简朴与活泼风格特色，显示浑圆之无穷内涵力量。因为书写于纸张，岁月已经在它的身上留下了痕迹。重复的折叠、触摸与湿气痕迹已使书法显得朦胧与褪色，增加了古拙的感觉。岁月造成纸张粗野，字与行间看来沉重与遥远。

这幅作品可说是被自然之手从新再创造过。1956年七月，一个名叫张伯驹的人把它捐给了中国政府。