She Jianyun: Learning from the Ancients Without Being Bound by Them

Liu Xizai said in 'An Outline of Calligraphy': 'Calligraphy must combine the two forces of yin and yang. Generally, composure and melancholy are yin; while uniqueness and boldness are yang. High charm and deep emotion, firm quality and heroic spirit, none can be missing for calligraphy.' Cai Xizong also wrote in 'Treatise on Calligraphy': 'Every character must have strong bone energy, with a lively and soaring momentum.' Since ancient times, calligraphy has valued spirit and rhythm. Spirit is the source of life in a calligraphic work, the mental state expressed by the calligraphic form.

After ten years of devoted study, one can leap over the dragon gate with a single wave.

Mr. She Jianyun’s calligraphy began with learning from stele and model inscriptions, extensively studying various masters, absorbing their strengths, and finding his own path. This is an orthodox and solid direction for learning calligraphy. In recent years, his works have shown diverse styles, which is the fusion and condensation of traditional calligraphy and culture, releasing power through his own practice. He has sustained great enthusiasm for the art of calligraphy, and this spirit can be felt in his works. It is this enthusiasm that drives him to advance bravely and rapidly on the path of calligraphy. At the same time, Mr. She Jianyun is a diligent thinker, moving step by step toward maturity through continuous self-denial and self-transcendence.

Mr. She Jianyun has devoted great courage to the intensive study of stele inscriptions from the Han, Wei, and Six Dynasties periods, especially the epitaphs and statue inscriptions of the Northern Wei. He then increasingly immersed himself in the model calligraphy of the Two Wangs (Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi). His breadth of learning and depth of focus nearly reached the realm of the 'brush mound and ink pond.' Huang Jinliang, editor-in-chief of 'China Calligraphy and Painting Guide,' said while appreciating his works: 'While adhering to and developing the basic principle of integrating stele and model inscriptions, he traces back from the Northern Wei to the Qin and Han dynasties, using seal script and clerical script as a foundation, absorbing more broadly from tradition.' The powerful force revealed in his works, 'learning from the ancients without being bound by them,' keeps him in a vigorous and lasting creative energy, pushing his exploration of calligraphy art in a deeper direction. She Jianyun, male, Han ethnicity, born in November 1943 in Shaodong, Hunan. In 2006, he was appointed Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong Chinese Calligraphers Association; he is now Honorary President of the Chinese National Research Society of Chinese Culture, and a member of the Chinese International Painting and Calligraphy Art Research Association, the Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Association, the Art Committee of the Chinese Calligraphy Research Institute, and a lifelong visiting professor of the Henan Famous Artists Painting and Calligraphy Art Research Society.

Since 2004, he has frequently participated in international and domestic calligraphy competitions and events, often winning awards. In 2008, he received the 'Olympic Artist' gold medal. One of his works was selected as a gift from China to the 'World Olympic' (recommended by Guo Muqin, editor-in-chief of 'China Culture Daily'). In April 2010, he went to Japan to participate in the Third Sino-Japanese Friendship Cultural and Art Exchange Exhibition held in Tokyo, where he was awarded the title 'Special Envoy of Sino-Japanese Cultural Exchange.' In August 2010, he was rated by Hong Kong International Auction Co., Ltd. as one of the 'Top Ten Calligraphers with the Most Market Appreciation Potential' in the 13th auction, assessed as 'Special Grade' in calligraphy art title, and awarded the title 'Contemporary Chinese Powerful Calligrapher.' In December 2013, he participated in the 'Oriental Red·Chinese Dream' art exhibition commemorating the 120th anniversary of Mao Zedong's birth, hosted by the Chinese International Painting and Calligraphy Art Research Association, and won an award; the winning work was exhibited at the National Museum of China. In 2016, the Chinese National Research Society of Chinese Culture published and distributed a collection of works by five masters (Ouyang Zhongshi, Shen Peng, She Jianyun, Huang Yongyu, Liu Dawei). In 2020, his representative calligraphy works were included in the 'Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Yearbook.'