'Orchid Pavilion' rubbing from Song Dynasty for auction
The No. 1 rubbing from You Si's collection of "Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion" will be a highlight at the Poly's Autumn Auction in Beijing next month.
"Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion" (兰亭集序) is a famous calligraphy work written by Wang Xizhi (AD 303-361) in AD 353. Written in semi-curve script, it is among the most well-known and well-copied pieces of calligraphy in Chinese history.
The emergence of this rubbing has evoked a strong interest among experts and scholars in Shanghai.
The calligraphy masterpiece "has already gone beyond the value in Chinese ancient calligraphy, but is a 'spiritual garden' for all Chinese," said Lu Dadong, an expert in traditional and modern calligraphy.
Part of the No. 1 rubbing from You Si's collection of "Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion"
You (?–1252), a councilor of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), was believed to have 100 editions of rubbings of "Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion," which later were passed down into the collection of the third son of Zhu Yuanzhang (1328-1398), the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
"This is the No. 1 rubbing from You Si's 'Orchid Pavilion' collection. It's very precious and rare," said Chen Yimei, a professor of the Fine Art College at Shanghai University.
"We can find the preface and postscript written by the Song Dynasty's Emperor Gaozong (1107-1187) in 1131, making it the only 'Orchid Pavilion' rubbing that has a specified year in the collection."
Today no more than 26 "Orchid Pavilion" rubbings exist around the world, according to Chen.
Seminars about it will be held in Beijing on Sunday and Monday.
The preface and postscript on the rubbing
