Chu Suiliang - Tang Dynasty

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       Chu Suiliang (褚遂良, 597-658), courtesy name Dengshan (登善), formally Duke of Henan (河南公), was a chancellor of the Tang Dynasty, during the reigns of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozong. 

       Chu was well-studied in literature and history, and was a talented calligrapher, drawing praise from his father's friend Ouyang Xun (歐陽詢), himself a famous calligrapher. It was recorded that Emperor Taizong once commented to Chancellor Wei Zheng that after Yu Shinan (虞世南)'s death, there was no one that he could discuss calligraphy with. Upon hearing this, Wei recommended Chu's calligraphy. Emperor Taizong immediately summoned Chu and was very surprised at his calligraphy skills. When, on one occasion, Emperor Taizong put out notices of rewards, requesting that people submit works of the great Jin Dynasty calligrapher Wang Xizhi (王羲之) to him, many people submitted purported works of Wang, and it became difficult to tell which were genuine and which were forged. Chu was put in charge of discerning these purported works, and he was able to clearly distinguish them.

       Chu Suiliang became increasingly trusted by Emperor Taizong toward the end of his reign and was charged with the responsibilities of serving as the imperial historian and providing honest advice. At Emperor Taizong's death, Chu was entrusted with the responsibilities of assisting Emperor Gaozong, along with Emperor Gaozong's uncle Zhangsun Wuji. In 655, over his strenuous opposition to Emperor Gaozong's removal of his first wife Empress Wang and replacing her with Empress Wu (later known as Wu Zetian), Chu was demoted, for a series of times, eventually to be the prefect of the extremely distant Ai Prefecture (愛州, roughly modern Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam). He died in exile in 658.

Masterpieces by Chu Suiliang (view the entire calligraphy gallery)