Deng Shiru - Qing Dynasty

       Deng Shiru (邓石如, 1743-1805) was a Chinese calligrapher and seal-carver of the Qing Dynasty. Deng was born in Huaining (怀宁) in the Anhui (安徽) Province. His original name was Deng Yan (邓琰), Shiru was his courtesy name. He has a number of pseudonyms including Wanbo (顽伯) and Wanbai Shanren (完白山人).

       Deng Shiru is recognized as a leading figure of the stele studies (碑学) movement, which sought inspiration from the stele artworks of the Northern Wei period. For 1,300 years, Chinese calligraphy was based on the elegant art of Wang Xizhi (王羲之, 303-361). But the seventeenth-century emergence of a style modeled on the rough, broken epigraphs of ancient bronzes and stone artifacts brought a revolution in calligraphic taste. By the eighteenth century, this led to the formation of the stele school (碑派, 碑学) of calligraphy, which continues to shape Chinese calligraphy today.

 Masterpieces by Deng Shiru (view the entire calligraphy gallery)