臨淳化帖 The earliest calligraphy book in China

【About the author】

董其昌，字玄宰，號思白、思翁，別號香光居士，松江華亭人。明代書法家。兼工楷、行、草書，形成生拙秀雅的書法風格。在書法理論上，他強調書法貴有古意，認為書法必須熟後能生，即以生拙之態來掩飾技法的嫻熟，藉以表現書法的「士氣」。

Inside Story

This is the earliest calligraphy book in China that combined various schools of calligraphies into one book. It was completed in several procedures. First, famous ancient calligraphies were traced with a twin-hook instrument; then, they were carved into a flagstone or a wooden board, and finally they were rubbed and bound into a book. The calligraphy book contains ten scrolls of calligraphy works covering a period of one thousand years from early Chin Dynasty to Sul and Tang Dynasties, altogether there are 420 pieces of works done by103 calligraphers including emperors, government officers and well-known calligraphers.