ZHONG CHENG

Born in Shexian, Anhui Province. Jiang Zhaoshen’s style name is Jiaoyuan, and his studio name is Lingquguan. Jiang was an established calligrapher, painter, and seal-carver. He was formerly the Deputy Director of National Palace Museum, and the Chief Curator of the Department of Painting and Calligraphy, NPM. Jiang was born to a family with long literati traditions, and later served as an apprentice under Pu Xinyu. Jiang went to Taiwan and became a teacher in 1949, and later was recruited as a researcher by National Palace Museum. He later became the Chief Curator of the Department of Painting and Calligraphy, and the Deputy Director of the National Palace Museum. Jiang’s famed calligraphic style is a combination of Chu style and Northern Wei tablet style, whereas his seal-carving style is a mixture of Hui and Zhe schools. In traditional literati arts, Jiang had mastered all aspects in painting, poetry, calligraphy, and seal-carving. Contemporary art critics praise him as the “new type of traditional Chinese literati” and “genius in the history of Chinese modern art.” He held a solo exhibition of calligraphy, ink painting, and seals at Taipei Zhongshan Hall in 1965. His book “Research on Tang Yin” won the Distinguished New Publication Award; “Journey to Hualien Catalogue” featuring 12 paintings was awarded the Chung Shan Literary Award. In 1973, Jiang organized the “Ninety Years of Wu School Painting” Exhibition. In 1974, he won Ministry of Education’s Art and Literary Award in Calligraphy. After retiring from the National Palace Museum in 1991, Jiang moved to Puli and constructed “Jieshe Garden.” In 1992, his “Catalogue of Landscape Paintings from 1988” was collected by the British Museum, and he held the “Jiang Zhaoshen Calligraphy and Ink Painting Exhibition” at Taipei Fine Arts Museum. The next year, he selected 50 works for a touring exhibition that first was held at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, and then Huangshan Museum in Anhui Province.