Stele of Wen Zhengming’s Poems on Taihu Lake

Stele of Wen Zhengming’s Poems on Taihu Lake

The Stele of Wen Zhengming’s Poems on Taihu Lake is a cultural tourism attraction.

Wen Zhengming (1470–1559), a renowned calligrapher and painter of the Ming Dynasty, was from Changzhou (now Wu County, Jiangsu Province). Known by his courtesy name Hengshan Jushi, he was grouped with Zhu Yunming, Tang Yin, and Xu Zhenqing as one of the “Four Talents of Wu Region.” His calligraphy excelled in running script and small regular script. The *Stele of Poems on Taihu Lake*, preserved in the stele corridor of the Datong Museum, is a masterpiece from his later years.

The *Stele of Poems on Taihu Lake* stands 1.77 meters tall and 0.9 meters wide. The front and back of the stele each bear a seven-character regulated verse handwritten and composed by Wen Zhengming himself. Each side has six lines with ten to thirteen characters per line, all in large running script. The largest characters measure 25 centimeters, while the smallest are 10 centimeters. The front features the poem *Taihu*, and the back features *On the Road to Hancun*.

Wen Zhengming never visited Datong in his lifetime—so why are his poems engraved here? The reason for the engraving can be found in five lines of small characters recorded in the lower left corner of the stele’s back. During the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty (1522–1566), an individual from Linqu, Shandong (the name in the record is faded and illegible), was sent to the south to oversee grain storage. He acquired two handscrolls by Wen Zhengming: *Taihu* and *On the Road to Hancun*. Upon viewing them with colleagues and local gentry, all agreed that these were among Wen’s finest calligraphic works, “worthy of being engraved to pass on to future generations.” In the spring of 1553, during the 31st year of the Jiajing reign, this person was dispatched to Datong to manage provisions and brought the scrolls with him to have them carved onto stone. At that time, Wen Zhengming was still alive, at the age of 83.

Both *Taihu* and *On the Road to Hancun* were written by Wen Zhengming in his later years while he lived in seclusion in his hometown amid the mountains and forests. Both are landscape poems, but they also express his aspiration to emulate Fan Li, wishing to “spend the year without hearing the sound of carriages and horses.” His calligraphy in these pieces represents some of his finest late-period work. It showcases not only the foundational influence of Wang Xizhi’s running script and Zhao Mengfu’s elegance, but also incorporates the dynamic brushwork of Song Dynasty calligrapher Huang Tingjian—bold, slanted, and sweeping, with powerful strokes extending both vertically and horizontally. Though Huang’s influence is strong, the work remains vigorous and majestic, yet retains its refined beauty.

In terms of character structure, the *Taihu* Stele extensively adopts Huang Tingjian’s technique of tightening the central part of the character and radiating outward with bold, slanted strokes. Strokes such as sweeps, hooks, and long horizontal lines are exceptionally long and forceful, displaying a composed vigor and expansive grace. In brushwork, the stele frequently employs reverse and hidden strokes, with pronounced variation in pressure. Long horizontal and sweep strokes are steady and solid, brimming with energy and free from the flat, ornamental style typical of the clerical-script school. In composition, the *Stele of Poems on Taihu Lake* features interplay and resonance between characters, creating a strong sense of unity. Large characters are upright, small ones compact, arranged in a dynamic, staggered rhythm that creates engaging visual relationships. Especially skillful is the interweaving of long horizontal and wide sweep strokes, which unifies the entire piece, lending it great momentum and a powerful sense of rhythm.

A few years ago, the Wuxi Municipal People’s Government reproduced the *Stele of Poems on Taihu Lake* and erected it by Taihu Lake, bringing new luster to this precious historical artifact.