Among China's renowned calligraphers and painters, Wei Feng is the most adept at both freehand brushwork and jiaguwen, calligraphy in the style of the inscriptions on bones or tortoise shells of the Shang Dynasty (C.16th-11th century B.C.).
Wei Feng was born in Henan Province's Anyang City, the ancient capital of the Shang Dynasty. He is now the vice chairman of the China Construction Artists' Association and a noted professor in the Spring and Autumn Institute of Japan.
By the influence of his family, Wei has loved calligraphy and painting since he was a child. He is a master at flower-and-bird paintings as well as landscapes and human figures. With simple strokes, his paintings convey a magnificent momentum. He combines painting with calligraphic techniques, bringing a new air to traditional Chinese painting.
His life in Anyang has enriched his understanding of jiaguwen, and his calligraphic works also include zhuan (seal characters) and li (official script, an ancient style of calligraphy current in the Han Dynasty). He combines zhuan, li, and xing (running handwriting) with jiaguwen, making the ancient Chinese scripts even more expressive. The powerful strokes of his jiaguwen give his works a feeling of vigor.
(China Pictorial February 26, 2002)
