Xueshu eryan 學書邇言

Xueshu eryan 學書邇言 "Concise remarks on learning calligraphy" was written during the late Qing period 清 (1644-1911) by Yang Shoujing 楊守敬 (1839-1915), courtesy name Xingwu 惺吾, style Linsu Laoren 粼蘇老人, from Yidu 宜都, Hubei.

Yang belonged to the staff of Li Shuchang 黎庶昌 (1837-1898), the Qing ambassador to Japan of the years 1881-1890. After his return to China, he was instructor for geography (dili jiaoxi 地理教習) in the Liang-Hu Academy 兩湖書院 and then Director (zongjiaozhang 總教長) of the Qincheng Xuetang Academy 勤成學堂. In 1914, he was nominated a member of the Advisory Council (canzhengyuan 參政院) of President Yuan Shikai 袁世凱 (1859-1916). As a professional geographer, Yang wrote several books on the historical geography of China, like Lidai yudi tu 歷代輿地圖. Still, he also excelled in the study of calligraphy, as can be seen in his books Kaifa shuoyuan 楷法溯源, Ping beiji 評碑記, Ping tieji 評帖記 or Linsuyuan jitie 粼蘇園集帖.

The Xueshu eryan with 1 juan length was originally a handwritten manuscript, created as a teaching material for the Japanese student Mizuno Motonao 水野元直 (1864-1921), who had come to China to study calligraphy. Mizuno Motonao took Zhang's manuscript back to Japan, where it was published under the title Xueshu eryan shushi 學書邇言疏釋 (Gakusho jigen soshaku 學書邇言疏釈), with added commentaries. The book gained widespread circulation.

It is divided into several sections, including an introduction (Xulun 緒論), critiques of model calligraphy works (Pingtie 評帖), evaluations of calligraphy books (Pingshu 評書), and colophons (Ti-ba 題跋).

The introduction provides a brief overview of the evolution of calligraphy throughout different dynasties and the characteristics of various stone tablet inscriptions. In addition to citing the traditional "three essentials" (sanyao 三要) of calligraphy—namely, talent (tianfen 天分), extensive inspection (duo jian 多見), and frequent practice (duo xie 多寫) — Yang Shoujing expanded upon this concept by adding two more: high moral character (pin gao 品高) and broad scholarly knowledge (xue fu 學富), forming the "five essentials" (wuyao 五要). This perspective insightfully highlights the close relationship between intellectual breadth and artistic cultivation.

In the section on model calligraphy critiques, the book categorizes calligraphic works into four writing types: seal script (zhuanshu 篆書), chancery script (bafen 八分), regular script (zhenshu 真書), and cursive and grass script (xing-caoshu 行草書). It then offers evaluations of over a hundred significant stone inscriptions from various dynasties, discusses the origins, re-carvings (fanke 翻刻), publications, and collections of these inscriptions.

In the section on model calligraphy critique, the book categorises works into four groups: anthologies of model calligraphy (jitie 集帖), calligraphy collections of specific masters (mou jia fatie 某家法帖), individual masterpieces (mou yi fatie 某一法帖), and model books of the small regular script (xiaokai tie 小楷帖). Zhang carefully examines individual works of these four genres regarding their transmission, authenticity, and artistic merit. The section on calligraphy book critiques evaluates over fifty calligraphers and scholars from the Song period onward. These assessments are regarded as fair and well-reasoned. In the latter part of the chapter, the author also provides commentary on several renowned Japanese calligraphers and inscriptions.

The colophon section contains four essays, which similarly fall under the scope of model calligraphy critiques. This demonstrates the author's extensive research and deep appreciation of Chinese and Japanese calligraphic traditions.

In the Japanese version, the work was by Higuchi Dōgyū 樋口銅牛 (1865-1932) divided into seven chapters, namely: Critiques of stone inscriptions (Beiping 碑評), anthologies of model calligraphy (Jietie 集帖), specialized calligraphy collections (Zhuantie 專帖), contemporary model calligraphy (Jintie 今帖), cursive and grass-script model colletions (Xing-cao tie 行草帖), model collection of the small regular script (Xiaokai tie 小楷帖), and critique of calligraphy books (Pingshu).

Some differences and errors exist between the printed edition from the Taishō era (1912-1926) and the original, handwritten manuscript. These discrepancies arise from various factors, such as transcription mistakes, selective revisions made during editing, incorrect punctuation, misread characters due to unclear handwriting, and errors caused by slips of the pen or memory lapses.

In 1981, the Wenwu Chubanshe 文物出版社 published Chen Shangmin's 陳上岷 (1918-2009) collated and annotated edition. This edition meticulously compared the original manuscript with relevant reference materials, verifying every sentence and phrase. It also reorganised the content into the (original) five chapters, titled: Introduction (Xulun), critiques of stone inscriptions (Pingbei 評碑), critiques of model calligraphy (Pingtie), critiques of calligraphy books (Pingshu), and colophons (Ti-ba).