Artist: Deng Shiru (1743-1805)
Date: Qing (1644-1911), dated 1781
Material: Ink on paper
Gift of Hong Fumei
Deng Shiru (1743-1805), originally named Deng Yan and with zi (designated name) Shiru, was a native of Huaining, Anhui. To avoid using the personal name of the Jiaqing Emperor, he later went by his later zi Wanbo and hao (literary name) Wanbai Shanren. A master of calligraphy and seal carving, he was particularly renowned for his seal and clerical scripts. The brushwork of this scroll is robust and upright; the characters are balancedly composed yet full of variation. The scroll was written in the 46th year (1781) of the Qianlong reign, when the artist was 39.